"We want to fight for stage wins": Unibet Rockets shoot for a Tour de France debut backed by a new sponsor

Unibet Tietema Rockets are no longer just a team that is a byproduct of Tour de Tietema YouTube channel. 26th on the 2025 UCI ranking, the Dutch team with French license can now be rightfully referred to as a full-pledged ProTeam. And as such, they can seriously aspire for a Tour de France wildcard. After all, participation at Grande Boucle was one of the big goals when the team was funded in 2023...

But all of that will happen under a new name Unibet Rose Rockets. While Rockets are just, well, rockets, Rose has not much to do with the red flower. The French team instead welcomes German bike manufacturer Rose as a co-sponsor next to Unibet for years to come. With this, the era of Tietema ends, although Bas Tietema is not leaving the team.

"We see a lot of similarities between the Rockets and Rose. As Rose is still family owned, passion and entrepreneurship are characteristics that identify both our companies. With innovative business models, we both hope to be disruptors in our respective industries," wrote Josse Wester on team's Substack about this deal.

"We always knew that there would be a day when Tietema left the team name. That was one of the many reasons we branded ourselves as Rockets going into the 2025 season," said Bas Tietema of the name change. "To speak openly, to grow as a team we also need financial backing, and that is something that removing my name from the title sponsorship allows us to increase."

For 2026, the three mandatory wild cards will go to Cofidis, Tudor Pro Cycling and Q36.5 Pro Cycling and it's unimaginable that either of these team will pass up on the opportunity to be present at the biggest race of the season. In addition, TotalEnergies are also more or less certain to ride the Grande Boucle as the best remaining French ProTeam. However the battle for fifth spot is relatively open and Unibet Rockets can aspire to complete the roster of teams.

"There’s no clear date for when the Rockets will line up in the Tour de France. What we can promise: we’ll be ready the moment the chance comes," the team said in a Substack post this summer as they focused on scoring points.

"By ready, we don’t just mean riding along. We mean ready to fight for stage wins. Because being there is cool, but being there to win is even better."

That statement is supported by the ambitious signing of top sprinter Dylan Groenewegen whose name should weigh in favor of the young team. Rumours also mention the possible arrival of another seasoned Dutch professional Wout Poels with whom the team could aspire to compete on all terrains. If you add the European Championships ITT bronze medallist Niklas Larsen and all-rounders Lukáš Kubiš or another new recruit Matyáš Kopecký could aim very high next summer.

But the first step would be to convince Tour organizer ASO that Unibet Rockets deserve a spot at the biggest cycling scene.