Bas Tietema and Unibet Rose Rockets Almost Ready for 2026: "Best Compliment Is Others Talking About Tour de France"
Youri IJnsen
Unibet Rose Rockets has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2026, the roster will receive a serious boost in quality. Dylan Groenewegen was already signed this summer, and in recent weeks Wout Poels, Rory Townsend, and Victor Lafay have joined. The French squad with Dutch roots still has a few spots to fill, with a wildcard for the 2026 Tour de France as the ultimate goal. Bas Tietema shares his story.
The playful stunt in June this year, where ‘Tietema’ temporarily disappeared from the name Unibet Tietema Rockets, was something the management had considered. The then-namesake and founder Bas Tietema joked on social media that he wouldn’t contribute enough. For the outside world, a fun initiative; for insiders, a clear sign: we are looking for an additional sponsor. They found one in the German bike brand Rose, although there is always room for new sponsors to jump on board.
The team will continue in 2026 as Unibet Rose Rockets. But that doesn’t mean the budget won’t increase significantly. On the contrary, although figures being thrown around—like twenty million euros—are, according to Tietema, nonsense. “Our story is on an upward trajectory every year. It’s necessary for your budget to grow alongside the races you compete in and the value you represent. It is true that initially people thought, ‘nice, your project. But where is it heading?’. With the interest we’re seeing now, it feels like a kind of confirmation.”
photo: photo agency Cor Vos
In the coming years, Tietema, Josse Wester, and Devin van der Wiel want to maintain the Rockets identity, with consistent colors and long-term partnerships. While other teams currently face financial difficulties, Tietema indicates that talks with new sponsors for his team are an ongoing process. “These talks aren’t yet at a final stage. But we could suddenly find ourselves in a different position if a wildcard for the Tour de France becomes possible, or if we start racing other big events.”
In the search for more financial possibilities, Tietema also faced a setback. Although it happened before his time with the team, Giovanni Carboni is currently sidelined due to a doping case. “That’s unfortunate for everyone, first and foremost. The WADA made a finding for the period before he joined us. It’s never nice that it reflects on us; it doesn’t make anyone happy. But it’s not the case that suddenly parties are saying, ‘oh, because of that doping case, I don’t want to participate anymore.’ On our side, it’s important that we remain transparent in communicating about this matter. We can’t do more than that.”
Sportingly, another step must be made
Tietema calls it a great compliment that now even well-established brands are approaching them to take the venture to the Tour de France further. But that depends on having a strong squad. Behind the scenes, the goal for the organization behind Unibet Rose Rockets has been to be ready for a Grand Tour in 2026, aiming to assemble a roster worthy of the Grand Tours. Around the time of the NIBC Tour of Holland, the ProTeam still had about five spots to fill; in the meantime, Poels, Townsend, and Lafay have joined.
“We still have quite some space left for later in the season,” Tietema indicates. “With the uncertainty around Arkéa-B&B Hotels continuing or folding, the potential merger between Lotto and Intermarché, and the conclusion of the WorldTour cycle, there was a lot going on in the market. It’s also hard for us to estimate whether we need more experience Or someone who can ride finals in certain classics or Grand Tours? During the season, we have added the right riders at the right time—whether it was Dylan, Matyáš Kopecký, or Niklas Larsen.”
Dylan Groenewegen will make the switch to Bas Tietema’s team this coming winter - photo: Unibet Tietema Rockets
According to team manager Bas Tietema, they have taken the necessary steps needed for a quality boost. Still, a few spots remain to be filled. “The depth of the roster will be very important, especially if we have to race more races at a higher level. Especially when running a double program, the ‘least’ of those two races is very special for us with regard to UCI points. With Groenewegen, we will make clear choices, but that doesn’t mean we can neglect the races he does not ride.”
The story still leads the way
Moreover, the team does not want to randomly sign big names. “Especially for our team, it’s important whether someone is committed to what we do. We really put a lot of time into making sure riders are engaged. Ideally, we want to start the new season with 26 to 29 riders. That depends on the number of races we'll compete in, but also where we come from and what our focal points are. In smaller spring classics and sprint races, we aim to reach a point where we can be competitive against the best teams in the world.”
“Our strength is that we may need to optimize our climbers’ group for other races,” he continues. “Top-level climbing races are currently not a blessing for us. Neither for the riders nor for us as an organization. The problem is, there are so many races that it’s hard to maintain focus to add value in the races you do. Before, the question was: is this race more important for media or sport? Our story still leads, but now we find both very important.”
The team’s rapid growth also has a downside. For ten riders, the adventure with Tietema and co will end. “That was difficult for us, especially because there’s little room everywhere. Even the riders leaving us have certainly grown the past years. They developed well but not at the same pace as the team as a whole. Each year, we measure ourselves against the next standard: what is necessary for us if we ride race X next year? And the honest answer is that we still have a lot of steps to take in certain areas.”
Bigger WorldTour program
Due to the outcome of the WorldTour cycle, the disappearance of Arkéa-B&B Hotels, and the merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty, a wildcard for the Tour de France has suddenly become very real. Whereas a year ago it was dismissed in the WielerFlits Podcast as ‘the biggest nonsense’ and ‘totally unrealistic’. “In fact, we finished 26th on the UCI Team Ranking, behind TotalEnergies and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. But I do think all the developments over the last months have more impact on us than our own growth.”
Unibet Rose Rockets focused on exactly that last season. “The fact that an extra wildcard was made available last season is also a factor that increased our chances in certain races. That led us to make decisions, like signing Groenewegen. We don’t want to be there just to participate. We also want to win stages or classics that suit us well. It’s up to us in the coming period to see which races fit our roster well next year.”
“Racing a big WorldTour program is very nice, but you also have to be careful not to run your team into the ground,” Tietema continues. “But it also means that when signing a new rider, that person might have to go to the Tour de Suisse instead of the Tour of Slovenia, so to speak. Therefore, we need to look very carefully and realistically at which classics and ultimately which Grand Tours—with certain stages—we can excel in with our riders. That is currently the biggest challenge. On the other hand, it’s also the biggest compliment that others are now talking about the Tour de France too!”
Rider from the beginning: Hartthijs de Vries - photo: Cor Vos
| Rider | Ratings |
|---|---|
1448 1495 1496 1005 1183 941 | |
1322 1370 1340 952 1100 750 | |
1216 804 1363 1173 1300 774 | |
1662 1956 1504 1032 1210 964 | |
1518 1590 1631 1045 1241 950 | |
1169 - 1498 1085 1245 782 | |
1355 1154 1354 943 1126 1331 | |
1299 1194 1428 836 1016 801 | |
1382 950 1400 1513 1620 1046 | |
1503 780 1570 1742 1858 1184 | |
1366 1244 1406 941 1120 1083 | |
1484 1302 1425 1062 1237 1214 | |
938 702 1116 967 1051 - | |
1527 1599 1445 1095 1262 1093 | |
1704 1603 1747 1360 1549 1168 |
| Rider | Ratings |
|---|---|
 Davide Bomboi To: - | 1397 1636 1523 877 1039 - |
 Martijn Budding To: - | 1322 1510 1299 1108 1206 - |
 Giovanni Carboni To: - | 1438 941 1666 1532 1666 782 |
1435 1521 1584 760 970 733 | |
1122 - 1399 1354 1462 731 | |
Kevin Inkelaar To: - | 864 - 1101 938 1024 - |
1438 1146 1464 1400 1526 957 | |
 Sebastian Nielsen To: - | 1332 1052 1446 1019 1187 929 |
 Charles Paige To: - | 1075 - 1276 1297 1392 733 |
1399 1040 1500 1254 1406 1001 |
Tietema and Wester (right) alongside Iwan Spekenbrink during the route presentation of the most recent Tour - photo: photo agency Cor Vos
