Caja Rural vs. The Rockets: analyzing the strengths of both teams
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA will participate in the Tour de France at the expense of Unibet Rose Rockets, ASO, the organizer, has announced. A wildcard for the French ProTeam of Dutch origin seemed a done deal, but once again it turns out that 'the riders make the race'—or do they? We compare our data from Cyclingflash.com for both teams.
Looking below at the 365 Team Ranking from Cyclingflash (based on who you race against, regardless of race level), we see that over the past year Unibet Rose Rockets has performed roughly on par with the Spanish team. So the teams are quite evenly matched.
However, our data shows that Unibet Rose Rockets has strengthened significantly more (also due to more incoming than outgoing transfers) than their Spanish counterparts. In fact: we see a decline in a number of areas. Interestingly, they have added seven new riders while only five have departed.
When we place both current rosters side by side, we must conclude that Unibet Rose Rockets overall has strong riders. Lukáš Kubiš, Clément Venturini, and Dylan Groenewegen are all, according to our Cyclingflash data, stronger than the strongest rider of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, newcomer Stefano Oldani.
The second and third strongest riders of the Spanish team (Dutchman Alex Molenaar and Fernando Barcélo) are, according to our data, stronger than, for example, Rory Townsend, Matyáš Kopecký, and Wout Poels, who occupy those spots on the Unibet Rose Rockets squad, including sprinters Fernando Gaviria and Iuri Leitão.
Putting ourselves in the seat of both team managers, we also have to look at which riders could be considered for a Tour selection. In the WielerFlits Podcast in November, we already did this for Unibet Rose Rockets. We identified seven names then, and now we add Venturini for convenience.
Unibet Rose Rockets for the 2026 Tour de France according to WielerFlits
Odd Christian Eiking
Dylan Groenewegen
Lukáš Kubiš Victor Lafay Wout Poels Elmar Reinders
Clément Venturini Hartthijs de Vries
When we look at the qualities of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA below, we try to form a Tour-worthy selection there as well. Based on their recent Vuelta a España selection, we at least count attacker Molenaar and strong all-rounder Jakub Otruba, as well as young climbers Abel Balderstone and Jaume Guardeño. They finished thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively, in the latest Vuelta general classification.
To support them, the team can rely on veteran Fernando Barcélo. He has ridden the Vuelta five times and is the most experienced climber on Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. Naturally, Fernando Gaviria will also be present as a sprinter and former stage winner. For lead-out duties, they could choose Iuri Leitão over the younger Sergi Darder. Additionally, Stefano Oldani, the best overall rider and former Giro d’Italia stage winner, cannot be missing.
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA for the 2026 Tour de France according to WielerFlits
Abel Balderstone
Fernando Barcélo
Fernando Gaviria
Jaume Guardeño
Iuri Leitão
Alex Molenaar
Stefano Oldani
Jakub Otruba
