Unibet Rose Rockets Signs Winner of WorldTour Classic
Raymond Kerckhoffs
Unibet Rose Rockets has once again signed an experienced rider with a WorldTour-level victory. After Dylan Groenewegen and Wout Poels, the originally Dutch team has brought in the Irishman Rory Townsend. The 30-year-old rider won the ADAC Cyclassics in Hamburg in August by outsprinting Arnaud De Lie and Paul Magnier.
With Townsend, Bas Tietema’s team adds valuable experience. Over the past two years, he raced for the Swiss Q36.5 Pro Cycling. In Hamburg, he surprised the entire peloton. The Irishman – who also has a strong history in Dutch UCI races – was the only one of the initial four-man breakaway to stay clear and managed to hold off the chasing peloton at the finish line.
Earlier in the year, Townsend won the Irish road race championship for the second time. This underlines that he performs best in one-day races. Although he has a solid sprint, he cannot be classified as a sprinter. Townsend's strength lies in launching an early attack and holding on with endurance to finish it off.
Rory Townsend after his victory in Hamburg - photo: fotopersburo Cor Vos
In the past, Townsend primarily raced for smaller British teams. In 2023, he rode for the New Zealand-based Bolton Equities Black Spoke Pro Cycling. In 2024, he makes the step up to Q36.5 Pro Cycling, a ProTeam that can compete with the best WorldTeams. Riding for the Swiss team led by Tom Pidcock, he participated in quite a few WorldTour races as well as his first Monuments. However, Townsend has never started a Grand Tour. He might get that opportunity with Unibet Rose Rockets.
Rory Townsend| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2022 |
