Unibet Tietema Rockets will compete under a different team name in races from 2026. Co-founder Bas Tietema will no longer serve as the namesake of the French team with Dutch roots next year. The team will henceforth be known as Unibet Rockets.
With a playful video on social media, the ProTeam announces Bas Tietema’s departure as namesake. He will remain involved as co-founder and team manager of the ambitious squad, however.
Although the cycling season is over, Unibet Rockets is already busy behind the scenes preparing for the new racing year. The team has been active in the transfer market recently, resulting in the signing of Dylan Groenewegen, Matyáš Kopecký, Niklas Larsen, and Elmar Reinders. In addition, the team is reportedly working on securing Wout Poels.
With this quality boost, Unibet Rockets hopes to participate in a Grand Tour next year. The team ranks among the top thirty in the 2025 UCI Team Rankings and thus has a chance to receive a wildcard for the Tour de France.
This is not a goobye.
This is a heartfelt thank you! 🫶
🥹 You may leave our name, but you will never leave the team…
🖍️ Unibet T̷i̷e̷t̷e̷m̷a̷ Rockets pic.twitter.com/FCkZJLgIdf
— Unibet Tietema Rockets (@rockets_cycling) October 20, 2025
Unibet Rockets will say goodbye to at least eight riders at the end of the season. In their newsletter, the team announced that Kevin Inkelaar, Davide Bomboi, Martijn Budding (retiring), Baptiste Huyet, Sebastian Nielsen, Charles Paige, Zeb Kyffin, and Andreas Stokbro will be leaving the team.
Furthermore, Odd Christian Eiking, Owen Geleijn, and Axel Huens have contracts expiring with the team. Their future status is currently unknown. The same applies to Giovanni Carboni, who is currently suspended.
