Wout Poels on debut at Unibet Rose Rockets: "Of course I want to go to the Tour de France one more time"
Team Sky, Bahrain Victorious, XDS Astana. Wout Poels rode for major WorldTour teams for years, but in 2026 he will compete for a ProTeam: Unibet Rose Rockets. How big is that transition? "It’s a somewhat bigger transition, but a fun one," said the 38-year-old climber during the team training camp in Spain for our camera.
"You especially notice it in the organization. You can't really compare WorldTeams and ProTeams. Everything is a bit more small-scale," said Poels, for whom the move to Unibet Rose Rockets was a conscious choice. "I still want to ride really enjoyably for one more year and race slightly smaller races where I can still achieve good results. Then this opportunity came along. I think this is a good match."
Tour de France
Although Unibet Rose Rockets competes at the second pro level, the team has a good chance of riding the Tour de France. Poels could participate in La Grande Boucle for the twelfth time. "If we do the Tour, it would of course be great to do it once more. But if not, I can also really enjoy somewhat smaller races, like the Tour of Hungary or Tour of Turkey. I just really like those races to do. And there, I can still compete for the win."
When Poels signed with the Rockets, he thought a Grand Tour would no longer be in the cards for him. "But pretty soon after, it became clear we had a good chance to ride the Tour. And yes, then you definitely want to go there again. What challenge would I have there? Of course, you want to try to win a stage again. That’s very difficult in the Tour, but that’s what we will aim for," said the climber, who won a mountain stage in the 2023 Tour de France.
Whether it happens at the Tour or not, Poels has the ambition to win at least one race in 2026. "That’s mostly for my own stats, because I’ve won a race with every team I’ve been on. That seems like a nice challenge to me."
Future with the Rockets?
Unibet Rose Rockets has made significant progress in recent seasons, moving from a Continental team to a potential Tour de France squad. Poels sees it as a 'great project' where he can pass on his experience. When it comes to passing on experience, he might also take on a different role with the Rockets in the future. The Limburg native is 'ninety percent sure' he will retire after this season.
"One of the conditions for switching was that after this year I might still be able to do something with the team. We don’t know yet what exactly. And I have to figure out what I want, just like the team. But there are possibilities," said Poels, who will move back to the Netherlands in 2026 after living in Monaco for years. "It’s nice to live close to everyone again, especially family and friends."
