Unibet Rose Rockets

The Unibet Rose Rockets are a Dutch UCI ProTeam status cycling team on a French license focusing on road bicycle racing.^[1] Bas Tietema created the team in 2023. The team upgraded from UCI Continental to UCI ProTeam status in 2024.^[2][3]

History

The main sponsor of the team is Unibet. They previously sponsored a different team in 2006/2007 (). However, owing to a dispute with major race organizers over gambling companies being sponsors they pulled out. Now with other teams having sponsors which are lotteries, Unibet decided to come back to professional cycling,^[4] although from 2028 teams sponsored by gambling companies will not be able to race in Belgium.^[5]

2023

Hugo Haak joined as Team Manager in 2023 after coaching on the Track for the past few years.^[6]

The team's calendar for 2023 consisted of mostly Belgian and Dutch races.^[7] The team's biggest victory was stage 1 of the ZLM Tour by Yentl Vandevelde. Despite this success, Vandevelde was let go by the team for 2024.^[8]

2024

They started their season with 12 new riders, and started their first race in Turkey at the Tour of Antalya where they won stage 1 with the rider Hartthijs de Vries. They then participated in their first UCI WorldTour race, the Amstel Gold Race. The team went on to win the general classification and a stage in the Oberösterreich Rundfahrt. In the summer of 2024, they rode their second UCI World Tour race the Renewi Tour, Davide Bomboi took a top 10 result. By the end of the year, the team announced that it would be renamed to Unibet Tietema Rockets and would ride on a French license from 2025 on.^[9]

2025

Results included a victory at the Cholet-Pays de la Loire by new rider Lukáš Kubiš and a victory in Paris–Camembert by Lander Lookx. The team also gained entry to larger races more frequently: their participation in cycling monument Paris-Roubaix through a wildcard was a key milestone. At the same time, the season was not without setbacks: new rider Giovanni Carboni became involved in a doping case and ultimately left the team. The team ended the year with the signings of experienced riders such as Dylan Groenewegen, Wout Poels and Victor Lafay. A partnership with Rose Bikes lead to a change in team name: from 2026, the team is named Unibet Rose Rockets.^[10]

2026

In March 2026, the team won their first UCI World Tour race, with Groenewegen winning the Tour of Bruges. The team was invited to the Giro d'Italia,^[11] but missed out on an invite to the Tour de France, despite media expectations.^[12]

Equipment

The team will be using Rose Bikes in the 2026 Season.^{[citation needed]}

Major wins

2023

Stage 1 ZLM Tour, Yentl Vandevelde

Overall Kreiz Breizh Elites, Hartthijs de Vries

Stage 3, Tomáš Kopecký

2024

Stage 4 Tour of Antalya, Hartthijs de Vries

Ster van Zwolle, Nicklas Amdi Pedersen

Overall Oberösterreich Rundfahrt, Adrien Maire

Stage 3, Adrien Maire

2025

Cholet Agglo Tour, Lukáš Kubiš

Paris–Camembert, Lander Loockx

Stage 4 International Tour of Hellas, Adrien Maire

Road Race Championships, Lukáš Kubiš

Stage 7 Tour de Langkawi, Zeb Kyffin

2026

Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, Dylan Groenewegen

Bredene Koksijde Classic, Dylan Groenewegen

Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré, Dylan Groenewegen

Tour of Bruges, Dylan Groenewegen

La Roue Tourangelle, Clément Venturini

Supplementary statistics

Sources:^[13]

References

1. ^ "UNIBET TIETEMA ROCKETS". UCI. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
2. ^ Hood, Ed (3 January 2023). "Harry Tanfield - with Tour de Tietema-Unibet for 2023". VeloVeritas. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
3. ^ Poole, George (20 November 2023). "‘The past few months have felt like playing ProCyclingManager’: TDT-Unibet aim for 2026 Tour de France". Global Cycling Network. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
4. ^ "Unibet signs partnership with Dutch cycling team Tour de Tietema". PR Newswire. Kindred Group.
5. ^ "Total ban on gambling advertisements in Belgium from 2028" (in Dutch). Wielerflits. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
6. ^ "Succescoach Haak aan de slag bij nieuwe Nederlandse wegploeg" [Successful coach Haak joins new Dutch road team] (in Dutch). NOS. 9 November 2022.
7. ^ McGrath, Andy (12 November 2022). "Unibet returns to pro cycling with Dutch YouTuber's new Continental team". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
8. ^ Zhasil, Ondrej (22 September 2023). "ZLM Tour stage winner Yentl Vandevelde has to look for new team as TDT-Unibet considers him "not ready for the next level"". CyclingUpToDate.com
9. ^ "TDT-UNIBET TO LAUNCH NEW IDENTITY FOR 2025". Unibet Rose Rockets. 2024-12-18. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
10. ^ "Rockets present new bike partner and team name". Unibet Rose Rockets. 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
11. ^ "Teams announced for the 2026 Giro d’Italia". Giro d'Italia 2026. 20 February 2026. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
12. ^ Silva, Rúben (2026-01-30). ""They don't claim to be French at all" - Tour de France director Prudhomme explains Unibet Rose Rockets snub and Caja Rural selection". CyclingUpToDate.com. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
13. ^ "Unibet Rose Rockets 2026". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
14. ^ "Paris-Roubaix Hauts-de-France 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
15. ^ "Classic Brugge-De Panne ME 2025 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
16. ^ "Ronde Van Brugge - Tour of Bruges ME 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
17. ^ "Dwars door Vlaanderen - A travers la Flandre ME 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
18. ^ "Amstel Gold Race 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
19. ^ "La Flèche Wallonne 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
20. ^ "Eschborn-Frankfurt 2026 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.
21. ^ "Copenhagen Sprint 2025 One day race results". www.procyclingstats.com. Retrieved 2026-05-08.

External links

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