From YouTube to Tour de France: Can the Unibet Tietema Rockets secure a 2026 wildcard?

For the Unibet Tietema Rockets, a unique and intriguing team, the goal since their inception in 2023 has been clear, as stated on their official website, “Our ambition has always been and will always be to win in the Tour de France.” That ambition is beginning to look increasingly likely, having strengthened their squad and potentially benefiting from significant changes in the cycling landscape. 

"With making the top 30 this season and the growth we're going through, we want to be as well-prepared as possible should the opportunity arise," said team founder Bas Tietema to Wielerflits, whose squad will drop “Tietema” from its name next season to make way for new title sponsor ROSE Bikes.

The team, founded in 2023 by the former Dutch professional turned YouTuber, now team owner, Tietema, alongside Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel, has made their Tour ambitions clear from the beginning.

With the YouTube channel being named as Tour de Tietema, growing success from the trio making entertaining content at the Tour de France, such as wheelie challenges featuring the riders, as well as the traditional delivery of well-deserved pizzas to the riders in Paris at the end of stage 21, it always made sense that this would be the ambition for the team.

This ambition has been illustrated ahead of 2026 with the signing of six-time Tour de France stage winner, Dylan Groenewegen, on a two-year deal. It has also been reported by Daniel Benson that the team are in advanced talks to sign another decorated Dutch rider, Wout Poels, the 2016 Liège–Bastogne–Liège and former Tour de France stage winner.

Recent developments have significantly improved their wildcard chances. The merger between Lotto and Intermarché-Wanty has opened a WorldTour licence for Uno-X Mobility, while Cofidis's relegation from WorldTour status and Arkéa-B&B Hotels' demise have reshuffled the French team landscape.

For the 2026 Tour, 18 WorldTour teams will receive automatic invitations, with the three highest-ranked ProTour teams expected to be Cofidis, Tudor and Q36.5, also guaranteed spots. This leaves two wildcard invitations at the race organisers' discretion.

TotalEnergies, the French team with over 20 previous Tour appearances and recent success, including Anthony Turgis's stage win in 2024 and Jordan Jegat's 10th place overall in 2025, are virtually assured one wildcard position.

"If there are teams above you that drop out, everything shifts," Tietema explained. "You have eighteen WorldTeams, three guaranteed wildcards, and then two remain. Then you have TotalEnergies, who have earned their stripes in recent years with Jordan Jegat and Anthony Turgis. But I still find it very hard to say that we are next in line," said Tietema who remains cautious.

Only teams ranked in the top 30 of the UCI Team Rankings are eligible for wildcards. Apart from TotalEnergies and the Unibet Tietema Rockets, both French-registered, the eligible teams include Spanish squads Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Burgos-Burpellet BH, Equipo Kern Pharma, and Italian teams VF Group-Bardiani-CSF Faizanè and Polti-VisitMalta.

The fact that the team are French registered, despite their Dutch foundations, gives them an added boost in their chances compared to the other teams, who are likely to target wildcards for their home Grand Tours instead.

Tietema remains cautious about their prospects but acknowledges they're planning for a potential Tour participation.

"In the end, we did bring in Dylan Groenewegen, someone with whom you can be competitive in the Tour. To that extent, we did take the growth of our team into account," said Tietema. "With how we rode in 2025 and the reinforcements yet to come, I hope there will be stages where we can perform well. With Lukáš Kubiš and Dylan, we truly have riders who can compete at the highest level, whether in classics or sprint stages."

"But the tricky thing about wildcards is that they're unpredictable. Will you get an invitation or not? That's still an open question for us. We try to be as well-prepared as possible," said Tietema.

Tietema will be in attendance at the Tour de France 2026 route presentation on Thursday, and hopes that his team will be on the start line in Barcelona come July 4 for the Spanish Grand Départ.