EXCLUSIVE The Giro d’Italia starts in Bulgaria on Friday – and the Unibet Rose Rockets will be part of the peloton as cycling’s YouTube team takes part in their debut grand tour
“Cycling has always been about storytelling,” Bas Tietema admitted, after pausing for a brief moment, reflecting on the rise of his team – the Unibet Rose Rockets.
Tietema, somewhat of an outlier in the prim and proper world of cycling, has ripped up the rulebook when it comes to running a professional team. As a youngster, the Dutchman was a promising cyclist – racing for BMC’s development team.
However, a serious skin allergy forced him to abandon dreams of a spot in the professional peloton. But Tietema wasn’t finished with the sport, and, instead, he launched a YouTube channel in 2019 : Tour de Tietema, alongside close pals Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel.
In early videos, they handed out pizza on the Champs-Élysées after the final stage of the Tour de France, and hosted their own Ronde van Vlaanderen after the professional version was cancelled due to Covid-19.
However, not just content with comedy skits, there was an idea to launch their own cycling team – and, with the backing of betting company Unibet, TDT-Unibet Cycling Team was born in 2023.
Tietema served as a rider and Assistant Sports Director during the early years. In 2025, they rebranded as the Rockets, while in 2026, Tietema’s name was dropped in favour of new investors: German bike manufacturers Rose.
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It’s been a meteoric rise for the Rockets, and in their latest mission to the stars, they will line up at the Giro d’Italia – one of cycling’s three Grand Tours alongside the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
“That’s not something that normally happens,” Tietema continued, speaking via a video call to Daily Star Sport just over a week before the Giro rolls out of Bulgaria.
“Our big goal is to win a stage. There are 21 stages, so we have 21 chances.” And Tietema has already circled the first stage in his calendar, a sprint stage that will take the riders from Nessebar to Burgas.
It’s a huge chance for their marquee winter signing, Dylan Groenewegen, to take the first pink jersey of the race. Groenewegen is the team’s star and the six-time Tour de France stage winner’s signing was announced with a documentary-length YouTube video.
The Dutchman’s signing was a full-circle moment for Tietema and his pals; one of the first videos shared on their channel was a song dedicated to the sprinter.
Groenewegen’s signing and the subsequent acquisitions of Victor Lafay and Wout Poel were a huge coup for a team that still relies on wildcards for the biggest races.
Their ultimate goal is the Tour de France. However, they were snubbed by ASO for the 2026 edition: “That’s still the big ambition. So it was a bit of a bummer at the time when we didn’t get it.
“But everything is connected. When you don’t receive the wildcard, the whole ecosystem changes. Following that news, things began to accelerate, and we moved towards the Giro d’Italia.
“Now, especially with the sprint stage start, it’s a cool step. It was about changing mindset and finding a new opportunity. We believe we are ready for a Grand Tour.”
The Rockets have hit blast off in the spring, with Groenewegen earning four out of their five victories this season. “I think the first win was really special,” Tietema added.
“It was the first race for him, the first for the sprint group, and it wasn’t just a normal sprint – the team had to control things, create a group, and bring it all together. Seeing that puzzle come together so early was super cool…
“Sprints are always nerve-wracking – you build the whole race towards one moment, and then it can go completely right or wrong. Sometimes you build everything, and then suddenly, it’s just over!”
Stage One offers a chance for the sprint train, under the watchful eye of Tour icon Marcel Kittel, to strike their biggest win yet as the Giro races into Burgas.
However, for Tietema, it’s the latest step in a journey that continues to move at the pace of a proverbial rocket.
“How we’ve stepped up as a team, and also where we are now in the UCI rankings – competing with strong teams – that’s a big compliment to the whole organisation,” he added.