{"id":451426,"date":"2026-02-03T15:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/451426\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T15:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:45:12","slug":"they-have-more-riders-who-can-win-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/451426\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They have more riders who can win there\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a major blow<\/a> for the Unibet Rose Rockets<\/a> when it became clear the team would not be heading to the Tour de France. The decision sparked plenty of debate in the cycling world, with many struggling to understand it. But according to Johan Bruyneel<\/a>, the organisers\u2019 choice actually makes sense \u2014 and that, in turn, opens up opportunities for the team founded by Bas Tietema<\/a>.No Rockets in the Tour, but Spanish outfit Caja Rural\u2013Seguros RGA does get the wildcard. On THEMOVE<\/a>, Bruyneel explained how he believes that decision came about. In doing so, he looked at which teams did \u2014 and did not \u2014 get invitations to the Vuelta, because the Tour and the Vuelta fall under the same organisation: Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is that rotation in Spain, where Burgos and Kern Pharma were not invited to the Vuelta last year, because Caja Rural went together with Euskaltel-Euskadi,\u201d Bruyneel explained. Euskaltel-Euskadi miss out this year regardless, as they finished 34th in the team rankings at the end of the season. A place in the top 30 is required to receive an invitation to a Grand Tour.<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"bas-tietema-dylan-groenewegen-unibet-rose-rockets-2026\"\/\u2018I think it\u2019s a logical decision,\u2019 says Bruyneel<\/p>\n

In that top 30, Spanish-wise, you do have Burgos, Kern Pharma and Caja Rural. The first two were left out of the Vuelta last year, but that now appears set to change. The third team, Caja Rural, can therefore line up at the Tour \u2014 meaning everyone can count on a Grand Tour appearance.<\/p>\n

So, in Bruyneel\u2019s eyes, it all adds up. \u201cThe big reason is very simple: they\u2019re 25th in the team ranking. Ark\u00e9a and Intermarch\u00e9 are out, so they\u2019re 23rd. Then they are the first team after the automatic wildcards,\u201d said Bruyneel. The Belgian also listed more reasons. \u201cThe Tour also starts in Barcelona, Caja Rural is a team with a lot of history, and the company is a powerful bank in Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m not surprised, and I think it\u2019s a logical decision,\u201d Bruyneel added, while understanding the disappointment. \u201cI think everyone got swept up a bit in the hype around the Rose Rockets. That\u2019s also partly why fans on social media are so unhappy: it\u2019s a very popular team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n

\"bas-tietema-unibet-rose-rockets\"\/Bruyneel sees Giro opportunities: \u2018I think they have more riders who can win there\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite the setback, Bruyneel had praise for the Rockets. \u201cChapeau for what those guys are doing. At first everyone said: are these people really going to start a team? Three years later they\u2019re in the running for a Tour de France appearance. That\u2019s already great in itself. They\u2019ve also made some really nice signings.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the team\u2019s development, Bruyneel doesn\u2019t see missing the Tour as a disaster. \u201cI think they\u2019ll have to wait another year, or two years. I think they\u2019ve handled it very professionally. Everyone wants to go to the Tour, of course. Another year or two could actually be good for them, because then they can broaden the squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what should the Rockets do this year? The Giro d’Italia feels like the obvious option. \u201cWith Lafay and Poels\u2026 they can win a stage in the Giro. Kubis is also very good. I think they have more riders who can win there. I even think the Giro is the logical next step. Going straight to the Tour is a bit too much wishful thinking, if we\u2019re being honest,\u201d Bruyneel concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a major blow for the Unibet Rose Rockets when it became clear the team would not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[185677,49,48,635,15645,82,154679],"class_list":{"0":"post-451426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-bas-tietema","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-johan-bruyneel","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-unibet-rose-rockets"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}