‘We want to be visible, race offensively and make an impact’ – Unibet Rose Rockets to race Giro d’Italia after wildcard teams announced

Unibet Rose Rockets are to make their Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia in May, it was revealed on Friday.

The French ProTeam missed out on Tour de France participation for 2026, despite being widely tipped, but will instead ride the three-week race in Italy.

Along with the Unibet Rose Rockets, all 18 WorldTour teams will be present, along with Tudor, Pinarello–Q36.5, Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, and Polti VisitMalta. It means Cofidis have forfeited their qualified position at the Giro.

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All 18 WorldTour teams automatically qualify, plus five ProTeams: the three best performing of 2025, according to UCI points, and two further wildcards. However, with Cofidis not racing, there is an extra slot.

The race begins on 5 May in Bulgaria. Unibet Rose Rockets have won one race in 2026 to date, the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, through Dylan Groenewegen.

The Dutchman, a six-time Tour de France stage winner, isn’t the only Unibet rider to have Grand Tour experience, with Wout Poels, Victor Lafay and Odd Christian Eiking also on the team.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to ride our first Grand Tour. The Giro d’Italia is one of the most iconic races in cycling, and to be there with the Unibet Rose Rockets is a milestone for our entire project,” founder Bas Tietema said.

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“This wildcard is a recognition of the work of our riders, staff and partners, and it gives us the chance to present ourselves to an even larger international audience on the highest stage of the sport.”

“We are not going to the Giro just to participate: we are going there to compete,” he continued. “Our clear objective is to win a stage, and naturally the first stage stands out as a sprint opportunity with the pink jersey at stake. From day one, we want to be visible, race offensively and make an impact.”

Giro d’Italia 2026 teams

– Alpecin-Premier Tech (WT)
– Bahrain Victorious (WT)
– Bardiani CSF 7 Saber (PRT)
– Decathlon CMA CGM (WT)
– EF Education-EasyPost (WT)
– Groupama-FDJ United (WT)
– Ineos Grenadiers (WT)
– Jayco AlUla (WT)
– Lidl-Trek (WT)
– Lotto Intermarché (WT)
– Movistar (WT)
– NSN Cycling (WT)
– Picnic PostNL (WT)
– Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling (PRT)
– Polti VisitMalta (PRT)
– Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe (WT)
– Soudal Quick-Step (WT)
– Tudor Pro Cycling (PRT)
– UAE Team Emirates-XRG (WT)
– Unibet Rose Rockets (PRT)
– Uno-X Mobility (WT)
– Visma-Lease a Bike (WT)
– XDS Astana (WT)