{"id":572989,"date":"2026-05-08T13:19:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572989\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:19:18","slug":"i-still-see-us-as-the-underdogs-inside-unibet-rose-rockets-remarkable-rise-from-youtube-stunts-to-a-giro-ditalia-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/572989\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I still see us as the underdogs’ \u2013 inside Unibet Rose Rockets’ remarkable rise from YouTube stunts to a Giro d’Italia debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bas Tietema<\/a> is standing on a hay bale in the middle of a vast, ploughed French field. Behind him the sun is setting in orange hues, and as it dips beneath the tree-lined horizon, the camera pans around Tietema\u2019s gangly figure. A heavy bass kicks in, and he begins thrashing his hands in finger guns. Next he\u2019s swigging bubbly from a bottle like a reveller welcoming the dawn. The year is 2019, and the Dutchman and his friends, Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel, are at the Tour de France<\/a> making content for their new YouTube channel, Tour de Tietema. This is their seventh video: a techno track dedicated to the afternoon\u2019s stage winner, Dylan Groenewegen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The video today has more than 130,000 views. Tietema\u2019s lyrics consist predominantly of Groenewegen\u2019s full name, repeated to the beat. \u201cHe didn\u2019t really love the song, because his son played it over and over again,\u201d Tietema laughs as we chat by video call. Days later, when I speak to Groenewegen \u2013 recovering at home from a crash at April\u2019s Scheldeprijs \u2013 he confirms the lyric quickly started to grate. \u201cFirst my son called me Daddy, then he heard the song and he started calling me Dylan Dylan Dylan Dylan Groenewegen all the time,\u201d he says, smiling as he mimics his son\u2019s head-bopping refrain. \u201cIt was not the best song, but it goes quite crazy,\u201d he concedes.<\/p>\n

BAS TIETEMA – DYLAN GROENEWEGEN (feat. DJ ONERAM) (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) | #6 TOUR DE TIETEMA 2019 – YouTube
\n\"BAS<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a>
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Groenewegen probably wouldn\u2019t have believed it at the time, but seven years on he is now employed by the video\u2019s creator. Moreover, he is the star sprinter of a team co-founded by three YouTuber friends, and will lead their Grand Tour debut<\/a> at this month\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia<\/a>, where they have a genuine shot at winning a stage.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From<\/p>\n

When the sprinter announced last August that he was joining the Rockets, some thought it must be a joke; why would a WorldTour rider \u2013 a man whose 81 career wins are surpassed among current peers only by Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d<\/a> and Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> \u2013 drop down to a second-tier ProTeam? \u201cIt was time for something new,\u201d Groenewegen says. \u201c[This team] do it a little bit differently on the media side, but that\u2019s what I like: new motivation, seeing things a bit differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change of scenery, it\u2019s clear, has paid off. In March, Groenewegen won three races in five days \u2013 surpassing his entire season haul last year with Jayco<\/a> AlUla \u2013 including the Rockets\u2019 first WorldTour scalp at the Ronde van Brugge<\/a>. Perhaps just as impressive was the fact the team uploaded an 18-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of that win to YouTube just hours after the finish. It\u2019s the sort of content Groenewegen\u2019s five-year-old son Mayson loves, and which is building the team\u2019s popularity as much as the wins themselves.<\/p>\n

Doing numbers<\/p>\n

The Unibet Rose Rockets recently claimed a major bragging right: they overtook Visma-Lease a Bike for YouTube subscribers. Here\u2019s their content operation in numbers:<\/p>\n

20 \u2013 members of staff employed in content, including in-house photographers, short- and long-form video creators. (The entire team counts 100 people, of which 30 riders.)<\/p>\n

310,000 \u2013 YouTube subscribers across the Tour de Tietema and Unibet Rose Rockets channels<\/p>\n

63 million \u2013 views across the two YouTube channels<\/p>\n

210,000 \u2013 Instagram followers<\/p>\n

\u201cAt my son\u2019s school, the young kids watch the videos on YouTube,\u201d Groenewegen says. \u201cWhat I like about this team is that they\u2019re trying to get young people into the sport. That\u2019s what the sport needs, and they\u2019re doing it in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In just three and a half years, the Rockets have risen from third-tier obscurity to big-time prominence \u2013 breaking through in their own, inimitable way. A pro team emerging from a YouTube channel is unconventional enough \u2013 let alone one run by three influencers turned first-time team owners in their early 30s. Even the genesis of their name is unusual: a team DS likened their first-year bikes to a Rocket ice lolly, and it stuck. They certainly break the mould, then, but do they prove that another way is possible? Can you really run a team on passion and the power of video content? To answer these questions, we have to go back to the beginning. The story starts with three friends, a silver van and a video camera.<\/p>\n

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

\u201cI had this idea of making challenges during the Tour de France,\u201d Tietema says. A former pro cyclist, the Dutchman\u2019s most famous result came on his one appearance at Paris-Roubaix<\/a>, in 2022, where he finished last, over an hour behind the winner. \u201cWhen I zoom out now, I don\u2019t think I was made for a professional career,\u201d the 31-year-old says. \u201cI\u2019m too much of an entrepreneur, someone who gets energy from doing a lot of different stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that drive that took him, aged 24 and with no accreditation, to the 2019 Tour. Starting a team was not yet even a germ of an idea in his mind; he simply had a list of 20 fun filming challenges for him and his two friends \u2013 from dressing up as riders, to handing out pizzas on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, to making a song for a stage winner. The trio\u2019s budget for the three weeks was \u20ac10,000, an amount he now describes as \u201cnot enough to be comfortable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked at McDonald\u2019s and we slept in tents. But we managed it, and [the resulting videos] blew up quite significantly,\u201d Tietema explains.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands watched those first Tour de Tietema videos, and come year two the audience ballooned again. With it came a more ambitious idea: launching a cycling team. \u201cI was pretty serious by then,\u201d Tietema says. Several big brands including Garmin<\/a> and \u0160koda were already on board as sponsors of the YouTube channel. \u201cI didn\u2019t fully understand what it meant to run a cycling team, but from a wider perspective, I saw a lot of potential and value in creating a team with a proper storyline.\u201d From the outset, it was entertainment \u2013 as much as racing \u2013 that would shape the project.<\/p>\n

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\"Unibet\n<\/p>\n

Tom\u00e1\u0161 Kopeck\u00fd on content duties at the Giro d’Italia presentation.<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Tour de Tietema-Unibet<\/a>, a 12-rider Continental squad, launched at the start of 2023. The ultimate ambition was simple: take the team to the Tour de France and go from cartoonish pizza deliverymen to serious competitors on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es. One of the first riders Tietema signed was amateur Tom\u00e1\u0161 Kopeck\u00fd, who is still on the squad today and will make his Grand Tour debut at this month\u2019s Giro. \u201cI remember my dad being really sceptical,\u201d Kopeck\u00fd says of the initial contract discussions. \u201cThey didn\u2019t have anything, they just had plans. I asked about a race programme and bikes, and they didn\u2019t have any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his scepticism, Kopeck\u00fd saw something in the project. The success of the YouTube videos had created momentum, and although he had already signed for another team, he was drawn to the attention-grabbing, fan-first model. He went back to his father, who lent him the money to buy out the other contract. \u201cMy dad said, \u2018Just do it. It\u2019s your feeling and your gut that has to tell you the right thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His impulse proved right: the 26-year-old is now a pro rider \u2013 the team having gained ProTeam status in 2024 \u2013 meaning he now travels in a fully equipped team bus and takes part in WorldTour races. Consequently, the team\u2019s budget is now multiples of the \u20ac10,000 with which Tietema funded his first Tour adventure. \u201cIt costs millions to run a pro cycling team nowadays,\u201d Tietema says. How many millions? \u201cIt\u2019s a bit like Bitcoin, it\u2019s growing really fast,\u201d he lets out a shy laugh. \u201cIn terms of making profit, maybe it would have been a better idea to just keep the YouTube channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three, two, one\u2026 takeoff!<\/p>\n

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\"Unibet\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

July 2019: Tour de Tietema YouTube channel launches with daily challenge videos at the Tour de FranceJanuary 2023: YouTubers Bas Tietema, Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel found 12-rider cycling team as Tour de Tietema-UnibetSeptember 2023: Team rides Tour of Britain, wins combativity award January 2024: Team steps up from third-tier Continental to second-tier ProTour in only second seasonApril 2024: WorldTour event debut at Amstel Gold RaceJanuary 2025: Team changes name to Rockets to form a clearer identity, swaps from a Dutch to French UCI licence with a Tour de France wild card in mindApril 2025: Monument debut at Paris-RoubaixMarch 2026: First WorldTour victory through Dylan Groenewegen at the Ronde van Brugge May 2026: Grand Tour debut at the Giro d\u2019Italia <\/p>\n

Financial pressures aside, Tietema has no regrets about starting a team. Eyeing a Grand Tour debut this season, he and his co-owners Wester and Van der Wiel peppered their 30-rider squad with WorldTour talent. Alongside Groenewegen, a six-time Tour stage winner, is his lead-out man Elmar Reinders, and former Team Sky climber Wout<\/a> Poels, whose 25 Grand Tour starts make him one of the most experienced heads in the peloton. Their coaching staff has also been bolstered by the appointment of retired sprinting superstar Marcel Kittel<\/a>, winner of 14 Tour stages.<\/p>\n

Their inclusion in this year\u2019s Giro<\/a> is a landmark moment for the Rockets, but they will not be at the Tour de France<\/a>. \u201cI think we were on the edge of participating,\u201d says Tietema, confirming talks took place with Tour organiser ASO about a wildcard for July. The final spot instead went to the established Spanish team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA. \u201cThat was a bummer,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Only ASO knows the reasoning. Perhaps the Rockets were not taken seriously enough \u2013 after all, the team\u2019s owners were performing pizza japes at the race only last year. More likely, their shortage of WorldTour wins (just one so far) counted against them, despite the fact that, as Tietema puts it, organisers increasingly \u201creally see the value […] of producing media content and bringing other people to the sport\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tietema regards the Giro as \u201cthe perfect step up for us\u201d. Stage one features a flat finish along the seafront in Burgas \u2013 a prime opportunity for Groenewegen. The team\u2019s hope, of course, is not only to take their first Grand Tour stage win but to turn it into compelling content. The race\u2019s eight flat stages provide plentiful opportunities for Groenewegen to make a splash in his starring role. \u201cFor sure we\u2019ll go for that first day,\u201d he smiles. \u201cYou can get the pink jersey, so let\u2019s try, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n

If he manages it, will he play Tietema\u2019s techno song on the bus? \u201cYou\u2019ll need to ask the boys that one,\u201d Groenewegen chuckles. \u201cThe last time they did it was after [I won March\u2019s Grote prijs Jean-Pierre] Monser\u00e9. I came back to the bus and my son was already there dancing. Everybody was screaming and yelling. That\u2019s also nice about this team: we celebrate a little longer than usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gone now are the days of dancing on hay bales to garner attention. Ahead of his team\u2019s first Grand Tour, Tietema is trying to keep his feet on the ground. He knows it will take something \u201creally exceptional\u201d for the Rockets to win a stage \u2013 no ProTeam has won at the Giro since Polti-VisitMalta\u2019s Davide Bais in 2023 \u2013 but it won\u2019t stop him believing. The team haven\u2019t kept to the script so far, and they aren\u2019t about to start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still see us as the underdogs,\u201d Tietema says. \u201c[In football terms] we\u2019re still that regional team that competes against Liverpool, Barcelona, Chelsea. But it\u2019s sport, and I think if you play it smart, and have a good team spirit, you can keep up with the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raising the stakes yet higher, if the Rockets finish as one of the top-three-ranked ProTeams this year, they\u2019ll receive an automatic invitation to all three Grand Tours next season. The Tour de France dream could come true as soon as next July. Just how far could they go? \u201c[We want to] become the team with the biggest fanbase in cycling,\u201d Tietema replies, unflinching. Anyone who finds this answer surprising hasn\u2019t been paying attention. \u201cIt\u2019s why we exist,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe want to be a team for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cycling is not a popularity contest, but if it were, the Rockets would already be leading the way.<\/p>\n

Rockets squad for the Giro<\/p>\n

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\"Unibet\n<\/p>\n

Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kubi\u0161 is the national champion of Slovakia. <\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Dylan Groenewegen (Ned, 31)
Elmar Reinders (Ned, 34)
Wout Poels (Ned, 38)
Tom\u00e1\u0161 Kopeck\u00fd* (Cze, 26)
Hartthijs de Vries* (Ned, 29)
Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kubi\u0161* (Svk, 26)
Niklas Larsen* (Den, 29)
Maty\u00e1\u0161 Kopeck\u00fd* (Cze, 23)<\/p>\n

* = Grand Tour debutant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bas Tietema is standing on a hay bale in the middle of a vast, ploughed French field. Behind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-572989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}