"Bas Tietema and his Unibet Rockets may be about to reel in a whopper from the WorldTour pond"

After a wave of eye-catching, at times surprising transfers, Unibet Tietema Rockets—set to become Unibet Rose Rockets in 2026—are being linked to another major WorldTour catch. Bas Tietema’s outfit is named as one of three possible destinations for Fernando Gaviria, who is out of contract.

The Dutch-run team with a French licence has been busy on the incoming market. The snowball started rolling with the early capture of top sprinter Dylan Groenewegen—and it’s become an impressive one ever since.

After Groenewegen and his trusted lead-out Elmar Reijnders (Jayco AlUla), team owner Bas Tietema also secured WorldTour riders Wout Poels (XDS Astana) and Victor Lafay (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). Strong performers Rory Townsend (Q36.5), Niklas Larsen (BHS-PL Beton Bornholm) and, most recently, Ronan Augé (CIC-U-Nantes) have also opted for the team.

According to French media, Lafay and Augé might not be the last Frenchmen to strengthen Tietema’s squad. Velo-club.net reports that Clément Venturini is also on Unibet’s radar, though the fast finisher has other options for next season and—by mid-November—still has a choice to make. He’s out of contract at the folding Arkéa-B&B Hotels.

Venturini is known in the Low Countries as a cyclo-crosser, but he’s more than capable on the road. He rode the Tour de France this year, finishing a respectable 43rd for a sprinter, and picked up a good haul of WorldTour points along the way—though it wasn’t enough to save Arkéa-B&B Hotels.

Venturini previously spent years with Cofidis and AG2R, making him a familiar name in France. In 2017 he won the overall at the Four Days of Dunkirk and has started all three Grand Tours at least once. Whether he’s the next announcement, however, remains to be seen—there are reportedly more names linked to the six open roster spots for 2026.

From Italy came Friday’s standout rumour: journalist Beppe Conti said on RAI Sport that Fernando Gaviria is out of contract at Movistar and has three options—Unibet, Cofidis and Caja Rural. Gaviria may have slipped a little from the spotlight in recent years, but at 31 he’s still the sprinter who burst through with five Giro d’Italia stage wins (four in 2017, one in 2019) and two Tour de France stages (2018).

He owns 52 pro victories in total; his most recent came in February 2024 at the Vuelta a Colombia.