DACH, Kittel, a famous triathlete and now Tietema: what you need to know about the Rockets’ new sponsor

On Monday evening, the Rockets announced in a playful video that Tietema would no longer be part of the team's name next year. The following day, the German bicycle brand ROSE was announced as the new name sponsor and bicycle supplier. “For us, Rose is more than just a bicycle supplier. It is a true partner that shares our vision,” said Tietema.

“We always knew that one day Tietema would leave the team name,” explained the founder, who will remain on board for clarity's sake. “The change of team name was something we had been working on for a long time, and we looked very carefully at who we wanted to work with.”

"The combination of name and bicycle sponsor is a very important piece of the team's puzzle, and it also brings a lot of change, so we made a very conscious choice for ROSE. "There was an idea behind it. We come from Tour de Tietema, and it would be strange if there had been no overlap, so we've had a pretty smooth transition. Now we've found the right moment to secure a good partner, while at the same time establishing the Rockets' part as our identity."

The ROSE brand is not very famous in the Netherlands yet, but make no mistake: we're not talking about a minor player here. It may approach the sport in a different way than the brands we all know, with more focus on social media. For example, it works with Marcel Kittel, a very popular German cyclist, and sponsors triathlete Julia Schuler (with almost 700,000 followers on Instagram).

In line with this is Unibet Tietema Rockets, which is popular with the young target group. “ROSE is not yet with a professional team, but in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, they are really big with physical stores. They also approach cycling in a very innovative way, and that combination makes it very valuable to us: together we can achieve a lot,” explains Tietema.

What should we as Dutch people know about the brand? “They are known for D2C: selling directly to consumers. In terms of price-to-quality, they are among the best companies in the market. They are located in Berlin and Hamburg, but actually also just across the border with the Netherlands. They are a kind of Apple store, with their own approach.”

“The last few years have been very challenging for the bicycle market, but they have continued to build steadily and in a good way,” says Tietema about the company that originated in Bocholt. “It’s still a family business, which is great for us: there are three of us, of course,” he says, referring to partners in crime Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel. “So, as entrepreneurs, we’re in this together. We’re busy with development and the bikes that are coming.”

With Jannis Petter, the originally Dutch but now French-licensed Unibet Tietema Rockets immediately attracted a German rider. Will there be greater focus on the DACH countries—Germany, Austria, and Switzerland? "It won't really change anything in the short term. In any case, I consider ourselves an international team, and I think we have a lot of freedom in that regard. Germany is a large market, and many people follow the sport from that country."

“That could be very interesting for us, also in terms of competitions. In the long term, they also want to grow further in Europe,” says Tietema about ROSE, which is currently mainly active in German-speaking countries. “At the moment, there aren’t many Germans riding at the highest level, but I think that after a few difficult years, Florian Lipowitz has made a breakthrough in the market.”

“There are many emerging talents, and with Jannis Peter, we have now attracted someone who has already demonstrated his ability to ride at a professional level,” explains Tietema, who was also interested in Anton Schiffer, who left for Visma | Lease a Bike. “Lipowitz also started with the Sibiu Tour and is now riding with the leaders in the Tour.”

And all of this will happen on the new ROSE bike, which team leader Dylan Groenewegen also helped develop. “Behind the scenes, I've seen the bike, of course. That's one of the things you want to see when you sign somewhere. ROSE has worked very hard on a very nice bike, which you'll see next year,” says the fast man.

“It sounds good. Unibet ROSE Rockets sounds good, haha. Besides that, it's a large, beautiful family business that has been around for a long time,” says Groenewegen, who already gave a preview of 2026 on social media. “Now they are looking to the future and want to improve their products further. That's something the Rockets want too, so that we can help each other.”