Pizza at Alpe d'Huez? Unibet Rose Rockets aren't at the Tour de France (yet), but they might still feature before the end

It’s been a regular feature in recent years: Bas Tietema and the Tour de Tietema guys with their challenges in the Tour de France. As of 2026, they’re staying away for now, but Bas has good news: they’ll still be there in the Alps. He also explains why he, Josse Wester, and Devin van der Wiel won’t be doing the entire race anymore.

"One of the questions I’ve been asked most often over the past few days is, ‘Shouldn’t you be in France?’" he begins in the newsletter. "Just last week I was at the Grand Départ in Barcelona, but now I, too, am watching the Tour de France from my couch. And to be honest, that feels pretty strange,” says Bas, for whom it would, of course, have been the ultimate experience to ride the race with his Unibet Rose Rockets.

"In the early years of our Tour de Tietema adventure, Josse, Devin, and I would invariably spend the entire month of July traveling through France in our Škoda. From campground to Airbnb, from challenge to challenge, from gas station coffee to editing sessions that went on way too late into the night. "The Tour was our month," he recalls.

Bas Tietama leads the Unibet Rose Rockets, the internet sensation that went from a Youtube channel to the Giro d'italia as a wildcard team. Their goal is an entry at the Tour de France, b but it has eluded them so far.

"But our lives look a little different now. The Tour de France remains, of course, the sporting highlight of the year, but with everything going on with our own cycling team, we unfortunately have to make some choices. Where do we invest our time and energy? And how do we make sure that one big dream becomes a reality: to one day stand at the start of the Tour de France ourselves with the Rockets?"

"Spending a month camping in France isn't necessarily the best way to prepare for that right now. As much fun as it is. But believe me: if we ever line up at the starting line with the Rockets, we'll definitely be there for the whole month. With all the trimmings," Bas promises. “Until then, we’re happy to keep the traditions alive. Because we haven’t forgotten where we came from.”

"We've been at the Tour de France every year since 2019, and we'll be there again this year," said Bas. "For the final week of the Tour, we booked a place on Airbnb near Alpe d’Huez. From there, we’ll experience the legendary mountain stages, take on a few challenges, of course, and who knows—we might even take a few orders for the final day in Paris…,” he says, referring to the annual pizza delivery for the riders.