The quiff is coming back to bike racing.
Six years after ending his career as a professional cyclist, German sprinter Marcel Kittel is the latest big name to join the Unibet Rose Rockets. The news was broken in characteristically creative fashion on Saturday morning in a video showing founder Bas Tietema pondering his team’s sprint train via the medium of Lego figures. He lists Tomáš (Kopecký), Lukáš (Kubiš) and, of course, newcomer Dylan Groenewegen, then, after a bit of daydreaming, who should appear, but Kittel himself.
“Do you need any help?”
Bas Tietema, co-owner Devin van der Wiel, and GM Josse Wester head up an organisation that has not put a foot wrong in recent months; the Rockets are riding the crest of a wave that looks set to carry them all the way to the start line of the Tour de France in 2026. First there was the confirmation of Groenewegen’s rumoured transfer, then the addition of veteran stage racer Wout Poels, Irish fast man Rory Townsend, and last but very much not least, French maverick Victor Lafay, himself rescued from the edge of retirement. And this all happened within the context of a shifting landscape that clears the way to a first-ever Grand Tour wild card.
Kit Nicholson
The addition of a 14-time Tour stage winner is yet another statement of intent in the Dutch-turned-French team’s young life.
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