Unibet Rose Rockets come away empty-handed: Wildcards for Tour de France fixed
Julian Schultz
· 30.01.2026
In addition to the 18 World Tour teams, the three best-placed teams from the Pro Series will also receive automatic starting rights, as in the previous year. This means that Cofidis (France), Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling (Switzerland) and Tudor Pro Cycling (Switzerland) complete the field of participants. The Tour of France starts this year in Barcelona, Spain, with a team time trial. After two more stages on Spanish soil, the race heads to France. The final stage traditionally ends in Paris on the Champs Élysées.
While TotalEnergies has already benefited from one of the coveted wildcards in previous years, this is the first time that Caja Rural has received an invitation. The previous Grand Tour starts of the second-division team from Pamplona/Spain were limited to the Vuelta a España. The most prominent rider in the squad is Fernando Gaviria (Colombia). The 31-year-old Colombian joined the team this season from Movistar. In addition to two stage wins at the Tour de France, the sprint specialist has also won five stages at the Giro d'Italia so far.
This also makes it clear that one of the most exciting projects in professional cycling at the moment will come away empty-handed: the Unibet Rose Rockets around top sprinter Dylan Groenewegen will have to wait (at least) another year to be allowed to take part in the Grand Boucle for the first time. "2026 will still be an incredible year and we will do everything we can to improve further," said team boss Bas Tietema, adding: "The Tour de France is and remains our dream race."
The teams of the Tour de France 2026
World Tour teams
- Alpecin Premier-Tech
- Bahrain-Victorious
- Decathlon CMA CGM
- EF Education-Easypost
- Groupama-FDJ United
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Lidl Trek
- Lotto Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- NSN Cycling Team
- Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco AlUla
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- UAE Team Emirates-XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
Top 3 Pro Teams
- Cofidis
- Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling
- Tudor Pro Cycling
Wildcards Pro-Teams
- Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
- TotalEnergies
Julian Schultz
Editor
