TDT - Unibet: The biggest disruptors in Pro Cycling join SunGod in 2024.
Handing out pizzas to Tour de France finishers, running keepie-up challenges to find cycling's finest footballers; Tour de Tietema - Unibet are a team that do things differently. By late 2023, this close-knit group of friends found themselves owners of the latest UCI Pro Continental team, Tour de Tietema - Unibet.
Guided by the enthusiasm of ex-pro, Bas Tietema, this team have been shaking up the world of cycling by working backwards - building their fan base online before growing their capabilities on the road. With 2024 their biggest season to date, the team looked to take another step forwards, unlocking those headline performances while joining the likes of the INEOS Grenadiers as teams wearing SunGod on the road.
For a team that bills themselves as a "Sunday League Team", it's no surprise that Tour de Tietema - Unibet have a strong core foundation of racing not just for the win, but for the love of the sport. It's that infectious, fun loving approach that's bringing a new audience into cycling's old-school landscape.
Developing younger riders, highlighting their personalities and building a community around the team, Tour de Tietema - Unibet have grabbed the attention and shown bigger teams with bigger budgets a new fan-led way to approach the sport.
Not many Pro Teams teams have released their own movie, eh?
Despite the humble beginnings, Tour de Tietema - Unibet dream big. The goal of the team is to ride the Tour de France in 2026. With their recent upgrade to Pro Continental team after only a year at continental level, it's not quite so mad as it sounds. This year, they have become eligible for Wildcard entry into the Grand Tours - despite remaining an underdog in the Pro Peloton.
Their biggest race to date, the Tour of Britain, saw glimmers of brilliance from the ambitious young team, each day putting in the hard work upfront in the breakaway. In 2024, the team's programme will step up a gear, including a number of classics; notably, they hope to ride their home race, the Amstel Gold Race in April and the Tour of the Alps.
Speaking on the partnership, team founder Bas Tietema said: "With SunGod, Tour de Tietema - Unibet has access to some of the finest eyewear available in cycling. And not only that, they enable us to bring the colour and identity of our team to life, so watch this space!"
In the meantime, you can follow the team's ups and downs through their YouTube Channel (@TourdeTietema), where they give full access behind the scenes to see what it's like to run a pro team.
Full squad list:
Joren BLOEM, Davide BOMBOI, Jordy BOUTS, Martijn BUDDING, Cedrik CHRISTOPHERSEN, Hartthijs DE VRIES, Owen GELEIJN, Axel HUENS, Baptiste HUYET, Kevin INKELAAR, Jelle JOHANNINK, Tomáš KOPECKÝ, Zeb KYFFIN, Lander LOOCKX, Adrien MAIRE, Sebastian NIELSEN, Charles PAIGE, Nicklas Amdi PEDERSEN , Abram STOCKMAN , Andreas STOKBRO, Adam ŤOUPALÍK.
Team SunGod is packed with world-leading athletes. Explore the rest of Team SunGod.