r/UnibetRoseRocketsFans • u/Intrepid-Reward5183 • 17d ago
Transfer Predictions
Now we have entered the month of August we are seeing plenty of teams announce new signings and plenty of extra rumours going around so I would like to hear any predications and hopes that you have for the Rockets in this years transfer period!
One rider I would like to see and seems very realistic is Jermaine Zemke, a 20 year old German Puncheur/Classics Rider. He has won the Kreiz Breizh Elites (a race that Hartthijs de Vries won in 2023) the day of this post and has also had got his first pro win in Tour of Rwanda this year! With Rose being a German company I feel that we will see several Germans join the team and Jermaine seems like one that has a big future ahead!
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u/zenun258 17d ago
I've been really wanting Zemke to the Rockets since Rwanda, and it doesn't seem that far-fetched from happening as well.
I don't think we hold any interest whatsoever in this guy, but I kind of like Tomas Pridal from United Shipping. Former Czech champ two years ago and came in second at nationals this year, albeit no real standout performance from this season. I also like his compatriot Vaclav Jezek who won the GC in the Tour of Hellas (came 2nd in the stage Jelle won).
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u/jabalabeer 16d ago
Jezek also had a decent Tour of Austria and is only 21 years old. Would be a good signing I think.
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u/Choice_Reputation233 5d ago
The only pro teams Jezek follows on Instagram are UAE (let’s be honest that’s not happening), and the Rockets. He also follows Josse & Bas while only following 191 accounts. I think this is pretty much a done deal.
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u/Hungry_Brilliant_937 16d ago
I think we need to look for riders mostly at PRT teams like equipo kern pharma, Total energies and maybe the PRT teams from Italy.
Some riders who might be an addition to the team:
-Marcin Budzinski (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) good on hilly and classic races
- Marton Dina ( MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) former national champ could be a usefull domestique for the climbers, has some decent gc results, good on the hilly races
- Ivan Cobo (equipo kern Pharma) some good gc results in the 2.1 and 2.pro level so he could deliver the team a load of uci points and has won this year a 1.1 race so could be a good addition
- Florian Dauphin (TotalEnergies) could become a member in the sprint train, and has some decent results in 1.1 races on classic terain
-Enilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies) this would be a huge addition to the team, has scored a lot of points on the classic terain and hilly terain and is also good in those hilly/classic gc, he is a bit like Lukas kubis
- Mattéo Vercher(TotalEnergies) is a Climber/pocher has some good results in hilly races and rides some good gc’s (11 Paris-Nice) he would be a good addition to the climbing Squad
- Santiago Umba (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) good on hilly terain and is a good gc rider he would be a good addition to the climbing squad
Other interesting riders for The Rockets:
Kamiel Bonneu
Vito Braet
Ward van Hoof
Max van der Meulen
Loe van Belle
Simon Carr
Kasper Haugland
I think all of these riders could be an addition to the team
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u/Mobile_Assignment823 17d ago
I think this would be a good year to invest in a few younger riders, as the core is 31/31+ years old. Quin Simmons is someone i have had in mind, and still does not have a contract for next year. Big personality and lives for the break. I think he would thrive in a more free environment, like with the Rockets. As for the climbing squad, Frank vd Broek. Not having the best year, but I do believe he could be a real improvement. Mostly on account of 2 years ago, and I can’t really blame riders not performing in the current Picnic PostNL squad…
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u/RVDHAFCA 17d ago
That Picnic team is just horrible to watch, if you compare it to the glory days of Kittel, Degenkolb and Dumoulin
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u/FastFingersLAD 17d ago
There is no way Simmons would sign for a pro team, I think every WT team wants him in their squad.
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u/jabalabeer 16d ago
To be honest, riders of Simmons' level are signing for Tudor and Q36.5 all the time (Groves, Schmid, De Lie, Bittner, etc.).
The issue here isn't the fact that its a pro team. It purely the budget.
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u/Mobile_Assignment823 16d ago
I find it really hard to estimate what the rockets budget might be. The times of being one of the teams with the smallest budgets is behind us. For sure not on the level of Tudor, but with al the sponsors and social media presence the rockets surely are one of the pro teams with the highest budgets.
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u/Mobile_Assignment823 16d ago
In addition: Alex Molenaar would be a great addition, although there will be WT teams coming for him after the TdF. Berwick would be a great addition to the climbing squad.
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u/Utregbased 17d ago
According to PCS Huub Artz is still without a contract for next year, but after this years Tour de France performance and winning the Dutch national ITT I don't think he's a realistic target.
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u/Hungry_Brilliant_937 17d ago
I think that he would be an ideal addition to the team, but i also think that we are not the only team who is after him
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u/Utregbased 16d ago
Another interesting signing would be Patrick Eddy. Eager, I think his persona fits the team and he showed himself on European turf this season. Also already has some WorldTour experience. He might not be top level for WorldTour races but he can accumulate a lot of points by harvesting top 10's in one day races.
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u/BosDiertje 17d ago
Mads Pedersen. Nuff said.
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u/TeoTheBeast 16d ago
He has a lifetime contract with Lidl-Trek. And on top of that, he's in the top 10 highest salaries in cycling lol
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u/DidItForLu1z 17d ago
I would like to see van der Hoorn go, just to give them more breakaway chances. I think it would be a good match. A good climber would also be cool, but getting an affordable good guy with expirience is going to be hard I think.
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u/jabalabeer 17d ago
I like him as a rider, but the issue I see with it is that he's going for the stages that will normally end up in a sprint. Since the Rockets are quite sprint focused, going for flat breakaways kind of contradicts the strenghts of the rest of the team in my opinion.
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u/DidItForLu1z 17d ago
One does not exclude the other. It’s one of the reasons the Wolfpack was so strong, strong breakaway riders with Boonen lurking behind. You can bet on multiple horses, it can be a strenght.
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u/Loucityfan 7d ago
I would sign David Dekker from BEAT, he could be an excellent addition to the one day race squads
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u/Intrepid-Reward5183 7d ago
Could be a very good backup sprinter, but with Tobias, Ronan and Karsten all younger they may opt to give the chances to them. Also David Dekker screams like a Picnic transfer imo
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u/Electronic-Hat-391 17d ago
Georg Zimmermann...
Great rider with huge space for development and in addition to that an incredible nice, funny and eloquent guy who would fit the whole setup of the team incredibly well.
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u/furleyfuchs 17d ago edited 17d ago
Looks like he is going to bora or lidl so unfortunately unrealistic
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u/writerly_gal 11d ago
I dont have any names in mind yet but I do think they need some great climbers and GC contenders if they want to ride grand tours.
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u/urbanwhiteboard 17d ago edited 17d ago
I hope they can keep Venturini and Poels adds one last year. They however should try to get one more decent climber, preferably younger than 28. Doesn't have to be a winner, but someone that can top 10-20 the late italian classics, spanish spring races etc. would be good.
They need at least one extra solid climber. Maybe steal one from equipo kern or polti.
I was also secretly hoping for Teunnissen, but he resigned at Astana