New year, definitely new life for Dylan Groenewegen. After ten seasons in the World Tour (six with Jumbo-Visma and four with Jayco-AlUla), the Dutch sprinter has decided to step down a category to embrace the cause and become the face of an increasingly rising ProTeam like Unibet Rose Rockets led by Bas Tietema.

Here, within a context where ambition has grown in parallel with budget and professionalization, the 32-year-old from Amsterdam will try to relaunch himself after a season with only three victories and twelve podiums (the least prolific since 2021) while hopefully driving the performances of a team that, in the coming weeks, will seek to increase its already concrete chances of receiving an invitation to the Tour de France next July.

"I want to prove what I can do, and the young riders alongside me are eager to test themselves. I especially want to be the best version of myself again. My training seems to be going very well, now it's time to turn that into good results," Groenewegen told Wielerflits, immediately placed at the center of a train managed in the team car by an expert like Marcel Kittel, hired this winter by Unibet specifically to make the movements of his teammates supporting the Dutchman even more smooth and cohesive.

"It's easy for me to maintain contact with Marcel because we have a very close relationship. We talk almost every week to discuss matters related to equipment, meetings we need to have, or sprint training," said the six-time Tour de France stage winner, also revealing how the former German pro is working with him.

"He challenges me, for example, by putting someone on my wheel during lead-out sessions so that until the very last second I have to give something extra. He does it just to provoke me, but it's nice and very stimulating for me," Groenewegen explained, who during the Spanish training camp in January inevitably delved into the team's aspirations and the differences he noticed compared to the powerhouses he previously rode for.

"Compared to Jayco and Visma, it's a completely different story. We're taking giant steps, which you can see from the fact that the number of trainers and staff members has doubled, and in the end, the difference isn't enormous. Growing together with an entire team that really wants to prove something is a fun and motivating challenge. There's a bit of pressure, but that's fine, it's enjoyable."

Groenewegen, courted for a long time by Bas Tietema, Josse Wester, and David van der Wiel before reaching the fateful "yes" announced last August, seems definitely ready to take on and try to win the Unibet bet, a team that, in its third year as a ProTeam, will allow him to quite easily put together a competitive calendar full of races suited to him.

"We can choose the races that suit me best, and that's fine with me. The program is already defined, regardless of whether we'll participate in the Tour de France. Obviously, it would be a shame not to go because it's the most important race there is, but I've known since I signed that this possibility exists, so if we're ultimately invited, it'll be the cherry on top. At the moment, we're still waiting to see if we'll be given a wildcard, and in the meantime, the only thing we can do is give our best and hope to get some victories."

With this attitude, Groenewegen will line up at the start of Clàssica Communitat Valenciana, Trofeo Palma, Etoile de Besseges, Clásica de Almería, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, GP Monseré, Ronde van Brugge, Scheldeprijs, Tour of Hellas and 4 Jours de Dunkerque, while leaving himself the possibility and space, based on incoming invitations, to insert here and there some higher-caliber appointments.