The B&B Hotels-KTM squad who have been rumoured to be signing Mark Cavendish for the 2023 season have cancelled a planned press conference for Wednesday, stating in a social media post the decision was made “due to the absence of some of the main stakeholders in the 2023 team’s project”.
The French ProTeam were due to roll out their 2023 roster and sponsors on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Tour de France route presentation.
Last week the team missed out on being included in the UCI announcement of the applicants for 2023 WorldTeam and ProTeam licences.
Missing the October deadline for the list of teams is relatively common for teams that can be held up by any of the criteria required for submitting a licence application.
B&B Hotels weren’t the only team left off the UCI’s list, with Human Powered Health’s men’s and women’s teams omitted pending updated bank information.
Separately, neither the cancellation or omission would raise concerns, but together seem to hint at some disorganization in the French outfit who have been linked to Cavendish since mid-summer.
Team boss Jerome Pineau said the chances were “50-50” that the team would bring on Cavendish in August. Last week, Ouest-France reported that Cavendish and lead-out man Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) had come to an agreement with the team and Cavendish hinted that he had “a big year next year” on his social media channels.
B&B Hotels-KTM were also reportedly to be partnering with the City of Paris as the French capital look toward hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.
The press conference expected to bring clarity to the rider and sponsorship speculation has not yet been rescheduled.
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