Time appears to be running out for the French B&B Hotels-KTM team, which was expected to sign Mark Cavendish for 2023 and also create a women’s team around Audrey Cordon-Ragot.
November 22 has now been suggested as a final deadline for team manager Jérôme Pineau to find major sponsors and register the team with the UCI for the 2023 season.
Pineau and his new business partners in Paris appear to be caught in a cycling doom loop. They have signed riders for 2023 but still don’t seem to have the sponsors in place to fund the team and time is running out for registration with the UCI.
BMC has reportedly sent the team new bikes and training camps have been planned but the lack of sponsorship and clarity is scaring the riders and other key partners such as the City of Paris.
According to Pascal Chanteur, the president of the French UNCP rider’s union, a number of riders have contacted him and are “worried and anxious” about the future of the team.
The team has been linked with several major new signings for 2023, including Cavendish, Nick Schultz, and Cees Bol, as well as contract extensions for key riders such as Pierre Rolland and Italian sprinter Luca Mozzato.
However, the team failed to complete registration and produce bank guarantees and rider contracts with the UCI before the October 15 deadline. The team also cancelled a press conference announced for October 26. Pineau has also changed the structure of the team’s management company, bringing in new business partners but that has only caused further complications.
B&B Hotels are expected to remain as a key sponsor and invest €5 million. Amazon France, Carrefour or Cdiscount have all been rumoured as possible sponsors but have never been confirmed.
The City of Paris was supposed to be a key part of the team’s development in 2023. No public money was involved but the city was keen to provide political influence and prestige but now seems ready to abandon Pineau.
Under UCI rules, riders are free to terminate their contracts after October 15 and go elsewhere, if a team fails to register with the UCI. Some of the riders linked to B&B Hotels are reportedly now on the market and trying to find an alternative for 2023 but few teams have places available on their rosters.
The UCI sets November 15 as the final date to submit sponsor and rider contracts and the bank guarantee needed to cover future unpaid wages. A final appeal can be made to the UCI Licence Commission, perhaps giving Pineau until…
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