Mark Cavendish has been lined up to ride for B&B Hotels-KTM next year and while the team's future has looked uncertain in recent weeks it is now expected to survive, according to reports in France. The French team has been given another few days to organise its finances and put in place the other arrangements required to secure a ProContinental licence.
While the team was expected to be a significantly expanded project - with a women's team and major new sponsors - it is now anticipated the current backers will not only remain involved but will stump up more money, thus securing the future of Jérôme Pineau's team.
This would mean it would be in with a chance of riding the Tour de France next year, which Cavendish wants to return to and secure at least one more win to take the all-time stage winners record outright.
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The team had been offered an extension, which passed yesterday, to confirm its backers and finances for next season. However, the UCI has agreed to push that back until early next week.
According to French newspaper L'Équipe, the team's status "should be formalised next Monday or Tuesday". It added Pineau's team was expected to continue in the peloton "even if the structure will be less ambitious than expected after the sudden and recent withdrawal" of a planned sponsor.
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B&B Hotels was set to stay on as a sponsor next year, which was anticipated, and was now also "ready for an additional budgetary effort". Some of the team's "historical technical partners" were also set to stay on board and with a bigger commitment to the team, according to L'Équipe.
The newspaper also reports most of the riders, including Cavendish, have remained loyal to Pineau and are waiting for him to confirm his plans for next year rather than looking for places on rival teams. L'Équipe added Pineau had "not given up" on the idea of a women's team, though it was unclear if that was still possibly on the table for next year.
It was previously expected the team would unveil its rider roster and sponsorship deals at a press conference last month, which was timed to come 24 hours before the Tour de France route for 2023 was unveiled. However, that press announcement was cancelled at the last minute, sparking fears for the team. Those concerns worsened when 2023 season team registration deadlines came and went without B&B Hotels-KTM able to confirm its plans.
It was widely reported Maximiliano Richeze, who rode for UAE Team Emirates this year, had been recruited by the team as a lead-out man for Cavendish. Other reported signings included Cees Bol, who rode for Team DSM this year, outgoing Groupama-FDJ rider Ramon Sinkeldam and Nick Schultz, who rode for Bike Exchange-Jayco in 2022.
The team was also said to be launching a women’s team, all based on a budget of at least €15 million from new sponsorship deals. Possible backers linked to the team in recent months included Amazon France, Carrefour, Cdiscount and French energy companies Enedis and Engie. However, it seems none of those backers has been secured for next year.
