With news about B&B Hotels-KTM being so mixed for so long, riders who had been due to ride for the French ProContinental team next year have now been snapped up by other squads. However, most of the riders are still out of contract, in December, and it now seems certain B&B Hotels-KTM will not continue in its current guise in 2023, with disappointment expected to turn to anger in coming weeks.
The biggest rider linked to the team for next year was Mark Cavendish, who has moved on from QuickStep-Alpa Vinyl after two seasons. Cavendish was all set to sign for B&B Hotels-KTM and thus return to the Tour de France next year in search of at least one more stage win to put him at the top of the all-time stage winners list.
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However, while B&B Hotels-KTM boss Jérôme Pineau has still made no public comment about the team's future, he reportedly told his riders last Friday they were free to sign for other teams. That bad news followed reports in France just days earlier suggesting B&B Hotels was willing to contribute bigger financial backing to the team and so keep it on the road after several, bigger, mooted sponsors fell by the wayside one by one.
Pineau - whose poor communications have resulted in many conflicting reports - is apparently still working away in a bid to secure a backer for next season. But he has very little time to rescue the situation and has already exhausted a number of his best leads including Carrefour, Cdiscount and Amazon France, among others.
If the team does not continue next year, or drops down to Continental level, that would spell the end of Cavendish's plans. He now faces a scramble to find a new team, at a very difficult time of the year when most rosters are already full for 2023.
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Just two of the riders due to race for B&B Hotels-KTM next year have been signed by other teams, with Cavendish among the other large group now forced to go back to the drawing board.
News has emerged today of Victor Koretzky being signed by Bora-hansgrohe next year. Aged 28 years, he only began his road pro career last year with B&B Hotels-KTM but has an impressive pedigree in MTB. Furthermore, Ramon Sinkeldam (33) has been signed by Alpecin-Deceuninck. The Dutch rider has been with Groupama-FDJ as a lead-out man for the last five seasons and was set to join B&B Hotels-KTM, to aid Cavendish, but has now found a new employer.
"It might sound acliché, but it's just the truth; I'm insanely happy about this opportunity," Sinkeldam said of securing a new contract. "All the pieces are falling into place. I am super motivated to be part of the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprint train and to share my experience with the other guys."
Meanwhile, Koretzky said he would continue to aim for the MTB race at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and would combined that goal with his road racing at Bora-hansgrohe. He enjoyed a solid debut road season this year and won stage 3 at Alpes Isère Tour (2.2) back in May.
"I would definitely like to develop further on the road and become a pillar for the team there," he said. "But my big dream is the 2024 Olympic MTB race in Paris. The nice thing is that with Bora-hansgrohe and Specialized, I’ll have a perfect set-up for every terrain."
