‘I have one shot left' – UCI deadlines loom over Arkéa-B&B Hotels
Arkéa-B&B Hotels team manager Emmanuel Hubert says the French squad has just weeks left to secure its future, with crucial UCI registration deadlines approaching and no new backers confirmed.
The long-standing sponsors Arkéa and B&B Hotels will depart at the end of 2025, leaving Hubert scrambling for replacements. “I have never given up. Never,” he told Le Parisien. “But I have a duty to be clear-headed: it is clear that we are very far from being on the right path when we look at the calendar.”
The immediate hurdle arrives September 15, when Hubert must pay €80,000 to begin the WorldTour registration process. He says he will cover that fee himself. A bigger deadline looms October 1, when the team must submit a bank guarantee. “Then the axe will fall,” Hubert said. “If I don’t have at least a firm letter of commitment, it will be over.”
Hubert admitted he began the summer with 15 possible sponsor options. “I have one shot left. Just one,” he said. “I hope it’s the right one. I want to believe it.”
