B&B Hotels-KTM manager says "odds are now 50-50" of hiring Mark Cavendish

B&B Hotels-KTM have for a while been mentioned as the most likely team for Mark Cavendish to join in 2023, but the negotiations have not been easy.

In an interview with Le Télégramme, team manager Jerome Pineau said that “everything will be fine with our team. We are working on the details now, but before I talk to the press I need to talk to my colleagues and partners. I can imagine that people will start talking about it and that there will be questions. But I don't have it myself, the former pro said regarding Cavendish's possible signing.

Details are being confirmed within the team as it goes through some restructuring. With the entry of a new sponsor, the team will have a superior budget to that of some World Tour teams. "The name of our professional team will be Paris and the budget will be around 15 million euros. The project will be explained in more detail at the end of September," Pineau explained.

“That includes the contract extensions, which will be announced shortly. And if we get the chance, we aim for 28 riders. At the moment I have also attracted five riders from the WorldTour," he added. He also confirmed there was an attempt to make a big signing with Michael Matthews: "I was almost done with Michael Matthews, but in the end he preferred to stay with BikeExchange-Jayco.”

However the priority sits on Mark Cavendish, who is looking to have a leadership spot and a place at the 2023 Tour de France. In those two aspects, the French team is a relatively secure option. “We are talking. But he's not one of the five we're already around," he said.

"I'd really like Cavendish to come to us, but it's complicated. It looks like negotiations around a football player. He would like to come to us, but he also does not want to phase out. If he comes, it will be to win. Let's say the odds are now 50-50," Pineau concluded.