“I told my staff: 'if you have the slightest doubt, go ahead, don't wait for me" - Hubert fights to keep Arkea - B&B Hotels alive as sponsors pull out

The future of Arkea-B&B Hotels hangs in the balance, with the team’s existence beyond the 2025 season now in serious doubt. Both title sponsors, Arkea, a partner since 2020, and B&B Hotels, which joined in 2023, have confirmed they will not be renewing their support. Without new investment, the team could vanish from the professional peloton by December 31. Despite Kevin Vauquelin’s top 10 finish in the Tour de France, money is tight, and time is running out.

Team boss Emmanuel Hubert, who has led the project since 2014, addressed the situation in an interview with RMC Sport. His tone was more confident than expected given the circumstances.

“Perhaps because budgets have increased significantly in recent years. There is also a complicated global situation. Customs duties, economic uncertainties... All of this is holding some companies back from investing, especially internationally,” he said, pointing to wider financial pressures that have made attracting sponsors more difficult.

But he remains optimistic. “I have prospects, people who are interested. Now, we have to sign at the bottom of the page and find the right equation. Do we go it alone, with two or three partners? Today, that's where I am.”

Hubert also made it clear to his staff that they should look elsewhere if they lose faith in the project. “I told my staff: 'if you have the slightest doubt, go ahead, don't wait for me'. I'm almost sure it will happen. The only unknown is the timing.” His belief is grounded in the legacy he believes the team has built over the past decade and a half. Under his guidance, the team has produced and nurtured rising stars who’ve gone on to thrive on the biggest stages.

“This structure, for 15 years, knows how to do things and knows how to educate young champions,” he said. He pointed to Vauquelin, who has been with the team since the start of his career and finished seventh at the Tour, and Maëva Squiban, who impressed on the Tour de France Femmes before earning a contract with UAE Team ADQ. For Hubert, their success is proof that the project deserves a future.