Two of Arkéa - B&B Hotels' brightest stars, Vincenzo Albanese and Clément Champoussin are reportedly set to sensationally force a breaking of their respective contracts in an attempt to ensure a transfer across the World Tour.
Champoussin, the star signing of the team ahead of the 2023 season, has performed relatively strongly over the last two seasons, taking victory at Giro della Toscana earlier this year and coming 2nd overall at the Arctic Race of Norway in 2024 and played a role in the team's Tour de France lineup in both 2023 and 2024. Albanese meanwhile, only joined from EOLO-Kometa at the start of this season, finishing 2nd in the GC at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, but failing to add a single victory to his palmares.
According to a report by Le Telegramme, both are now set to leave the team already, despite having a contract until the end of 2025, using a get out clause to do so and leaving the French-based team completely helpless in the process, unable to prevent two of their leading riders and point scorers from departing the roster.
For Champoussin, a switch to Astana Qazaqstan Team, who earlier this Wednesday have already announced the arrival of Mike Teunissen, seems to be the landing point. Albanese meanwhile, is now likely to join Jonathan Vaughters' EF Education-EasyPost according to reports.
As this is a developing story, not much more is known at this time, but rest assured we'll keep you up to date with any further developments in the intriguing transfer saga
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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2 riders from @arkeabbhotels set to join other WT teams in 2025 : Clément Champoussin -> @AstanaQazTeam Vincenzo Albanese -> @EFprocycling They will use a get-out clause to leave. via @PhilippePriser @LeTelegramme : letelegramme.fr/sports/cyclism…
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