On the finish of final month, Cyclingnews examined what was left of the switch market, placing the variety of skilled riders nonetheless with no group for 2023 at over 100.
One month on, and simply a few days earlier than the brand new contract yr, there was important motion, however there are nonetheless a good few riders – together with some large names – whose futures are up within the air.
Probably the most important improvement is the collapse of the B&B Accommodations group, leaving Mark Cavendish nonetheless with no confirmed squad, whereas Miguel Ángel López has entered the market in dramatic style after being fired by Astana for alleged connections to a health care provider suspected of doping.
Cavendish and López are intertwined, with the departure of the Colombian releasing up area and price range at Astana for the 34-time Tour de France stage winner to arrange a stunning transfer to the Kazakh group.
A deal was reached, however it’s unclear if it has been finalised, with no official affirmation as but from the group. The deal reportedly included Cees Bol, one other sprinter who’d been set to affix the B&B Accommodations undertaking. Bol is managed by the SEG company, which Cavendish moved to this spring in a bid to discover a good contract – probably the final of his profession – that might allow him to interrupt the Tour de France stage win document he at the moment shares with Eddy Merckx.
Cavendish and Bol have been offered as a bundle by SEG, with Astana having to drop one among their younger riders all the way down to their improvement group to stay to the UCI most squad measurement of 30.
For Cavendish, Astana represents one thing of a last-chance saloon after his choices turned severely restricted. Hyperlinks to Israel-Premier Tech – a transfer that made essentially the most logical sense – proved extensive of the mark because the group picked up two B&B-bound riders, neither of them Cavendish.
Astana have by no means had a top-level sprinter, and there can be query marks over the lead-out unit. Bol can slot in however was billed as a sprinter in his personal proper for B&B, whereas there’s merely no room for Max Richeze, the devoted lead-out man Cavendish was going to drag out of retirement to help him in 2023.
Richeze has not but confirmed his future plans, however the 39-year-old might nicely retire after coming shut final winter and solely racing on a six-month contract with UAE Workforce Emirates in 2022.
The remainder of B&B Accommodations
As for the remainder of the potential B&B Accommodations squad, 11 riders stay with out contracts – 13 for those who embody Cavendish and Bol.
The rumoured WorldTour recruits have all now discovered groups, with Ramon Sinkeldam the primary to safe a transfer to Alpecin-Deceuninck, adopted by Israel-Premier Tech snapping up Stephen Williams and Nick Schultz.
That leaves the riders who have been already with B&B Accommodations and had contracts for 2023 that at the moment are void. There have been 20 riders in that place initially, and now nearly half have selected their futures. For some, which means stopping altogether, with Pierre Rolland calling time on his profitable profession together with Quentin Jauregui, Cyril Lemoine, Julien Morice, and Thibault Ferasse.
The rising Italian sprinter Luca Mozzato secured a WorldTour transfer to Arkéa-Samsic, whereas mountain biker Victor Koretzky moved as much as Bora-Hansgrohe. The highly-rated Axel Laurence has chosen to experience for Alpecin-Deceuninck’s improvement group – certainly with the promise of some WorldTour appearances – whereas Cyril Barthe is off to Spanish squad Burgos-BH and Alan Boileu drops to the third-division VC Rouen squad.
That leaves 11 riders with out groups for 2023: Franck Bonnamour, Alexis Gougeard, Cyril Gautier, Jens Debuscherre, Pierre Barbier, Jeremy Lecroq Jordi Warlop, Sebastian Schonberger, Miguel Heidemann, Raphael Parisella, Eliot Lietar. Of these names, Bonnamour seems essentially the most sought-after, with hyperlinks to AG2R Citroën Workforce.
López follows Quintana onto the market
Alongside Cavendish, there’s one other main title up within the air in Miguel Ángel López. The Colombian was fired by Astana for alleged connections to Dr. Marcos Maynar Mariño, who was arrested by Spanish police as a part of an anti-doping investigation. López denies the allegations and has threatened authorized motion for unfair dismissal, whereas group boss Alexandre Vinokourov insisted the rider had damaged the group’s ‘inner guidelines‘.
That leaves López with no group for 2023 and leaves him in a tough place. Even when they turned out to be unfounded, the allegations alone would, at this level, deter most top-level groups. The previous Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España podium finisher will subsequently need to attempt to clear his title however might discover himself in limbo for a while but.
There’s one other Colombian climber in an analogous place, with Nairo Quintana nonetheless with no group regardless of repeatedly indicating his future is safe. Quintana examined constructive for Tramadol at this yr’s Tour de France, which, whereas not but technically a doping violation, did see him stripped of his outcomes and would carry a ban for a second offence.
Quintana had agreed on a contract extension with Arkéa-Samsic however by no means signed it, and he was promptly dropped because the French group put together to hit the WorldTour in 2023. Quintana, in the meantime, has been again in Colombia, making a collection of complicated statements about his future. At first, he insisted he’d be racing on the high stage in 2023, though that would imply once more driving for a second-division squad with entry to sure Grand Excursions and WorldTour races. He then prompt he’d already signed someplace however did not know when the group would announce it, however later spoke of getting choices and entertained the thought of a return to Movistar, regardless of the Spanish group being full and most probably uninterested.
The professionals nonetheless with out groups
Cavendish, López, and Quintana are by far the most important names with no group, however there’s additionally Domenico Pozzovivo, the Italian climbing veteran who’s eager to proceed racing regardless of turning 40 final month. The Italian seemed to be holding out for an additional last-minute deal from Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, and the group do have another area accessible, however there was no indication of a brand new contract in latest weeks.
There was no probability of a brand new deal at Intermarché for Jan Bakelants, who publicly criticised the administration after being instructed he would not be stored on in 2023. The Belgian did not safe a brand new dwelling and has introduced his retirement.
Eight different WorldTour riders are struggling to discover a group: Sebastian Henao, Carlos Barbero, Matthew Holmes, Alexander Cataford, James Piccoli, Davide Villella, Anthony Julien, and Oliveiro Troia.
As for the second-division market, alongside the B&B Accommodations riders, the names of Julien Vermote and Sacha Modolo stand out as well-known riders in search of a group. There are additionally quite a few riders from Gazprom-RusVelo, who’re nonetheless suspended as a consequence of Russia’s conflict on Ukraine, and Drone Hopper-Androni, who’re to develop into a Colombia-based Continental group.
Current strikes
| Rider | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Jan Bakelants | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | Retirment |
| Nick Schultz | BikeExchange-Jayco | Israel-Premier Tech |
| Stevie Williams | Bahrain Victorious | Israel-Premier Tech |
| Ramon Sinkeldam | Groupama FDJ | Alpecin-Deceuninck |
| Luca Mozzato | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Arkéa-Samsic |
| Victor Koretzky | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Bora-Hansgrohe |
| Axel Laurence | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Alpecin-Deceuninck Improvement |
| Cyril Barthe | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Burgos-BH |
| Alan Boileu | B&B Accommodations-KTM | VC Rouen |
| Pierre Rolland | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Retirement |
| Quentin Jauregui | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Retirement |
| Cyril Lemoine | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Retirement |
| Julien Morice | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Retirement |
| Thibault Ferasse | B&B Accommodations-KTM | Retirement |
| Niccolo Bonifazio | TotalEnergies | Intermarché-Circus-Wanty |
| Dayer Quintana | Arkéa-Samsic | Colombia Pacto por el Deporte |
| Winner Anacona | Arkéa-Samsic | Colombia Pacto por el Deporte |
| Simon Pellaud | Trek-Segafredo | Tudor Professional Biking |
| Tom Bohli | Cofidis | Tudor Professional Biking |
| Sebastian Reichenbach | Groupama-FDJ | Tudor Professional Biking |
| Alexander Kamp | Trek-Segafredo | Tudor Professional Biking |
| Joel Suter | UAE Workforce Emirates | Tudor Professional Biking |
| Sander Armée | Cofidis | Retirement |
| Kenneth Vanbilsen | Cofidis | Retirment |
| Vladim Pronskiy | Astana-Qazaqstan | Contract extension |
| Roger Kluge | Lotto Soudal | Rad-Internet Oßwald |
| Xandres Vervloesem | Lotto Soudal | Retirement |
| Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg | Lotto Soudal | Denver Disruptor |
| Andres Camilo Ardila | UAE Workforce Emirates | Burgos-BH |
| Ahmed Madan | Bahrain Victorious | Contract extension |
| Alejandro Osorio | Bahrain Victorious | GW Shimano Sidermec |
| Stijn Steels | QuickStep-AlphaVinyl | Retirement |
| Daniel Arroyave | EF Training-EasyPost | Orgullo Paisa |
| Alexander Konychev | BikeExchange-Jayco | Workforce Corratec |
| Timothy Dupont | Bingoal-WB | Tarteletto-Isorez |
WorldTour riders nonetheless with no group
| Rider | 2022 group | 2023 hearsay? |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Cavendish | QuickStep-AlphaVinyl | Astana-Qazaqstan |
| Cees Bol | Workforce DSM | Astana-Qazaqstan |
| Miguel Ángel López | Astana-Qazaqstan | Row 2 – Cell 2 |
| Domenico Pozzovivo | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | One-year contract extension |
| Max Richeze | UAE Workforce Emirates (till June) | Retirement |
| Sebastian Henao | Astana-Qazaqstan | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| Carlos Barbero | Lotto Soudal | Row 6 – Cell 2 |
| Matthew Holmes | Lotto Soudal | Row 7 – Cell 2 |
| Alexander Cataford | Israel-Premier Tech | Row 8 – Cell 2 |
| James Piccoli | Israel-Premier Tech | Row 9 – Cell 2 |
| Davide Villella | Cofidis | Row 10 – Cell 2 |
| Anthony Julien | AG2R Citroën Workforce | Row 11 – Cell 2 |
| Oliveiro Troia | UAE Workforce Emirates | Row 12 – Cell 2 |
| Michele Gazzoli | Astana-Qazaqstan | suspended till August) |
