«We are arriving at the World Tour – says Emmanuel Hubert, manager of Arkea – because we managed to gain points by optimizing the calendar for three years. It wasn't necessary to do any special calculations, even if We lost 400 points with the disqualification of Nairo Quintana from the Tour and Bouhanni who has not run since April».
Appeal and wild card
Although the Israel Premier Tech he filed an appeal, from next year the Israeli team and the Lotto Soudal they will run among the professionalsThe sponsor's CEO Dstny, who will replace Soudal, candidly admitted that If he had known about the risk of relegation at the time of signing, he would certainly have withdrawn. Fortunately for 2023 the two teams will have wild cards for a top-level activity, but they will not be able to return to the WorldTour before 2026. Obviously, provided that the ranking achieved over the next three years allows it.
Three years of work
To move up in the WorldTour, in addition to the Alpecin-Deceuninck, Sara la Arkea-Samsic who for the occasion should ride Bianchi bicycles and, as Hubert himself admitted, he has spent the last three years chasing this goal.
"AND' the reward of three years of work - Said the proud Breton manager to Le Telegramme – the set goal has been achieved. It's a stage, like for a rider who becomes a professional, the aim of the game is not to reach this level but to maintain itBeing in the WorldTour gives us the certainty of participating in the biggest races on the world calendar and in the three Grand Tours for the next three years. Something that, in my opinion, will become increasingly complicated for those who race in the professional ranks. All this will bring us serenity and visibility. And it also makes us more attractive to sponsors."
Page turned
I 400 points lost with Quintana's disqualification from the Tour for the Tramadol positivity they risked having a big impact in terms of the ranking, but certainly they were a big burden on the image level.
"It was a tough experience," Hubert explained. "It was like a blow to the head. The day of the announcement, I was faced with a fait accompli. I asked him for an explanation. I was very angry, and he assured me that he hadn't taken anything.Since then he has defended himself before the CAS. He is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but we are no longer bound contractually. The Quintana page has turnedTo exist at a high level, you need to have big names and all the riders who have been with us have contributed to building the team. But the future now belongs to the kids we raised, to the new generation.».
Technical change
The promotion also brought with it some adjustments in the technical frameworksTheo Ouvrard, performance manager of the team that managed the WorldTour project, has been appointed head of the technical area. And Yvon Ledanois, who occupied that position, did not take it well and will no longer be part of the group. So the team is looking for a sporting director, but has not wanted to replace Quintana.
"We didn't think it was appropriate to do so," Hubert said. I was in contact with Guillaume Martin and Romain Bardet, but they didn't seem interested. In fact, they have decided to extend their contracts with their teams. Therefore we decided to trust our ridersKevin Vauquelin is one of the best French riders of tomorrow, while Mathis Louvel could become like Laporte. Without forgetting Barguil, Hofstetter, and Bouhanni, who raced very little. Let's not forget that even without Quintana's Tour points, we have 1.000 more than Lotto-Soudal. We have six riders in the top 100 in the world. And that's not bad either."
