Arkéa-Samsic will become Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 2024 and the French team have unveiled a new Excalibur-themed kit set to be donned by sprint star Arnaud Démare and young talent Kévin Vauquelin.
The Breton team have stayed with red as the main colour on an asymmetrical design, but with their new title sponsor B&B Hotels also prominent on the front of the kit. B&B Hotels will return to the pro peloton after a year out following their team's collapse at the end of 2022.
Démare was heavily featured in the team’s social media revelation of their new jersey, removing the kit from a box as if it were the sword in the stone in the Arthurian legend. The shoot was filmed in Brittany at the myth-enshrouded Brocéliande forest.
He was alongside women’s team rider Marie-Morgane le Deunff and Pierre Thierry from the development squad, with all three teams set to ride under the Arkéa-B&B Hotels handle in 2024.
The Arthurian legends, specifically the wizard Merlin, are heavily linked to Brittany and motifs of the legendary sword appear across the kit. The team said they were looking to “continue to write the legend of the ARKEA–B&B Hotels team” as they head into their 20th season in the men’s pro peloton.
"As of January 1, 2024, our three teams will have the same title partners: ARKEA and B&B Hotels. This collective identity[...]reinforces, in fact, the feeling for all the riders of belonging to the same family,” said General Manager Emmanuel Hubert.
“Our colours remain red and black. These have become a real landmark, a reference over the years within the professional peloton, as well as an identification model for our supporters.
“You all know our history, linked to the Breton territory. This is why our 2024 jersey was designed around the theme “EXCALIBUR”, a legendary Breton sword. This 2024 vintage 'breathes' our origins, our land.”
Arkéa unveiled their new kit after also hosting their traditional supporters' day at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sévigné where fans got to ride out with the pros before a bike show and other festivities.
The men’s team signed Démare mid-season in 2023 after he fell out of favour with Groupama-FDJ. They will need him massively as they go further into the next UCI WorldTour relegation cycle after being promoted last year.
Démare took two of the team’s ten wins in 2023 after joining in August at the Tour de Vendée and Paris-Bourges, with Vauquelin the most prolifically successful rider with three victories. However, they didn’t take a WorldTour win after stepping up to the top division and barely featured in the biggest races.
They also lost one of their top riders to retirement in Nacer Bouhanni after the French sprinter went winless in 2023 and struggled to return to form from a nightmare crash in the spring of 2022.
The addition of local Breton company B&B Hotels should secure a bigger budget for the French team, with new signings of Florian Sénéchal, Clément Venturini, Laurens Huys, Vincenzo Albanese, Miles Scotson and Raúl García Pierna all brought in to try and turn things around.
“Here we finally are!” Revealing the 2024 jersey today further solidifies our investment in this exciting project," Vincent Quandalle, General Manager of Western Europe B&B Hotels.
Of the top 22 teams in the men’s professional ranks, Arkéa sat in 19th after 2023, which doesn’t sound too bad as there are 18 WorldTour squads. However, going into 2024, the French team were nearly 2000 points adrift of the 18th spot, and next season if they aim to move up the ranking, therefore, there is considerable ground to cover.
