With the team’s own self-imposed deadlines for a decision already gone by, Philippe de Villiers, the President of the General Council of the Vendée region, has made a fresh appeal to save the BBox Bouygues Telecom team.
Villiers has called on local companies to step forward and back the squad, which is one of the biggest in French cycling and which has taken 18 wins this year.
"There are some potential national sponsors who are stirring in Vendee, attracted by the idea of sponsoring the team of Jean-René [Bernaudeau, general manager of the team]. Right now, they are stirring but nobody is committing,” he said, according to Ouest France.
Bernaudeau initially said that he expected an answer on Friday, then extended that deadline until yesterday. He’s been hanging on in hope, but so too riders such as Thomas Voeckler, who has spent his whole career with the team and its predecessors.
The French champion and Tour de France stage winner is being courted by at least two other teams, including Cofidis, but has said that he feels a loyalty towards Bernaudeau and wants to stay if possible. However the deadline for UCI applications is at the end of the week and time is rapidly running out.
“We have until Friday morning,” said de Villiers. “If a group of companies from the Vendee comes forward in the coming hours, to show that the companies in the Vendee are behind Jean-Rene Bernaudeau, then the expected general partner will go for it,” he said, suggesting that there is a sponsor there who will move once a broader support is shown.
Bernaudeau had given the impression that a final decision would come yesterday, saying he was simply waiting for a phone call with good news. However it appears his phone remained silent. “There is nothing new, I have nothing more to say," Bernaudeau told L'Equipe today. The newspaper also confirmed that Caisse d’Epargne has not been contacted, contradicting statements in other French papers which claimed the French bank was considering stepping in.
“Right now, there is nothing done but I was boosted [at the weekend] by a very big contact I met six months ago. I have great hope,” he continued.
At this point in time, it’s hard to know what to expect. Bernaudeau has repeatedly said that he is confident and that good news is just around the corner, but so far nothing has materialised. It will soon be known if he has been speaking as a hopeless optimist, or if his faith and that of his riders will indeed be rewarded.