The B&B Hotels-KTM team, which was rumored to have signed Mark Cavendish for the 2023 season, canceled a press conference scheduled for Wednesday. According to a social media post, the decision was "due to the absence of key officials of the 2023 team project."

The French professional team was scheduled to announce its 2023 roster and sponsors on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday's Tour de France route announcement.

Last week, the team missed being included in the 2023 World Team and Pro Team license applicants announced by the UCI.

Missing the October deadline for the team list is relatively common for teams that fall short of any of the criteria required to submit a license application.

It was not only B&B Hotels that was omitted from the UCI list, but also Human Powered Health's men's and women's teams, which did not wait for updated banking information.

Apart from that, neither the cancellations nor the omissions raised concerns, but they seem to suggest that there was some disruption to the French team, which had been linked to Cavendish since mid-summer.

Team boss Jérôme Pinault said the chances of the team landing Cavendish in August were "50-50." Last week, Ouest-France reported that Cavendish and lead-out man Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) had reached an agreement with the team, and Cavendish hinted on his social media channels that "next year is a big year."

B&B Hotels-KTM also reported that the French capital would partner with the city of Paris to host the 2024 Olympics.

A press conference expected to clarify rider and sponsor speculation has not yet been rescheduled.