After dropping out of the WorldTour, the South African took a major risk to revive his career. Now, he is back in the big time with Modern Adventure.
Cor Vos
Sometimes a professional bike rider can do everything perfectly, carrying out their role in the team to the last detail, and still miss out on a contract for the following season.
That’s what happened to Stefan de Bod at the end of 2024, according to the South African rider. He’d raced the Giro d’Italia for EF Education-EasyPost, been a team player for the entire season and still felt he had a lot more to give. But after the shake-down in preparation for 2025, De Bod was left out of the team’s plans late on in the year. Negotiations went on with Q36.5, managed by De Bod’s former boss at Team Dimension Data, Doug Ryder, but Tom Pidcock’s arrival killed his chances to remain at professional level.
At this point, options are scarce for any pro who finds themselves in this position. Some retire or switch to the gravel, others drop down to a European Continental team where the pay is challenging, the race programme uncertain and the conditions sometimes tough. Determined to find a route back to the big time, De Bod chose the Hail Mary approach and in a last-ditch effort to save his career got in touch with Malaysian Continental team Terengganu. The risk paid off, with a move to brand new American ProTeam Modern Adventure Pro Cycling for the 2026 season.
Modern Adventure’s first roster is revealed
The George Hincapie-led project wants an eventual Tour de France invite; its inaugural lineup includes several promising youngsters, including former U23 Giro d’Italia winner Leo Hayter.
Professional cycling’s epicentre is very much European, which is why the prevailing logic is that if you want to return back to the top-level, you need to be in Europe. If you leave Europe, you leave the consciousness of the higher-ups who make or break careers. He could have stayed in Europe, with offers from a couple of third-tier teams, however, De Bod calculated that with a solid-enough race programme and good equipment on the Malaysian squad, a move eastward might be the better option.
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