{"id":381259,"date":"2026-01-21T00:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T00:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/381259\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T00:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T00:22:10","slug":"im-pretty-happy-with-how-its-all-coming-together-george-hincapies-modern-adventure-pro-cycling-readies-for-the-deep-end-at-the-alula-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/381259\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I\u2019m pretty happy with how it\u2019s all coming together’ – George Hincapie\u2019s Modern Adventure Pro Cycling readies for the deep end at the AlUla Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

In ten days\u2019 time, the newest American UCI Pro Road Team, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling<\/a>, will get its first real taste of world-class competition.<\/p>\n

Lining up at the AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia, the programme\u2019s debut comes early and without illusions. While the roster features ample talent<\/a>, this is not a team of headline names, nor a project expecting instant results. But for a team still in its infancy, the invitation alone matters; a first opportunity to see how the team\u2019s ambitions hold up when placed directly in the deep end.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal to be invited to an ASO race as a first-year team,\u201d team founder George Hincapie tells Cycling Weekly. \u201cWe don\u2019t take that lightly. We know we\u2019re lining up against some very big names. For me, what matters is that we don\u2019t get pushed around, that we ride together, and that we make a statement about how we race.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m not telling the guys we need to win AlUla or win our first race. I just want us to ride together as a team, to learn, to trust each other. If we do that, I\u2019ll be happy. Any results on top of that are a bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the team was introduced last June, it has been, in Hincapie\u2019s words, \u201cfull gas.\u201d Relentless travel, meetings with race organisers, conversations with partners, recruitment calls, and a campaign to convince everyone that Modern Adventure is serious, credible and worth investing in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a lot,\u201d Hincapie says. \u201cBut now we\u2019ve got a really great group, not just riders, but staff too, and things are running smoothly. I\u2019m pretty happy with how it\u2019s all coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Modern Adventure, Hincapie is playing a long game, with a stated aim of reaching the Tour de France within five years and doing so with a roster that remains at least 50 percent American.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s an ambitious aim, framed in the language of \u201chope,\u201d \u201cvision\u201d and a \u201cnew era.\u201d But the programme itself is rooted in something more pragmatic: a clearly defined structure, experienced leadership, and a long runway that prioritises sustainability over immediate results.<\/p>\n

For Hincapie, returning to professional cycling yet again was not something to be done lightly. The American road scene has spent much of the past decade searching for momentum, with new leagues, formats and stage races attempting, and often struggling, to reignite interest. Against that backdrop, another short-lived project held little appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been quite happy at home,\u201d he says. \u201cDoing our grand fondos and the podcasts and spending time with the family. But this [project] really appealed to me because it’s a long-term plan. I have a six-to-eight-year commitment, and it really gives me time to plan. It doesn’t give me much pressure to go after only results in the first couple of years. The fact that we have that runway gives me a lot of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

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‘I have nothing to hide’ <\/p>\n

\n

\"George\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)<\/p>\n

For Hincapie, committing to a long-term project meant surrounding it early with people he trusts to help build it carefully.<\/p>\n

The ownership group includes George and Richard Hincapie alongside longtime friend and business consultant Dustin Harder. The management and performance structure reads like a reunion tour of American cycling\u2019s recent past, with Bobby Julich<\/a> as performance coach and former WorldTour pros Alex Howes and Joey Rosskopf<\/a>, alongside domestic stalwart Ty Magner, stepping into directeur sportif roles. Factor Bikes <\/a>has signed on as a long-term partner, with David Millar<\/a> personally involved in shaping the project.<\/p>\n

If some of those names ring certain bells for you, you\u2019re not alone. Julich, Hincapie and Millar are names tied to an era of cycling that still provokes scepticism, to say the least, and the comments on previous articles about the team reflected that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t read the comments,\u201d Hincapie says. \u201cBut I hear about them. And they’re actually very motivating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie’s story is well-known. He has acknowledged past doping. He has even written a book<\/a> about it. He believes, firmly, that he is also part of cycling\u2019s transition away from that culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have nothing to hide,\u201d he says. \u201cEven when I get [negative] comments, I know what I’ve done for this sport, and I know that I’m not going to let that hamper my goals and my hopes for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief becomes personal when he talks about his son, now 17 and close to turning professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he\u2019ll never have to make the decisions I had to make,\u201d Hincapie says, and the same goes for the riders on his team. \u201cIt\u2019s a completely different culture now, and our riders know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie points out that the technology, training and nutrition are so advanced now that \u201cit’s superseded any kind of sketchy stuff that went on back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the Team<\/p>\n

\n

\"Modern\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)<\/p>\n

For all the familiar names behind the scenes, the riders themselves are much less recognisable, and that\u2019s by design.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have huge names on the roster,\u201d Hincapie says. \u201cBut we have guys we believe we can help reach their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Modern Adventure\u2019s roster reflects its mission. Twelve of the 21 riders are American, ranging from seasoned domestic pros like Robin Carpenter<\/a> and Scott McGill<\/a> to raw teenage talent just beginning to test themselves internationally.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a deliberate mix of riders who have survived team closures, riders stepping up from development squads, riders whose careers have stalled, and those whose careers haven\u2019t even started yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about Riley Pickrell<\/a>,\u201d Hincapie says, pointing to the Canadian sprinter who arrives from Israel\u2013Premier Tech. \u201cHe didn\u2019t get many opportunities last year, but when he did, he took them. We\u2019re all-in for him when he has a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Brit Leo Hayter<\/a>, the former Ineos rider who will return to road racing after stepping away from the pro peloton to address mental health challenges.<\/p>\n

Others he mentions with equal enthusiasm include South-African Stefan De Bod<\/a>, who\u2019s spent six years on the WorldTour; Byron Munton<\/a>, another South African who netted a stage win and third overall at the Tour of Portugal last year; and young Americans Cole Kessler and Ezra Caudell, with a lot of raw talent and U23 jersey potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a bunch of names that I’m excited about that haven’t really done anything yet, but I think they will be names that we can follow in the future,\u201d Hincapie says.<\/p>\n

Read up on the full roster, here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hincapie says his approach to building the team has been shaped by experience. He has lived through small programmes becoming giants, pointing to Team BMC<\/a> as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it takes,\u201d he says. \u201cObviously, it takes money and it takes a good leadership team behind it, but hopefully that experience that I got while in my racing days will help get the team to where I want it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

That also includes the team\u2019s culture: a bus where riders laugh, a team built on trust and a place where the sport\u2019s relentless demands are balanced by enjoyment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best teams I was on weren\u2019t just successful,\u201d he says. \u201cThey were fun. That matters more than people realise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why now?<\/p>\n

\n

\"Cole\n<\/p>\n

Young talent Cole Kessler and Ezra Caudell (Image credit: Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)<\/p>\n

American road cycling is fragile. Races disappear as often as they appear. Development pathways are scarce. And the sport has long struggled to recapture the excitement of the Greg LeMond era or of Hincapie\u2019s years racing alongside Lance Armstrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hincapie sees that as an opportunity more than a deterrent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s as good a time as any to start a team and from scratch,\u201d he says. \u201cAmerican road racing is not so hot at the moment, and hopefully, having a team with a lot of American riders is going to help invigorate the sport in the US, and get more people into the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got several world-class professional American cyclists on the scene already, and hopefully this team will help with that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked why Americans should still care about cycling, his answer is simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cCycling is very exciting, very hard to predict,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s danger, there\u2019s tactics involved. It has a little bit of everything. It takes the best things from all sports and makes it into one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent moments of U.S. success, like Sepp Kuss\u2019s 2023 Vuelta win<\/a>, have shown what\u2019s still possible. Sustaining that interest, Hincapie believes, comes back to representation and visibility.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s race schedule remains vague. They\u2019ll race in Europe, wherever invitations come. North America, wherever racing still lives or is being rebuilt, such as the Maryland Cycling Classic<\/a> and the rebirth of the Philly Cycling Classic<\/a>. Road races, gravel events, whatever helps the team be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going back to the basics,\u201d he says. \u201cHustling our way into races. Making our presence known. Building from there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In ten days\u2019 time, the newest American UCI Pro Road Team, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, will get its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-381259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}