The newly founded Modern Adventure Pro Cycling Team wants to take part in the Tour de France by 2032 at the latest. Under the leadership of George Hincapie, the team will initially start as a UCI Pro Team and plans to move up to the World Tour. The focus is on promoting US talent and revitalising cycling in the USA. The project launched by George Hincapie has set itself the goal of becoming the best team in the country by 2032.
Up-and-coming stars and talents
Following recent remarkable performances by US riders in the World Tour - for example by Sepp Kuss, Brandon McNulty, Neilson Powless and Matteo Jorgenson - the team says it sees the opportunity for a "renaissance of cycling in the United States". Modern Adventure Pro Cycling plans to recruit up-and-coming stars as well as experienced professionals from the USA. The squad is to be supplemented by top international talent in order to form a team.
First intermediate destination: World Tour
George Hincapie, founder and director of the team, says: "Our goal is to build the nation's team, a team that inspires fans and competes fearlessly on the world stage." He adds that the team should be competing for victories with the best US riders at the Tour de France within six years.
There is currently only one other UCI Pro team registered in the USA, Team Novo-Nordisk. However, the US licensed World Tour team EF Education-EasyPost also represents the US colours in the international peloton. It is managed by Jonathan Vaughters and has two of the best US professional cyclists currently under contract, Neilson Powless and Sean Quinn, as well as the promising stagiaire Colby Simmons.
The main sponsor is a travel company
Modern Adventure Pro Cycling plans to take part in important European and South American events. In the long term, the team is aiming to join the UCI World Tour in order to take part in the Grand Tours and establish itself as a top team. The team's main sponsor and namesake, Modern Adventure, is an award-winning travel company that offers curated small group tours, private retreats and customised trips around the world. The team's bike sponsor is Factor Bikes.
Old connections
For George Hincapie, former US professional cyclist and 17-time participant in the Tour de France, the team represents a return to racing. Hincapie used to be an important helper in Lance Armstrong's team and played a key role in his seven Tour victories, which were later disallowed due to doping. Hincapie himself admitted in 2012 that he had doped during his active career up until 2006. Together with other professional cyclists, he testified against Lance Armstrong before the US Anti-Doping Agency USADA and was sentenced to a reduced ban of six months.
A desirable renaissance?
A connection between Armstrong and Hincapie still seems to exist today. The new team names the podcast "The Move" as one of its supporters, which aims to accompany the team with "first-class analyses, innovative ideas and a community of dedicated fans". The podcast is run by Lance Armstrong. He, in turn, is banned from all cycling activities for life; the extent to which the sponsorship of the Modern Adventure team falls under this ban will have to be assessed by the UCI as part of the licensing process. And whether the project represents a desirable renaissance of cycling in the USA against this background remains to be seen.
