Modern Adventure Pro Cycling recap

When David Millar, Factor’s Chief Brand Officer, sat down with George Hincapie, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling’s General Manager, in January, the two discussed what success would look like for the team in 2026. Hincapie said: “We’re not putting a ton of pressure on them from the start. I am telling them the only thing I want from them is to ride together as a team, trust each other, don’t take any shit in the peloton, and establish their presence in the peloton. That’s all I want. Accomplishing that would be more to me right now than getting a top-5 or a podium in one of these early races.” 

It’s safe to say that the team has managed, even at this early point in the season, to do it all. They have learned to ride as a team, establish their presence in the peloton, and get several top-5s and even a few podiums in their first races in their first season. 

Proving themselves early

For a new team with a lot of relatively unknown riders, Modern Adventure Pro Cycling has managed to get invitations to some seriously difficult races. A group of the riders started off their season at the AlUla Tour and the UAE Tour, while another squad hit the roads of Spain for the weather-curtailed Vuelta a la Región de Murcia and then the Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta Ciclista Del Sol. 

But in all of those races, they were visible, getting in breaks and getting results. Most notably, at the AlUla Tour, Byron Munton and Stefan De Bod were continually at the head of affairs, especially on the climbing stages. Munton even took 2nd place in the final mountain top finish, while De Bod finished well enough to take 4th place in the general classification. Then, in early February, De Bod became the South African Time Trial Champion.   Meanwhile at Andalucía, Ben Oliver took third place in stage 1 sprint behind former European Champion, Christophe Laporte. And in his second cobbled classic, Oliver snagged 11th place at Samyn, just barely missing out on a top-10.

Racing Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

Once the peloton migrates back to Europe after early-season races in warmer climates, it’s time for the Opening Weekend for the cobbled classics. With an invitation to race Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the classics squad full of powerful young riders, most of whom had never raced at this level in Belgium, would face their toughest test yet. It was a brutal edition that saw a lot of DNFs, including Sean Christian, who was taken out by the Tim Wellens crash early in the race. But 22-year-old Cole Kessler succeeded in initiating the day’s main break, which lasted for a good 130 km, while New Zealander, Ben Oliver was in the mix for a top-10 until he got squeezed within the last 700 meters and had to unclip, saving himself from what would have been a painful crash.

“It was a relatively quick break formation. We had anticipated that maybe it would take up to 50-60 km. It ended up going much quicker than that. I think Ezra did the lion's share of the work with the break formation. He was up there a lot, closing down some moves and jumping in some moves,” Cole explained. “I was up there a little bit. But then the road got blocked up, and I found a moment where I could jump around and get up the road. I initiated the break, and a guy followed me, and then a couple of guys jumped across, and then we were all in the break.”

Cole Kessler was one of the riders on the team who chose to race KBK on the Factor ONE. Though it’s such a stiff bike, the aerodynamic properties made the comfort trade-off an easy choice for Cole.

“The ONE is a very stiff bike. But it’s so aero that when you are in the breakaway like that, it’s a massive advantage to have that bike. The cobble sectors are maximum 3 minutes long in KBK, so I’ll take 3 minutes of maybe a bit rougher of a ride and then have the rest of the race be more optimised for that bike.”

After Cole and his breakaway companions were caught, the hope was that he could stay in the main group to help the team’s sprinters navigate the final, but heavy crosswinds in the open areas after the race left the bergs put paid to that hope. “I spent about 130km in the break. We were caught with 50 km to go. I was hoping to make it a little bit further into the race, but I think if it wasn’t for the crosswinds, I would have been able to stay in the front group until the finish, but once we hit that open area and the crosswinds cut everyone up, it got real rowdy. As soon as they caught me, they hit it in the crosswinds, and that was kinda my day over.”

It was still an impressive performance for his first time racing in Belgium at this level. “I was able to manage my effort pretty well throughout the day, though I was suffering a lot. I don’t think I was on my best day, but I think a breakaway effort is more suited to me,” Cole explained. “It’s more of a diesel effort. Whereas the race from the bunch is pretty on-off, I would say. A lot more polarised. I always love being in a breakaway. I always find it really fun. And being in a breakaway on opening weekend is pretty surreal. For it to be my first classic and to be up there, that was a pretty cool experience. I am happy I was able to make that happen.”

The kids are alright

Finishing his first-ever cobbled race in Belgium, 19-year-old Ezra Caudell came in 75th place, ahead of the peloton full of the day’s sprinter favourites. Described by the team as an absolute powerhouse, nicknamed El Tractorcito, Ezra is enjoying his journey, discovering the depth of his capabilities. “I think my biggest takeaway in all the races is just how important it is to move as a team. I think it has been really impressive to see all the guys come together and ride for one goal,” Ezra explained. “I think it’s really good to see how we have been able to ride a unit. When we come across the line, we’re doing it for a purpose; it’s not just about the TV time or anything. We’re actually there to try to win the race.”

The impressive list of top results has surprised many and elevated the team’s confidence. “I would say that we should have a lot of confidence because we have obviously shown the world that we belong in the peloton and that we are not a lot of amateurs who got lucky to be on a pro team,” Cole said. “We are racing in some big races, and I think that we are at the level. We just need some time to develop, and then we will be right there fighting to win. We are already fighting for top-10s in WorldTour races, so it is just a matter of time till we cross the line first.” 

The squad has a mix of very young riders who are looking to prove themselves, with some older, more experienced pros who are happy to share their knowledge and take leadership roles in races. It’s a great recipe for growth and success. “We have a few riders on the team who have really taken on leadership roles, like Stefan De Bod, Mark Stewart, and Riley Pickrell, and they all have experience, they are the most experienced racers on the team, so having them to guide us through these races has been why we have been able to do as well as we have,” Sean Christian, who has experience racing Belgian kermesses and U23 events, explained. “If you threw a bunch of us out here and just said, 'go race,' I think it would have ended a lot differently than a bunch of us with one leader. So it’s been good to go into this and not try to learn everything blindly. We have some guidance.”  

Such a young group has the advantage of being hugely open-minded and hungry to learn, so they can continue to improve. “Definitely the dedication of the whole team to being open to learning and being open to taking on roles where you might not get a result yourself, but you are helping the team to, it’s pretty crucial," Sean continued.

“At this level, you don’t win races on your own; you need a full commitment from everyone on the team. I think every race we just build on that.”

For many cycling fans, the opening weekend in Belgium functions almost as a restart of the season. Though there have been races taking place all over the world in warmer climates, such as Australia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, once the peloton lands in Belgium, everyone needs to hit the reboot button.

“I think the racing in Belgium is very different from the UAE and AlUla Tour. We came off of racing empty highways with six lanes to half a lane Belgian road, so it’s almost like we have to re-learn everything with a new style of racing,” Sean explained. “For the first races, I think we did well with positioning and trying to take as a team what we could from those races. But I think in these next few months of classics racing, we are going to be learning a lot.” 

Next steps

It’s far too early in the team’s story to talk about coming full circle. But with success coming so quickly for Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, it’s tempting to ask, what’s next? What should success look like now that they have proven themselves so solidly so early in the season? The team has already received an invitation to Catalunya and Paris-Roubaix, among other great events like Scheldeprijs and Tro-Bro-Leon. With expectations raised, what will success look like by the end of the cobbled classics campaign?

“Being able to be on the start line of Roubaix. It’s quite hard to make it through the classics season without a setback or a crash, you see a lot of guys already, like Tim Wellens, his classics campaign is over,” Cole suggested.

“So, I think it would be a huge win for all of us to be on the start line of Roubaix, healthy and ready to give it our best.”

Some would consider that perhaps a modest hope, considering how strong the entire organisation has proved to be these past weeks. But the riders are keeping their feet firmly planted and not taking anything for granted. “I think for me, success would be us learning to move together like we were at UAE. Learning how to get the rhythm again in Belgium because it is just so much more chaotic and hard to find each other,” Ezra, the second youngest rider on the team, explained. “I think if we can relearn that over here and all find each other, I think that we can really improve our results and go for a top-10, top-5, or even a win before Roubaix.”

At 23 and with multiple U23 campaigns in Belgium under his belt, Sean Christian has an idea of just what it will take to find success. “Racing at this level is not comparable to anything I have done before. The level that we raced in KBK was beyond anything I have ever been close to,” Sean admitted. 

“But if we just keep learning. I think just being able to test things out this first year and not go in with any real pressure, and just be able to make the mistakes in the races, is a big thing for us. Have fun this first year and learn. Some days obviously are going to suck in cycling. But I think that we have done well, and it shows that we are able to be here. I think as a team we all just want to keep moving forward and progressing. I don’t think any of us would be content with staying at the level we are currently at.”

What they are riding

All riders on Modern Adventure can choose whichever Factor frame they want for any given race. For Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, Cole and Sean chose the ONE while Ben Oliver and Ezra Caudell were on the OSTRO VAM.

Deciding which bike to choose is all about personal choice and riding style. “To be candid, the ONE is a bit of a rougher ride on the cobbles than the OSTRO,” Cole admitted. “We have full say over what bike we want to ride. We just got introduced to the MONZA.  So we’ll have some options for Roubaix; I think the best option will be the MONZA for tyre clearance.”

Sean has spent the whole season on the ONE thanks to its hyper-racy position. “I’ve been racing the ONE for most days this year. For Samyn, I will race on the MONZA.” Ezra has also included the MONZA in his collection of racing bikes. “I have been racing on the OSTRO.  Testing the MONZA, it feels really nice. It basically feels identical to the OSTRO aside from the wider tyre clearance. It’ll be good that we get to race it for Samyn, so it will be cool to see how it goes,” Ezra confirmed.

With a selection of three purpose-driven racing bikes from which to choose, the members of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling have the tools they need to keep progressing, while their feedback will continue to enrich our product development. The perfect type of partnership.