{"id":712874,"date":"2025-11-19T19:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=712874"},"modified":"2025-11-19T19:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:49:10","slug":"inside-george-hincapies-audacious-plan-to-build-americas-next-tour-de-france-dream-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=712874","title":{"rendered":"Inside George Hincapie’s Audacious Plan to Build America\u2019s Next Tour de France Dream Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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Published November 19, 2025 03:33AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

George Hincapie has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in professional bike racing, and after a few years on the sidelines, he\u2019s jumping back into the game with America\u2019s first new men\u2019s road racing team in years.<\/p>\n

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The goals are sweeping as they are ambitious for his upstart Modern Adventure Pro Cycling team.<\/p>\n

The former pro and his backers hope to reinvigorate the U.S. road racing market and deliver what he calls America\u2019s next \u201cdream team\u201d to the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a very high bar to set, especially considering that the domestic road racing calendar is largely on life support.<\/p>\n

Yet there\u2019s a booming gravel scene and a generational-high level of Americans among both men and women winning races at the elite WorldTour.<\/p>\n

Hincapie wants to bridge that gap.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s missing \u2014 at least in Hincapie\u2019s view \u2014 is a heavy American imprint on international road racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mandate is at least 50 percent Americans,\u201d Hincapie told Velo<\/em> in a phone call this week. \u201cWe\u2019ve got 12 Americans signed, actually 13 now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we make it to the Tour de France someday, we want to show up with mainly Americans. I think that will help spark interest in U.S. cycling again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The blueprint is in place. Hincapie and his team have already secured a ProTeam racing license for 2026 and will field a 20-rider team to debut in a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Work began nearly one year ago, and it\u2019s finally time for rubber to hit the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medium long-term plan is to try to get to the WorldTour and race the Tour de France,\u201d Hincapie said. \u201cThat is the vision. It\u2019s going to take a lot of money to get there, but we\u2019re off to a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Bad News Bears\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Hincapie\"
Hincapie, shown here in the 1994 Paris-Roubaix, turned pro in 1993.<\/span> (Photo: Graham Watson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hincapie was at his home in South Carolina when he took a call from Velo<\/em> this week. At 52, Hincapie wasn\u2019t exactly bored in what\u2019s been a very busy life in his post-racing chapter of his life.<\/p>\n

He is still involved in several businesses, including apparel, hotels, and other projects, and appears regularly as a panelist on The Move, part of the Lance Armstrong media group. Hincapie confirmed to Velo<\/em> that Armstrong, who is banned for life, is not involved in the project.<\/p>\n

Hincapie acknowledges that life was comfortable before he jumped at the chance to own and build up a pro team, but something was missing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis feels like a lot more purposeful,\u201d he told Velo<\/em>. \u201cTo lead something that can be special and be impactful in the sport we all love. That\u2019s why I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie will forever be linked to the Armstrong generation, and he served a six-month racing ban as part of the USADA case. Hincapie is hoping to help heal some of those wounds by throwing himself into the Modern Adventure project.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been working overtime during the past 12 months to create the foundations of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m kind of back in that mindset of my first year at Motorola,\u201d Hincapie told Velo<\/em>. \u201cGetting my ass kicked, nobody knowing who I was. And it\u2019s motivating. I\u2019ve done it before in the sport, reached the highest level, and now I want to do it again, this time as a team owner, starting from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The calendar plan is to mix the best of American races, including some gravel and crits, with a strong European focus. And build from there.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wanna look back in five, six years from now and go, this is where we started,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom basically \u2018Bad News Bears\u2019 to building to be one of the best teams in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie hopes to join EF-Education First and Lidl-Trek, now under a German racing license, as the leading U.S.-linked teams at the top of the sport.<\/p>\n

Securing the financial backstop<\/h2>\n
\"An
Here\u2019s an early glimpse of the Modern Adventure team kit. (Photo: Special to Velo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The idea of building a new U.S.-centric pro team had been kicking around for years. The leap from talking about it over beers to actually making it happen is something else altogether.<\/p>\n

Key backers include team co-owner Dustin Harder and Luis Vargas, from the title sponsor Modern Adventure, an upscale travel company.<\/p>\n

Everyone kept nudging him to start a team, but Hincapie wasn\u2019t sold until he saw the long-term commitment behind the project.<\/p>\n

During his long racing career, he saw teams come and go, from Motorola to HTC-Columbia, both of which folded after not securing title sponsors.<\/p>\n

Before even agreeing to join the project, Hincapie wanted to know that the money was in place.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I realized the opportunity and the long-term commitment, I said, OK, this could be really something special,\u201d he told Velo<\/em>. \u201cI have a minimum six-year, most likely eight-year commitment from my main sponsor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can grow the team, bring in better riders, but start off slowly. There\u2019s no pressure next year to try to win every race we enter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He takes inspiration from Jim Ochowicz, the pioneering American manager who built the fabled 7-Eleven and Motorola teams and later won a Tour de France with Cadel Evans at BMC Racing.<\/p>\n

Hincapie did not reveal the team\u2019s budget, but said it was \u201cmiddle of the pack\u201d for the ProTeam league, meaning that the budget is well into seven figures.<\/p>\n

That solid financial footing is key going into the first decisive seasons of the team.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m not worried about a corporate sponsor saying, why aren\u2019t you guys winning every day, or why aren\u2019t you guys getting into the Tour de France right away?\u201d Hincapie says. \u201cWe\u2019re all very, very clear that it\u2019s going to take time. It\u2019s going to take a lot of hustling from all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, the budget does not match the scale of the ambition.<\/p>\n

Hincapie confirmed to Velo<\/em> that he\u2019s already working with several agencies to search for a top-billing title sponsor, which he hopes to secure in the coming seasons.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure and staffing<\/h2>\n
\"Rosskopf
Rosskopf in orange and Howes in EF colors, shown here racing in 2021, are part of the sport director team.<\/span> (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind the flurry of marketing and social media posts over the past week to officially confirm the team\u2019s 20-rider roster is more than a year of hard work.<\/p>\n

The past 12 months for Hincapie have been a blur of flights, meetings, and UCI paperwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to Europe six or seven times this year,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been busy, but motivating. The UCI registration is a complicated and intense process. With the vetting, everything has to be dialed in. But so far we\u2019ve hit all the marks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He tapped into his network of contacts to build out the staff, with Bobby Julich heading up performance and coaching. His brother Rich, who ran the Hincapie development team from 2012 to 2020, is the general manager.<\/p>\n

Ex-pros Joey Rosskopf, Alex Howes, and Ty Magner, all three close in age to today\u2019s rising stars, will lead the sport director lineup.<\/p>\n

The team will have its first get-together next month at Hincapie\u2019s hotel at Traveler\u2019s Rest in South Carolina to fit bikes, plan calendars, and get acquainted. The squad will reconvene in Europe in January, and that\u2019s when the real work begins.<\/p>\n

Right now, the Tour de France seems very far away, but Hincapie knows the most important step is the first one.<\/p>\n

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Hat in hand<\/h2>\n
\"NINOVE,
Hincapie is hoping to work his contacts to get the team invites to some of the smaller Belgian classics.<\/span> (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the team decided to go all-in over the winter, Hincapie\u2019s been burning the candle at both ends in an endless string of phone calls, meetings, trips, and crunch time with lawyers and accountants to pull it all together.<\/p>\n

The payoff is a freshly minted ProTeam racing license for 2026.<\/p>\n

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The team already bought a bus, cars, and dialed in equipment sponsors. It\u2019s building out a U.S. base in Greenville, S.C., and Hincapie revealed that he\u2019s signed a long-term lease for a service course in cycling hotbed at Girona, Spain.<\/p>\n

Now comes the hard part: getting into races.<\/p>\n

The ProTeam license \u2014 just below WorldTour status \u2014 allows the team to start the top European and global races on invitations, but those invites are not easy.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been working the phones, hoping to tap into his network of contacts to get invitations in the Middle East and Europe to kickstart the team\u2019s calendar in the opening months of 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my strong suits as a rider was my relationships with people,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of organizers and team leaders are people I raced with. It\u2019s fun reconnecting and hearing, \u2018Great to see you back, George.\u2019 There\u2019s a lot of interest in another American team coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, as Hincapie pointed out, it\u2019s very competitive for the invitations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have a wish-list of the races I\u2019d like to race,\u201d he said. \u201cThe calendar is so big that between the Middle East and Europe, I think we\u2019ll have a pretty schedule for the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expect the team to secure invites from some key early-season races, perhaps like the AlUla Tour or the Tour of Oman, and some second-tier classics, like Danilith Nokere Koerse or the Bredene Koksijde Classic.<\/p>\n

Building a new American team<\/h2>\n
\"Hincapie\"
Hincapie hopes to build a team like HTC, which he said featured laidback vibes.<\/span> (Photo: Tim De Waele\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the money is there for a guarantee of at least six years, it\u2019s a far cry from the $50 million-plus budgets of today\u2019s super teams.<\/p>\n

With a limited budget, Hincapie and his staff targeted established riders with untapped upside and young, hungry pros who were just starting their careers but were overlooked by the big WorldTour-backed development teams.<\/p>\n

Stefan de Bod and comeback story Leo Hayter have WorldTour experience, and Robin Carpenter and Scott McGill are some of the most experienced U.S. pros. A core of the team is a pack of young up-and-coming Americans and international talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hired riders that we think are far from reaching the top of their game,\u201d he told Velo<\/em>. \u201cMy main goal is not to say I want to win 5 races or 10 races. I want to finish the year next year and say, the guys that we hired are now 10 percent better because we gave them the best equipment, and they\u2019ve become better cyclists.\u201d<\/p>\n

He argues the United States has the talent \u2014 that\u2019s obvious with more than the dozens of elite women and men racing in the WorldTour \u2014 but what\u2019s lacking in his view is a stronger American narrative.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the U.S., we have an incredible talent pool of cyclists right now, but they\u2019re scattered all over the WorldTour,\u201d Hincapie said. \u201cFor a non-hardcore fan, it\u2019s hard to follow them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie knows it will take time. The upper echelon of international cycling is more competitive than ever. The challenge now is to see if an American-centric team can rise to the Tour de France level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, we can get a lot of these guys under the same umbrella,\u201d Hincapie said. \u201cI think that would really spark the interest of cycling here in the U.S. again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hincapie wants to bring that American talent into one team and light up international racing. It all starts now.<\/p>\n

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Source URL: https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/inside-george-hincapies-audacious-plan-to-build-americas-next-tour-de-france-dream-team\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published November 19, 2025 03:33AM George Hincapie has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in professional bike racing, and after a few years on the sidelines, he\u2019s jumping back into the game with America\u2019s first new men\u2019s road racing team in years. The goals are sweeping as they are ambitious for his upstart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":712875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[71],"class_list":["post-712874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=712874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/712875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=712874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=712874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=712874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}