Bicycle manufacturer Factor Bikes has expanded its commitment to Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, becoming the co-title sponsor of the US-registered team.
The newly named Modern Adventure Factor Racing will continue to build toward one of the most ambitious objectives in American cycling, creating an American team capable of racing the Tour de France within five years.
The increased investment marks a new phase in the relationship between the two entities. What began as a founding technical partnership in the team’s first year of racing will become a deeper commitment to team building, supporting recruitment, rider development, performance infrastructure, and closer collaboration between engineers, athletes, and performance staff.
The expanded partnership will also bring Factor Racing, the in-house UCI Continental development programme of Factor Bikes, under the broader Modern Adventure Factor Racing umbrella. The move creates a clearer stepping stone for young riders and a recognised pathway for emerging US talent to European racing, connecting development racing with the professional team, and giving emerging talent a more structured route through the sport.
For Rob Gitelis, Founder of Factor Bikes and Black Inc, the commitment is personal. Gitelis came into cycling in the United States during the 1980s, at a time when the sport still existed outside the mainstream. Inspired by the Greg LeMond era, he followed the route available to ambitious American riders of that generation, through the US racing system, then across the Atlantic to France and Spain. He noted that it was not a clear pathway, but a leap.
That experience shapes the view of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling held by Factor Bikes as an organisation. The team represents a chance to help build the structure that young American riders have often lacked, providing a professional environment with international ambition, domestic roots, and a credible route toward the biggest race in the world.
Rob Gitelis, Founder of Factor Bikes and Black Inc, said “I know what it feels like to be a young American rider looking toward Europe and trying to understand how to get there. There was no easy pathway then, and it still isn’t easy now. George and Dustin are trying to build something that gives riders a real structure, a real team, and a real chance. The ambition to reach the Tour de France within five years is bold, but it has to be. Factor wants to be part of that because we believe in the mission, and because we can contribute more than equipment.”
The increased role of Factor Bikes will extend beyond supplying bicycles. The partnership will give Modern Adventure Factor Racing closer access to the company’s experience across WorldTour racing, product development, engineering, manufacturing, and athlete feedback. With former professional riders, engineers, and product specialists inside the company, Factor Bikes will work closely with the team’s performance staff and athletes to support both racing outcomes and long-term development.
That level of integration is central to the approach of Factor Bikes. Racing is where products are tested, refined, and understood under pressure. Modern Adventure Factor Racing will give the brand the opportunity to build a closer feedback loop with athletes and staff, one that can support the team while contributing directly to future product development.
The structure of the programme allows for a more direct and continuous relationship with riders and performance staff than is often possible in the compressed environment of WorldTour racing.
For George Hincapie, Founder and Principal of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, the deeper commitment strengthens the foundation behind the team’s long-term ambition.
Hincapie said “Rob and Factor understand what we are trying to build. This is not just about putting great bikes under our riders, although that matters at this level. It is about surrounding the team with people who understand racing, development, equipment, and the long road it takes to reach the Tour de France. Factor is becoming part of the team in a much deeper way.”
Both Hincapie and Gitelis came into cycling when the sport occupied a smaller, more isolated place in American culture. Their shared perspective gives the partnership a clear purpose to help create the kind of American team they would have aspired to ride for at the beginning of their own careers.
The timing reflects a rising tide in American cycling. A new generation of riders is emerging with the ability and ambition to race internationally, and new investment is being made to discover the next American rider capable of winning on cycling’s biggest stage. To reach the Tour de France, riders need infrastructure, such as professional race programmes, performance support, technical knowledge, international experience, and a team capable of carrying that ambition year after year.
Modern Adventure Factor Racing is being built for that next step, to give American riders a professional home, a credible route forward, and a team with the ambition to take them to the Tour de France.
The expanded investment from Factor Bikes is designed to help build a missing link. Modern Adventure Factor Racing will continue to develop toward its long-term objective of racing at the highest level internationally, with a focus on American talent, international race experience, and the infrastructure required to make the Tour de France ambition credible within five years.
