Factor Bikes Doubles Down on Modern Adventure's Tour de France Dream

America’s newest professional cycling team just landed a major boost in its long-shot bid to reach the Tour de France.

Factor Bikes will become co-title sponsor of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, throwing fresh support behind the first-year American team’s goal of reaching the Tour de France within five years.

The team will be renamed Modern Adventure Factor Racing, officials confirmed to Velo.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but co-title sponsorship typically brings both funding and deeper technical support.

Factor founder Rob Gitelis said he hopes the new deal will help more U.S. riders to break into European racing.

“I know what it feels like to be a young American rider looking toward Europe and trying to understand how to get there,” said Gitelis, an ex-pro. “There was no easy pathway then, and it still isn’t easy now.”

Factor Bikes — founded in 2007 — has backed Israel-Premier Tech as well as supports Human Powered Health women’s team.

In addition to bike and tech support, the deal also folds Factor’s Continental development program into the Modern Adventure structure.

The announcement arrives just days after Modern Adventure enjoyed the biggest week in its brief history.

Ben Oliver won two stages and the Tour de Wallonie overall in Belgium to give the startup team instant credibility inside the peloton.

Factor steps up as co-sponsor

Factor was already supplying bikes, so stepping up to co-title sponsor marks a much bigger commitment.

Co-founder George Hincapie said the deal is about much more than supplying bikes.

“It’s about surrounding the team with people who understand racing, development, equipment, and the long road it takes to reach the Tour de France,” Hincapie said.

Nobody is booking hotel rooms in Paris just yet.

The team’s been relying on Hincapie’s reputation and contacts to secure high-profile invites, but the Tour de France is an altogether different beast.

The 18 WorldTour teams get automatic Tour invites. Add the top French squads and leading ProTeams and maybe two or three wildcard spots are left for the entire rest of the peloton.

Before Modern Adventure can realistically dream about the Tour, it needs better riders, bigger results, more sponsorship dollars, and a lot more UCI points.

Then maybe a Giro or Vuelta wildcard to prove it can survive a grand tour.

Hincapie has promised to keep a strong American flavor on the roster, and that could help as Tour-owners ASO look for ways to grow the Tour de France’s profile in the United States.