'A wicked day for the team' - George Hincapie’s Modern Adventure Team secures its first European Victory at Tour de Wallonie

Ben Oliver of Modern Adventure Pro Cycling — (Image credit: Modern Adventure Pro Cycling)

Modern Adventure Pro Cycling secured its first European victory on Wednesday as New Zealander Ben Oliver sprinted to victory on stage 2 of the Tour de Wallonie, marking the team's biggest win to date.

Racing through wet and windy conditions, Oliver overcame a late setback when he came unclipped heading into the finish. Teammates Riley Pickrell and Paul Wright helped bring him back to the front inside the final kilometre where Oliver launched his sprint to take the stage win.

The result was Modern Adventure's third race victory of its debut season. The win follows earlier successes from Samuel Flórez at the Tour de Gila and Stefan de Bod's national time trial title in January.

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Oliver had narrowly missed out on the opening stage, finishing fourth but the stage 2 victory and accompanying time bonuses moved him into the overall race lead heading into stage 3. Meanwhile, teammate Samuel Flórez retained the King of the Mountains jersey he earned through his breakaway efforts on stage 1.

"We were chasing stage wins this week and… to get it done whilst [George Hincapie] was here was an awesome way to finish a wet and windy day in the Tour of Wallonie," said Oliver post-race. "The boys had my back all day. Me and Riley were in a good position for the sprint then him and Paul got me out of trouble with 1500m to go. We got the job done. A wicked day for the team."

The victory represents another milestone for Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, an American outfit founded by former professional rider George Hincapie with the ambition of building a long-term pathway for riders and reaching the Tour de France within five years.

The team entered its inaugural season in 2026 with a roster combining experienced professionals and developing talent, many of whom were recruited with an emphasis on culture, teamwork and rider development.

The team’s directeur sportif, Ty Magner, said the victory reflected months of work focused on team commitment and trust.

"So happy for the guys. We’ve been telling the team for months to commit to each other, commit to the plans, commit to being a team, and results will follow. From day one in AlUla the guys showed what was possible, and it’s only taken six months to take our biggest win in Europe," Magner said.

Magner also noted the progress Oliver has made, sharing how the 29-year-old was racing criteriums in the United States last season and now he’s going toe to toe with WorldTour sprinters.

"I’m also just extremely happy for Ben..for him to have these opportunities now is one reason this team was founded. We’ll enjoy this one!"

The Tour of Wallonie is a UCI 2.Pro stage race consisting of five stages across the Wallonia region of southern Belgium

Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from the Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon, she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a journalist for two decades, including 14 years in cycling.