‘One of the best nights of my life’ - Cole Kessler on Kevin Vermaerke’s wedding and new coffee venture

The 23-year-old American, who recently completed his first season with George Hincapie’s Modern Adventure squad, has selected a single-origin Guatemalan coffee that will be available from Friday, 13 November, through Hub’s website and its cafés in Reno, Nevada.

For Kessler, the collaboration has involved considerably more than lending his name to a product. The California native spent several days at the roastery, sampling beans from around the world before settling on his preferred choice.

“I worked quite hard and spent many days at the roastery, trying every different blend and roast of different coffee beans from different parts of the world, and narrowed it down to this one that I really liked from Guatemala,” Kessler told Domestique.

Founded in 2009 in a 400-square-foot garage, Hub Coffee Roasters has grown into an established name in Reno’s coffee scene, operating several cafés alongside its own roastery. Cycling has been closely associated with the business since its beginnings.

Owner Mark Trujillo previously described the company’s philosophy as being built around “coffee, community, and bikes”, with its original Cheney Street café becoming a popular meeting point for local cyclists.

Away from the coffee roastery, Kessler also had another memorable occasion on his calendar: the wedding of his sister Rindi to UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Kevin Vermaerke.

Serving as Vermaerke’s best man, Kessler was involved in the celebrations throughout the weekend, including a bachelor party that brought together friends and riders from across the American cycling community.

“It was incredible to see Kevin and Rindi, my sister, get married and to be Kevin’s best man, and all the festivities leading up to it,” he said.

“Getting to meet some of his friends that I never met before was really cool, and we had one of the best nights of my life.”

Among those attending were members of the American squad that helped Brandon McNulty claim the elite men’s road race world title in Montreal in September, a landmark victory that made him the first American winner of the event since Lance Armstrong in 1993.

The celebrations also produced a striking photograph shared by Vermaerke on Instagram, showing Kessler alongside world champion Brandon McNulty, US national champion Quinn Simmons and several other American professionals, posing shirtless with ties still hanging around their necks, with the idea originating from Quinn Simmons.

For Kessler, the gathering was about more than the celebrations themselves. It offered a rare chance to spend time with fellow riders away from the pressures of professional racing.

“You don’t often get to get everybody together at one time for something that’s not a race. So it was cool to just see everybody with their guards down a little bit and just there to have a good time,” he said.

With the wedding celebrations behind him and his coffee launch approaching, Kessler will soon turn his attention back to preparations for the 2027 season.

Modern Adventure will gather in Greenville, South Carolina, at the end of November for a team camp focused primarily on building relationships and completing preparations for the new campaign.

The American outfit will compete under the name Modern Adventure Factor Racing next year, following Factor’s decision to expand its involvement as co-title sponsor.

“Obviously we’re all going to be riding our bikes, but it’s nothing super serious, no serious training. It’s a team bonding camp, getting to know everybody and doing media, bike fits, all that good stuff,” Kessler explained.

The team enters its second season following an encouraging debut campaign that included its first stage race victory, secured by Ben Oliver at the Tour de Wallonie in June.

Kessler believes the performances have helped raise the squad’s profile among American cycling fans.

“It’s definitely more than last year. It is really nice to see people come up and say, ‘My God, you guys had a great season. It was so cool to see you guys in this race and that race.’ It’s nice to see people see us, so to speak,” he said.

Having completed his first Paris-Roubaix in April, Kessler is again targeting the Spring Classics, with the demands of racing in northern Europe already shaping his thoughts about the months ahead.

“That’s coming up quick. I’ve got to get on my game, because you’ve got to be in shape already by March,” he said.