Taylor Phinney

Phinney Becomes the First US Rider to lead Giro Since Vande Velde in 2008

CyclingNews  (Race: Giro d’Italia, Stage 1)

Taylor Phinney (BMC) is only 21 and in his second year as a pro, but the talented young American’s road career took a huge leap forward today with victory in the opening short time trial that was stage 1 of the Giro d’Italia.

Phinney’s strong late spring form already hooked him a lead inthe Giro del Trentino when BMC won the team time trial, but the 21-year-old’s victory in the Giro, his first individual road success since the Eneco Tour prologue last August, is a breakthrough of huge proportions.

Watched by his mother Connie Carpenter Phinney, herself a former World and Olympic road and track champion, Phinney explained in the winner’s press conference in Herning that he hoped that his Giro success and lead – the first for an American since Christian Vande was first across the line in the Giro’s opening team time trial back in 2008 – would be just the start of more success.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but tonight I’ll sleep very happily,” Phinney said.

“This is incredibly special for me, I’ve been nervous for a couple of weeks coming into this race, but nervous in a good way. I knew I could do something really big here today.” “It just came down to going out there and doing it.” (read more)

American rider looks ahead to Saturday’s time trial

Cycling News

Pulling on the Giro d’Italia’s maglia rosa is a prestigious moment in any rider’s career and Taylor Phinney believes that if he succeeds in wining the race’s opening time trial on Saturday, his life will change forever.

The BMC rider lines up as one of the favorites to win the race’s 8.7km time trial in Denmark, with a pancake flat course ideally suited to his style of riding. However, with a number of strong rivals, the American is well aware of how difficult the test will be.

“I know that I can potentially change my life on Saturday. I can change my year, my career in a way and post my biggest result to date in just 10 minutes of racing. That’s just extra motivation for me,” Phinney told Cyclingnews.

“I’m looking forward to this time trial. It’s been a huge goal of mine for the whole year. I’m in a really good place to tackle it and I really want to win it. (read more)

US rider says second year with BMC will bring the best out of him

Cycling News

After displaying prodigious talent as a teenager, Taylor Phinney has long been identified as the next big thing in US cycling. After a meteoric rise to fame that included a host of world and national junior championships on the track and victory in the U23 race at Paris-Roubaix in 2010 in Livestrong Trek colours, much was expected of him when he signed to race for BMC last year.

But not everything went to plan in his debut season as a full-time professional. By his own admission, the 21-year-old from Boulder wasn’t fully prepared for the step-up and didn’t find his feet until late in the year. But he is confident that it will be a different story this time round and claims that he is “excited” rather than “stressed” as he begins his season at the Tour of Qatar. (read more)

The Olympics Now and Then’ Comes to Vail:  Champion athletes Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter pass torch onto son

Vail News

Many young athletes dream of going to the Olympics. For Connie Carpenter, that dream came true when she was only 14. Now Carpenter is watching her son, Taylor Phinney, make his own goal of Olympic gold a reality. Carpenter and her husband, Davis Phinney, also an Olympic medalist, will give a presentation about their experiences, called “The Olympics Now and Then,” at the Donovan Pavilion in Vail tonight.

Carpenter first competed in the Olympics in 1972 as a speed skater. After a series of ankle injuries and tendonitis, she could no longer skate. She decided to try cycling because her brother was involved with the sport at the time. Cycling turned out to be the right fit for the young athlete, who won a gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles games at the age of 27. This was not only a milestone for Carpenter but also for the sport itself.

“It was the first time women’s cycling was included in the Olympics,” Carpenter said. “I had never competed (as a cyclist) in America, much less the Olympics.”

Bicycles made for competitive cycling normally aren’t built for two, but that didn’t prevent Carpenter and Phinney from connecting over the sport in the late ‘70s. The couple married in 1983. Phinney’s first medal also came in 1984, with a bronze in the Team Time Trial. He then went on to garner two stage wins in the Tour de France (1986 and 1987). Phinney is a U.S. National Champion and has won more races than any other American cyclist in history.
(read more)

BMC rider helps raise funds to battle Parkinson’s disease

Cycling News

Taylor Phinney (BMC) has donated $25,000 to help his father’s cause, the Davis Phinney Foundation.  Phinney made the donation in order to spread awareness of Parkinson’s disease, which his father was diagnosed with in 2000 and has battled since.

“I’ve started this fundraiser for the month of January. I decided that I would donate 25,000 dollars to the foundation,” Taylor Phinney told Cyclingnews.

Phinney has set the challenge of asking the public to make smaller donations in a bid to match his pledge.

“It’s the first significant kind of donation I’ve made to any foundation or any

charity. Obviously my dad’s condition impacts me, not only as a person but as a cyclist. So for me to be able to give back in that way is special and I’m grateful to have the ability to make the donation.”

“Like most people I have a really special relationship with my dad and he’s very much one of my best friends. He’s been a really good role model for me and he’s made sure I was raised properly.” (read more)