Universal Sports

In case you’re wondering what’s going on in the photo to the right, Taylor Phinney has the explanation (which he posted via Twitter):

“Sometimes, when I’m stuck in a hotel room for hours by myself…I wind up in front of a mirror, discovering new faces”

We’ve never thought of that method of fighting boredom, but we have to admit, it’s rather brilliant in its simplicity. And, come to think of it, this really shouldn’t come as a shock given Phinney’s sense of humor and unique vantage point on the universe, which was recently on display when we chatted with him before he competed at the Road Cycling World Championships.Meanwhile, when we come across a unique facial expression such as this — which vaguely resembles The Joker passing a kidney stone — we feel the need to commemorate it with a name.

So take a mental snapshot of it, because on the off chance that a

friend or relative of yours ever exactly conjures this odd facial contortion, you can tell them that they’ve just made the Phinney face.

For a look at some other faces –  check out our latest athlete photo showcase gallery right here.

Taylor Phinney (BMC) won the prologue of the Eneco Tour Monday and took the first leader’s jersey of the race.

“I’m super, super happy,” Phinney said. “I was surprised at how good I felt in my warm-up. I knew it was going to be a good day. This is a good race for me. Racing in Belgium and Holland is kind of my thing. It’s what I love to do. There’s another time trial in a couple days, so if I can try to hold onto the leader’s jersey until then, I definitely will. We have great riders and great staff here, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Phinney enjoyed the benefits of a dry course after rain slickened the course for the early starters.

“It was just a power course. I was able to go through it really fast,” he said.

Tuesday’s stage 1 is a flat 192km run from Oosterhout to St. Willibrord; Wednesday’s 174km route from Aalter to Ardooie is another spriter’s stage. But before Phinney will get to Friday’s 14.7km ITT, he will have to get through the race’s queen stage on Thursday. That stage in the Ardennes includes trips over the the Mur de Amay and the Mur de Huy and a tough finish circuit.

By Jason Devaney, Universal Sports

Throughout his life, small victories have mattered most to Davis Phinney.

There were the town sign sprints he and his cycling buddies would do during training rides, with each trying to reach the sign first. There was the infamous Gavia climb during the 1988 Giro d’Italia, which forced riders to pedal up a mountain with six inches of snow on the road. Phinney’s short-term goal was to get some warm clothes at the summit, which he eventually received.

Post-cycling career, Phinney’s daily victories have shifted.

“They’re having a really good conversation,” Phinney told us recently. “Or eliciting a really nice smile from someone. Or having a great cup of coffee. Or a tasty dessert. Or a really nice glass of wine. Or eating sushi with chopsticks.”

The 51-year-old Phinney’s priorities changed 11 years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

His winning attitude and outlook on life, however, stayed the same.

“I don’t really look back and say, ‘Gee, I really wish I hadn’t gotten this disease because I could be doing this, that or the other thing.’ That’s not my way,” said Phinney, whose book, “The Happiness of Pursuit,” went on sale last week. “I enjoy my life because with what’s been given, I definitely make the most out of it. I enjoy being with the Parkinson’s community; I enjoy lending my voice and hope that it helps my cause and others.”

Co-authored by Sports Illustrated senior writer Austin Murphy, the book pedals through Phinney’s childhood, his cycling career — in which he tallied more than 300 victories, including two Tour de France stages — and his battle with Parkinson’s. The memoir also outlines the path Phinney’s son Taylor has taken on the bike, from climbing the hills around the family’s homes in Colorado and Italy to his days on the wooden velodrome track. Now 20, Taylor rides for BMC Racing Team — carrying on the “family business,” in his father’s words.

Phinney was in New York City last week as part of his book tour. The version of him circa early 2008, the one whose Parkinson’s tremors were so bad that he could hardly sleep or eat and drink without spilling, was not there, however. He underwent deep brain stimulation surgery later that year, a procedure that involved drilling a series of holes in his skull, placing leads deep in his brain and, finally, connecting the wires from those leads to a battery pack implanted in his chest.

Nearly three weeks later, specialists turned on the device in Phinney’s brain, configuring it until the “Moment,” as he writes in the book.

The moment he stopped shaking.

“The deep brain stim has given me a new lease on life,” Phinney said. “I’m sitting here before you with no tremor and no need to take a pill every hour. I’ve been super fortunate to have had such success with the surgery. I was desperate. I was literally desperate.”

Phinney’s tremors return immediately when he shuts the battery off — as he was tempted to demonstrate during this interview — but when it’s working as designed, he’s a completely different person from the one who was writhing and thrashing on the operating table in 2008.

These days, Phinney is able to ride his bike on an almost daily basis near his Denver home. He goes for walks and eats at restaurants without fear. He also travels to bike races to watch his son compete.

“I’m equally proud of both my kids because his sister Kelsey is an amazing young woman in her own right,” said Phinney, whose wife Connie was an Olympic rower, cyclist and a top-level collegiate rower. “It’s been a really amazing journey for both Connie and I, just to be able to play a role in helping Taylor perform to his potential and his desires.”

Taylor, you may remember, won the individual pursuit world title at the 2009 and 2010 Track Cycling Worlds, and at the 2008 Olympics he finished seventh. He won the U-23 time trial at the 2010 UCI Road Worlds.

Phinney said he starts every day by providing a victory for himself.

“The disease imposes sort of a grim mask on people. So I fight that every single day,” Phinney said. “I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is look in the mirror and … smile. The intention is to say I’m gonna have a good day.

“I’m gonna have a good day.”

For more about Davis Phinney and to purchase his book, “The Happiness of Pursuit, visit davisphinney.com.

Author Event @ Barnes & Noble
Davis Phinney was one of America’s most successful cyclists, winning two stages of the Tour de France and an Olympic medal. Tonight he reads from The Happiness of Pursuit, which chronicles what happened after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

For two decades, Davis Phinney was one of America’s most successful cyclists. He won two stages at the Tour de France and an Olympic medal. But after years of feeling off, he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s. The body that had been his ally was now something else: a prison.

The Happiness of Pursuit is the story of how Davis sought to overcome his Parkinson’s by reaching back to what had made him so successful on the bike and adjusting his perspective on what counted as a win. The news of his diagnosis began a dark period for this vibrant athlete, but there was also light. His son Taylor’s own bike-racing career was taking off. Determined to beat the Body Snatcher, Davis underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation. Although not cured, his symptoms abated enough for him to see Taylor compete in the Beijing Olympics. Davis Phinney had won another stage. But the joy, he discovered, was in the pursuit.

With humor and grace, Phinney weaves the narrative of his battle with Parkinson’s with tales from his cycling career and from his son’s emerging career.  The Happiness of Pursuit is a remarkable story of fathers and sons and bikes, of victories large and small.

Wednesday June 01, 2011 6:00 PM
Barnes & Noble- Tribeca
97 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007, 212-587-5389

Former cycling star Davis Phinney remembers a time, not too long ago, when he was certain his son Taylor Phinney would never ride a bike competitively.

That changed, the older Phinney said, when father and son caught the Tour de France in 2005.

“It kind of opened his eyes,” Davis Phinney said.

These days, the younger Phinney is the 20-year-old rising star of U.S. cycling, a tall, strong rider equally adept on the track and the roads. He the reigning USA Cycling time trial champ, a title he’ll defend Saturday at the national pro championships. Phinney is also entered in Monday’s 115-mile road race as he continues a trek toward the 2012 London Olympics.

Some may have even larger aspirations for Phinney: bringing a fresh, clean face to a sport that has an image severely tarnished.

“I don’t feel a whole lot of pressure on myself. There’s only so much I can do,” he said. “All I can do is go out and do the best I can and get the results I need to get. Just focus on staying positive and keeping a good outlook on the sport.”

That’s been difficult the past week or so, ever since Lance Armstrong’s ex-teammate Tyler Hamilton told “60 Minutes” he witnessed the seven-time Tour de France winner take performance-enhancing drugs before or during the 1999, 2000 and 2001 tours while part of the U.S. Postal team. Armstrong has denied Hamilton’s claims and always maintained his innocence.

The CBS program also reported that Armstrong’s close friend, George Hincapie, told federal investigators he and Armstrong supplied each other with performance-enhancing drugs. Hincapie said last week he did not know where “60 Minutes” got its information. On Friday, he didn’t want to discuss the allegations.

“It has been on my mind, but I like to focus on the good things in my life,” Hincapie said, “and there are a lot of those.”

Hincapie believes good days are ahead for American cycling with Phinney and several other young riders competing this weekend. Right now, Phinney’s at the forefront of that peleton.

Phinney won world individual pursuit titles in 2009 and 2010 to go along with several national championships, all at an age when most people haven’t selected a college major yet.

It’s a drive Davis Phinney said his son’s always had.

In the Phinney family, who could blame him?

Davis won two stages of the Tour de France among his 300 victories, which includes the 1991 national road race. His new book, “The Happiness of Pursuit,” is due out June 1.

Taylor’s mother is Olympic cycling gold medalist Connie Carpenter-Phinney, also a speed skater who at 14 became the youngest American woman to compete in the Winter Olympics in 1972.

“One thing that’s clearly unique at Taylor is that he puts more pressure on himself,” Davis Phinney said. “He doesn’t take on external pressure.”

Taylor is also not one to abandon friends during hard times.

Armstrong was an idol of Phinney’s growing up and a mentor of his racing career. Taylor was part of Armstrong’s under-23 Trek-Livestrong team for several seasons.

“He’s always been very generous to me,” Taylor said.

As far as the allegations against Armstrong? “I have no idea what went on the in the past. Still hoping for the best,” Phinney said. “He’s never given me a reason to doubt him.”

To Taylor, Armstrong is the same person as always, “The guy who sits around drinking a beer and watches football,” Phinney said.

Phinney is not the only promising young American in cycling. Ben King, Phinney’s former Trek-Livestrong teammate, won the road race last year at age 21 with a startling solo breakaway, becoming the youngest U.S. champion in history.

“Taylor had won the time trial and we had something to celebrate already,” King said. “Then to go solo to the finish line was a little bit overwhelming, to be honest.”

Phinney has a choice to make before the year’s out. He’s pointing to the London Games, but isn’t yet sure if he’ll compete in track events or road races — or both.

“We’ll see. It’s something that’s on my mind, but something I haven’t made a decision about,” he said. “But I am preparing my end of the year schedule set me up for next year.”

And that could set up him as the face of U.S. cycling.

“He’s had a great early run,” Davis Phinney said. “Hopefully, it will continue for a long time.”