Taylor Carpenter-Phinney (born June 27, 1990) is an American retired professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2019 for the , and teams. Phinney specialized in time trials on the road as well as the

individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

on the track, winning the world title in the discipline in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Early life and amateur career

Phinney was born on June 27, 1990, to former professional road cyclist and Olympic medal-winner Davis Phinney and former Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist and speed skater Connie Carpenter-Phinney. In 2007 at the age of 16, Phinney began racing on Team Slipstream's junior squad. Slipstream team manager Jonathan Vaughters signed Phinney to the team before he had competed in a race, having heard word-of-mouth reports about Phinney's ability on group rides in Boulder. It was at this time that Phinney was introduced to track cycling. In August 2007, he won the World Junior Championships time trial title. Since then, Phinney has competed in National, World Cup and World Championship events for track cycling. Phinney finished seventh in the

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. Later that year, at the U.S. National Track Championships, he won gold medals in the elite one kilometer time trial, individual pursuit and team pursuit races.

Professional career

Trek–Livestrong (2009–2010)

On September 24, 2008,

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

announced that Phinney had made the under-23 team, which was organized by the group that managed Armstrong's , . On March 26, 2009, Phinney won the individual pursuit at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and, again, at the

2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycle ...

on March 25, 2010. Phinney then switched his focus to the road, winning the Paris–Roubaix Espoirs, the Olympia's Tour overall, in addition to the first four stages and time trials in Tour de l'Avenir and Tour of Utah. Taylor Phinney 2010

On July 29, 2010, it was announced that Phinney and teammates Jesse Sergent and Clinton Avery would ride in the Tour of Denmark for , riding as stagiaires.

BMC Racing (2011–2016)

On September 22, 2010, the announced that Phinney would become part of BMC in 2011, joining a team that included Cadel Evans,

George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cycle sport, cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contad ...

and Alessandro Ballan. The highlight of Phinney's first season with BMC was a fourth-place finish in the Eneco Tour. Phinney started the 2012 season by helping his team win the Giro del Trentino's team time trial, where he wore the leader's jersey for a day. His early target for the 2012 season was the opening stage of the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

, which he duly won to wear the leader's jersey, the ''maglia rosa'', becoming just the third American to do so following Andrew Hampsten in 1988 and Christian Vande Velde in 2008. Phinney then switched his focus to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, targeting the road race and

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, where he finished fourth in each event. He would go on to win the stage-seven individual time trial of the

USA Pro Cycling Challenge The USA Pro Cycling Challenge, also known as USA Pro Challenge, was an annual multi-day professional road bicycle racing stage race that first took place in Colorado in 2011. Originally announced on August 4, 2010 by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter ...

. Phinney participated in the 2012 UCI World Road Race Championships. He was part of the six-man BMC team that took silver in the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

. Phinney also finished second to Tony Martin in the individual event, missing out on becoming World Champion by five seconds. Amidst the turmoil of the

– USADA affair, Phinney sent a tweet congratulating his teammate Steve Cummings for his stage win at the Tour of Beijing, saying "He ummings like me, follows his own personal policy of no caffeine pills and no painkillers. Purest of the pure!" Phinney later explained his comment by stating that although legal, caffeine pills and mild painkillers were often used in the

peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...

during races, and that some riders even crushed them and mixed them in water bottles. He stated that he was entirely against that practice and doping in general. On the penultimate stage of the

2013 Tirreno–Adriatico The 2013 Tirreno–Adriatico was the 48th edition of the Tirreno–Adriatico cycling stage race, often known as the ''Race of the Two Seas''. It started on 6 March in San Vincenzo and ended on 12 March in San Benedetto del Tronto and consisted o ...

, in heavy rain, Phinney found himself well in arrears of the leaders on a tough finishing circuit, which included a climb at Sant'Elpidio a Mare with gradients reaching 27 percent. Around 30 other riders in the group abandoned the race with over 100 kilometers (62 miles) to go, but Phinney rode on alone in the hope of making the time limit, so he could compete in the final day's time trial. Ultimately, Phinney missed the time limit by over ten minutes. In the early part of the 2014 season, Phinney won the inaugural Dubai Tour after winning the opening time-trial. In May, Phinney won a stage of the Tour of California. With more than 23 kilometers to the finish, Phinney broke away from a reduced peloton and won by 12 seconds. Soon after, Phinney was victorious for a second time at the United States National Time Trial Championships. Two days later, at the United States National Road Race Championships, Phinney suffered a career-threatening crash after sliding into a guard-rail. He was attempting to avoid a motorcycle on the descent of Lookout Mountain in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. His injuries—a compound fracture to his

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

and severed

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection whe ...

—required surgery. Phinney never wore his national jersey as he remained out of action for a year, having initially been given a six-to-eight-week recovery period. At the end of 2015, Phinney participated in "Thereabouts 2", with Angus Morton, Lachlan Morton and Cameron Wurf. "Thereabouts 2" was an adventure-related cycling trip from Boulder, Colorado to

Moab, Utah Moab () is the largest city in and the county seat of Grand County in eastern Utah in the western United States, known for its dramatic scenery. The population was 5,366 at the 2020 census. Moab attracts many tourists annually, mostly visitor ...

, while attempting to realize what makes cycling so special: adventure, friendship and a lack of structure. Phinney spent the early part of the 2016 season recovering from his injuries, making his first race appearance of the year at the Tour du Haut Var in February and subsequently racing in the spring classics before returning from Europe to his native Colorado. In May 2016 Phinney took his third national time trial title in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, beating runner-up Tom Zirbel by over a minute: Phinney expressed satisfaction with the result and his performance, hoping that it would help him secure selection for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. He competed at the Olympics, but despite entering the road time trial with hopes of a medal, he finished 22nd, over five minutes behind winner

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss people, Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He is known for being a qual ...

Cannondale–Drapac Pro Cycling Team (2017–2019)

In September 2016 Phinney confirmed that he had agreed an initial two-year deal with from the 2017 season, with a focus on competing in the classics and aiming to race in the 2017 Tour de France. In June 2017, he was named in the start list for the 2017 Tour de France, marking his debut in the race. In an interview ahead of the Tour Phinney stated that he was still undergoing therapy to deal with the effects of his injuries, and said that the power output from his left side was almost 25 percent down on that from his right side when making an explosive effort. Phinney was leading the mountains classification and wearing the polka dot jersey competition on stage 2.

Retirement

In October 2019 Phinney announced that he would retire from professional racing at the end of the 2019 season. He cited the ongoing effects of an injury he suffered in 2014 as a reason for his retirement.

Personal life

Since 2016, Phinney has been in a relationship with Polish professional cyclist Katarzyna Niewiadoma. The pair married in May 2024.

Major results

Road

;2007 : 1st Jersey rainbow chrono

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, UCI World Junior Championships : Tour de l'Abitibi ::1st Stages 1 ( ITT) & 2 ;2009 : 1st Paris–Roubaix Espoirs : 1st Stage 1 Flèche du Sud ;2010 : 1st Jersey rainbow chrono

, UCI World Under-23 Championships : 1st

, National Championships : 1st Overall Olympia's Tour ::1st Prologue, Stages 1, 2 & 3 : Tour of Utah ::1st Prologue & Stage 3 ( ITT) : 1st Paris–Roubaix Espoirs : 1st Stage 2b Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux : 1st Stage 4 Tour of the Gila : 1st Prologue Tour de l'Avenir ;2011 : 4th Overall Eneco Tour ::1st Prologue ;2012 :

::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) ::Held after Stages 1–3 : 1st Stage 7 ( ITT)

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Giro del Trentino : UCI World Championships ::2nd Silver medal uci

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

::2nd

: 3rd Chrono des Nations :

::4th Road race ::4th

;2013 : 1st Stage 4

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (; ), officially abbreviated TdP, is an annual, professional men's Race stage, multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages and is usually around 1,200 km ...

: 3rd Overall Tour of Qatar ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 2 ( TTT) : 3rd

Giro di Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

: 5th

, UCI World Championships : 7th

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

;2014 : 1st

, National Championships : 1st Overall Dubai Tour ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 1st Stage 5 Tour of California : 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ;2015 : 1st Gold medal uci

, UCI World Championships : 1st Stage 1

;2016 : 1st

, National Championships : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

: 1st Stage 5 ( TTT) Eneco Tour : 2nd Silver medal uci

, UCI World Championships ;2017 :

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

::Held after Stage 2 ;2018 : 8th

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

;2019 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT) Tour Colombia

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Track

;2007 : 1st Individual pursuit,

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

;2008 : 1st Rainbow Jersey Track

Individual pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships : National Junior Championships ::1st Individual pursuit ::1st Kilo ::1st Team pursuit ;2009 : UCI World Championships ::1st Rainbow Jersey Track

Individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

::2nd

Kilo Kilo may refer to: *kilo- (k-), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 103 *Kilogram (kg), a metric unit of mass Music *Kilo, a funk/R&B band from Bloomington/Indianapolis/Indiana *KILO, a Colorado radio station *''El Kilo'', a 2005 album by th ...

::1st Individual pursuit ::1st Points race ::1st Team pursuit : UCI World Cup Classics ::1st Individual pursuit ::1st Kilo ;2010 : UCI World Championships ::1st Rainbow Jersey Track

::3rd

Omnium An omnium (from Latin ''omnium'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that f ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phinney, Taylor 1990 births Living people American male cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for the United States Cyclists from Boulder, Colorado UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) American Giro d'Italia stage winners American track cyclists 21st-century American sportsmen