The Future Looks Like Taylor Phinney | From Cyclingnews.com
[tweetmeme only_single=false source=”artofgroupride”]Here’s what the next generation of cycling looks like. Taylor Phinney is a young phenom in pro cycling who already owns a few world championships on the track. While the media initially tipped him as a potential Grand Tour winner, he seems to have the rider make-up more akin to a classics rider than a stage racer. After weathering the hype of being the next Lance, he seems poised to develop into a world class one-day rider that can make his mark in the classics. Cycling News recently ran a feature on Taylor as he steps into his first full-time professional road racing team.
Young American to gather experience and develop this year
Taylor Phinney is ready to make his full-time ProTeam debut, and will race in the BMC Racing Team kit for the first time in the Tour of Qatar next month. However, the team is being careful not to put any pressure on the youngster to win.
“For Taylor, it will be about understanding how the pro peloton races and what some of the nuances are around a ProTeam,” team president Jim Ochowicz said on the BMC website. “Obviously, the rookie year for him will be a lot of new territory. We want to get him the experience he needs, but not where it’s going to cost him down the road.”
The 20-year-old will start with the Tours of Qatar and Oman, before moving to the Spring Classics. “Once his classics program is over, he’ll go to the Amgen Tour of California to prepare for the U.S. National championships on the road and the time trial,” according to Directeur Sportif John Lelangue.
“This season will be all about getting experience. There will be no pressure. The other guys on the team are happy to help develop him.”
Who knows – after a few years of success in the classics, maybe he’ll transform into the next American Tour de France champion. You can read the full text of the article here: BMC Putting No Pressure On Phinney In Rookie Year | Cyclingnews.com.
Ride on…
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