Taylor Phinney facts for kids
Phinney at the 2016 Tour of Britain
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Taylor Carpenter-Phinney | ||
| Nickname | Mini Phinney | ||
| Born | June 27, 1990 Boulder, Colorado, United States |
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| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb; 13 st 5 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Retired | ||
| Discipline | Road and track | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Classics specialist Time trial specialist |
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| Major wins | |||
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Taylor Carpenter-Phinney (born June 27, 1990) is an American who used to be a professional road racing cyclist. He rode for different teams from 2009 to 2019. Taylor was especially good at time trials (races against the clock) on the road. He also excelled in the individual pursuit on the track, winning world titles in 2009 and 2010.
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Taylor Phinney's Early Life and Amateur Cycling
Taylor Phinney was born on June 27, 1990. His parents were also famous cyclists! His dad, Davis Phinney, won an Olympic medal in road cycling. His mom, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, won an Olympic gold medal in cycling and was also a speed skater.
In 2007, when Taylor was 16, he started racing for a junior cycling team called Team Slipstream. The team manager, Jonathan Vaughters, signed Taylor even before he raced. He had heard great things about Taylor's cycling skills. This is when Taylor also started track cycling. In August 2007, he won a world title for junior time trials. He continued to compete in track cycling events. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he finished seventh in the individual pursuit. Later that year, he won gold medals in three different track races at the U.S. National Track Championships.
Taylor Phinney's Professional Cycling Career
Starting with Trek–Livestrong (2009–2010)
In September 2008, famous cyclist Lance Armstrong announced that Taylor Phinney would join his under-23 team. Taylor quickly showed his talent. On March 26, 2009, he won the individual pursuit at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. He won this same world title again on March 25, 2010.
After his track success, Taylor focused more on road cycling. He won several important races, including the Paris–Roubaix Espoirs and the overall title at the Olympia's Tour. He also won individual stages in races like the Tour de l'Avenir and Tour of Utah. In July 2010, he got to ride for a bigger team, Team RadioShack, as a trainee.
Riding for BMC Racing (2011–2016)
In September 2010, Taylor joined the BMC Racing Team team for the 2011 season. This team had other famous riders like Cadel Evans. In his first year with BMC, Taylor finished fourth overall in the 2011 Eneco Tour.
The year 2012 was a big one for Taylor. He helped his team win a team time trial at the 2012 Giro del Trentino. Then, he won the very first stage of the 2012 Giro d'Italia. This win meant he got to wear the maglia rosa, which is the pink jersey worn by the race leader. He was only the third American cyclist ever to do this!
After the Giro, Taylor focused on the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He competed in both the road race and the time trial, finishing fourth in both events. Later that year, he won a stage in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. At the 2012 UCI Road World Championships, his BMC team won a silver medal in the team time trial. Taylor also won a silver medal in the individual time trial, missing the gold by just five seconds.
Taylor was known for being a very fair and clean athlete. He once explained that he avoided using even legal things like caffeine pills or mild painkillers during races. He believed in competing without any extra help, showing his strong commitment to clean sport.
In 2014, Taylor had a great start to the season. He won the first-ever 2014 Dubai Tour after winning the opening time trial. In May, he won a stage at the 2014 Tour of California. Soon after, he won his second United States National Time Trial Championships title. However, just two days later, Taylor had a very serious crash during the United States National Road Race Championships. He crashed trying to avoid a motorcycle. His injuries were severe, and he needed surgery. This meant he couldn't race for a whole year.
In 2015, Taylor took part in an adventure cycling trip called "Thereabouts 2." He rode from Boulder, Colorado, to Moab, Utah, with friends. This trip was about enjoying cycling for the adventure and friendship, without the strict rules of professional racing.
Taylor spent the beginning of 2016 recovering from his injuries. He started racing again in February and competed in some spring races. In May 2016, he won his third United States National Time Trial Championships title. He hoped this win would help him get selected for the 2016 Summer Olympics. He did compete in the Olympics, but he finished 22nd in the time trial.
Joining Cannondale–Drapac (2017–2019)
In September 2016, Taylor announced he would join the Cannondale–Drapac team for the 2017 season. He wanted to focus on "classics" races and hoped to race in the 2017 Tour de France. In June 2017, he was indeed chosen for the Tour de France, which was his first time competing in that famous race. Before the Tour, Taylor shared that he was still getting therapy for his injuries. He said his left leg was still weaker than his right. During stage 2 of the Tour, Taylor even led the King of the Mountains competition, wearing the polka dot jersey for a short time!
Retirement from Cycling
In October 2019, Taylor Phinney announced that he was retiring from professional cycling at the end of the 2019 season. He explained that the injuries he suffered in 2014 were still affecting him, and this was a main reason for his decision to stop racing.
Taylor Phinney's Personal Life
Since 2016, Taylor Phinney has been in a relationship with another professional cyclist, Katarzyna Niewiadoma from Poland. They got married in May 2024.
Taylor Phinney's Major Cycling Achievements
Road Cycling Achievements
- 2007
- 1st Time trial, UCI World Junior Championships
- Tour de l'Abitibi
- 1st Stages 1 (Time Trial) & 2
- 2009
- 1st Paris–Roubaix Espoirs
- 1st Stage 1 Flèche du Sud
- 2010
- 1st Time trial, UCI World Under-23 Championships
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Overall Olympia's Tour
- 1st Prologue, Stages 1, 2 & 3
- Tour of Utah
- 1st Prologue & Stage 3 (Time Trial)
- 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
- 4th Overall Eneco Tour
- 2012
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 1 (Time Trial)
- Wore the pink jersey after Stages 1–3
- 1st Stage 7 (Time Trial) USA Pro Cycling Challenge
- 1st Stage 1 (Team Time Trial) Giro del Trentino
- UCI World Championships
- 2nd Team time trial
- 2nd Time trial
- 3rd Chrono des Nations
- Olympic Games
- 4th Road race
- 4th Time trial
- Giro d'Italia
- 2013
- 1st Stage 4 Tour de Pologne
- 3rd Overall Tour of Qatar
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 2 (Team Time Trial)
- 3rd Giro di Toscana
- 5th Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 7th Milan–San Remo
- 2014
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Overall Dubai Tour
- 1st Young rider classification
- 1st Stage 1 (Time Trial)
- 1st Stage 5 Tour of California
- 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- 2015
- 1st Team time trial, UCI World Championships
- 1st Stage 1 USA Pro Cycling Challenge
- 2016
- 1st Time trial, National Championships
- 1st Stage 1 (Team Time Trial) Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1st Stage 5 (Team Time Trial) Eneco Tour
- 2nd Team time trial, UCI World Championships
- 2017
- Tour de France
- Wore the polka dot jersey after Stage 2
- Tour de France
- 2018
- 8th Paris–Roubaix
- 2019
- 1st Stage 1 (Team time trial) Tour Colombia
Grand Tour Results
Taylor Phinney competed in some of the biggest cycling races, called Grand Tours.
| Grand Tour | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia |
— | 155 | DNF | — | — | — | — | — |
 Tour de France |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 159 | 136 |
 Vuelta a España |
DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| IP | In Progress |
Track Cycling Achievements
- 2007
- 1st Individual pursuit, National Championships
- 2008
- 1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Junior Championships
- National Junior Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 1st Kilo (1 km time trial)
- 1st Team pursuit
- 2009
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 2nd Kilo
- National Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 1st Points race
- 1st Team pursuit
- UCI World Cup Classics
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 1st Kilo
- UCI World Championships
- 2010
- UCI World Championships
- 1st Individual pursuit
- 3rd Omnium
- UCI World Championships
See also
In Spanish: Taylor Phinney para niños
