Taylor Phinney - Pro cyclist Trek Livestrong Team

World cup Sydney - Opening session, November 2007

All the buzz is in the infield as the Track World Cups get under way Friday morning. The track is outside Sydney, further than the Olympic Park complex - in a quiet zone known as Bass Hill.

It’s familiar but oh so strange to be here in - my first trip to Oz. Everyone is rolling. At noon (noon Friday is 6pm MST), we counted 60 riders on the rollers while the seemingly endless heats (18 heats) of women’s pursuits rolled onward. I say endless because the competition is only 3 hours old and already 30 minutes behind schedule. No fault of the organizers only that there are more riders than expected.

It’s an Olympic year so the stakes are higher and every point counts in these world cup races. There are over 20 US riders here, many with professional teams and only six listed officially with the US Team.

Eagerly awaiting Sarah Hammer’s ride, I watch a steady onslaught of sub 3′40″ efforts. But knowing that she’s the world record holder, the world champion, and definitely the rider to mark - having a bit of trouble at the start, she has her coach realign the bike. Once off, she pops a 1′15″ first kilometer, well of the mark and has to fight her way back. Her ride partner Wendy Houvenaghel takes her by less than a tenth and with it the fourth slot. (Only 4 riders qualify). What happened to the Champ? Coming back from a summer back injury, her form is still on the rise. The gear felt simply too big today and though she fought back, it wasn’t enough.

It’s a fast track here in Sydney. Why? As compared to LA which is climate controlled, this one is more open to the environment and it is nearly summer. A hot track is a faster one because the air is less dense. Less dense air, less resistance, more speed. However today, race day is much slower than previous training days.

Taylor’s not the only Junior from Aguascalientes here. Aussie World Champs Josephine Tomic and Travis Meyer are also here but not riding Pursuit. Prior to the race, Taylor let me know that he was not as nervous as me and though I felt relaxed to begin with - I started to feel antsy. Lots of helping hands here - mechanics, coaches, soigneurs, Taylor’s sister Kelsey and even a surprise visit by his Boulder Coach Neal Henderson who was flying through to Perth today and took a cab to the track in order to see his young protégé ride.

In the second pair with Vladimir Tuychiev (Uzbekistan). Still new to pursuiting, Taylor’s goal was to break 4′30″ as his training times indicated that even a 4′25″ could be possible. Having only two pursuits in competition to his credit, he wanted to test himself and went out flying fast, opening with a 1.07″ kilometer - about 3 seconds faster than schedule. When the announcer remarked that his 3k time put him 3 seconds faster than the winner of the Junior Worlds (his time 3′20, the winner in Aguascalientess 3:23) - and with the Uzbek rider in sight - Taylor did what he could to hold on and finish with a 1.08 kilometer and a final time of 4.28.76. A PR by 6 seconds.

So how does the Junior World Champion feel? Disappointed at first, as he’d hoped for a better time but as rider after rider rolls in slower than him - he’s realizing that his time was good, if not great.

Taylor possesses a beginner mind. He’s not afraid to visualize success. He’s not afraid to go for the top.

Stay tuned.