Taylor Phinney - Pro cyclist Trek Livestrong Team

Manchester!

Taylor rode a personal best time here (4′22.358) and finished 8th.  Truth be told, he was very disappointed.  He got off to a sluggish start as he tried to control his energy and output, but it was a bit too slow.  He came back fast and his last kilometer was the sixth fastest.  Based on the speed of the track and his current fitness, he’d hoped for a new American record (sub 4′20″) but it wasn’t to be.  Even a new American record would not have earned him a spot in the final four.  He’s got some work to do and he’s up for it, there’s a good 4 months now until Beijing. The big news is that he beat enough of the top ranked guys to maintain or maybe even improve his world ranking which means he will qualify a spot for Beijing.  Even better news is the fast clocking at 3000 meters (en route to his 4k time) was in effect the world’s fastest time for a junior at the official Junior 3 k distance, besting the old time by .25 of a second (3′17.523).  When confronted with this information, the UCI acknowledged that the first obstacle was that he needed to go to anti-doping, and further - would our team pay for it!?  When asked later, if the record would be accepted, the UCI then proceeded to explain that perhaps the  rules would prohibit the record because it was done in a senior event but it would take some time to sort out.  We know that doing a time withiin a time must be allowed as Chris Hoy did it by setting a 500 meter record en route to the 1000 meter record.   A 3k is a 3k, a junior is a junior - so what could be at issue?  we don’t know but we’ll call it unofficial for now.  We do know this - for his 9th ever pursuit - he has come a really long way! Stay tuned!