Taylor Phinney overpowered Jesse Sergent of New Zealand to take the world pursuit title.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) out-paced some quick men to win the men's race.(Image credit: Mitchell Clinton/www.clintonphoto.com)
Taylor Phinney celebrates on the podium after taking a second Paris-Roubaix espoirs.(Image credit: Etienne Garnier)
Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) has confirmed that he will ride as a stagiaire for Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team for the remainder of the season. Phinney, who recently competed in the Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt, is yet to confirm his racing schedule but come August he could race both the Tour of Denmark and the Tour du Limousin.
"I've more than achieved the goals I set out to achieve at the start of the year with the help of a really amazing team around me," he told Cyclingnews.
In 2010 he has already won his second U23 Paris-Roubaix title, in addition to claiming four stages and the overall classification at the Olympia's Tour, a stage in the Tour of Gila and his second individual pursuit world championship on the track.
"The main reason I'm doing this is to see if I like being a pro and riding with RadioShack. The option of racing with Trek-Livestrong in the US is fairly limited for the rest of the year with Cascade and Utah the only races, and with Missouri being out that doesn't leave a lot of racing before the worlds," Phinney said.
"It's a good time for me to test my skills and test myself."
Phinney will remain under contract with Trek-Livestrong for the time being, but with RadioShack having first refusal on a professional contract the next few months will be a chance for Phinney to test himself at a higher, more competitive level.
"Originally I thought I would do Tour de L'Ain but we've changed it to the Tour of Denmark and the Tour du Limousin. That's not 100 percent certain but there are a bunch of one-day races that I can choose do if I don't do the Tour de l'Avenir with the national team. That's all a little bit up for grabs."
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Phinney is currently taking a break from racing and is training in Italy. He may well make Italy his European base should he turn professional next year.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
