It is one thing to win a world championship title at the age of 18. It is a completely different statement to defend the title and repeat a victory with nearly a two-second margin over the competition. Taylor Phinney, now a two-time men’s individual pursuit world champion, has solidified his place a top the track cyclist’s most elite champions. Demonstrating his depth, character and incredible performance under pressure, we caught up with Taylor after his race at the 2010 Track Cycling World Championships in Denmark.
The 19-year-old rider from Boulder, Colorado finished the 4-kilometer race in 4 minutes, 16.6 seconds — nearly two seconds better than silver medalist and fellow Trek-LIVESTRONG teammate Jesse Sergent of New Zealand on March 25, 2010 in Ballerup, Denmark. Sergent, also pleased with his result, improved dramatically from his 5th place finish in 2009.
Immediately after the race, Taylor was quick to mention the special moment of sharing the podium with not only his Trek-LIVESTRONG teammate, but great friend Jesse Sergent, as well as Jack Bobridge (Australia).
Taylor explains, “To be able to go against Jesse in the final was really cool for me. Really, it was a win-win situation because Jesse is such a good friend of mine and I have so much respect for him. Last year, he showed he had the ability to go fast, but this year he came into his own, stepped it up, and came with his guns out.”
To prepare for this year’s race, Taylor describes a slightly different focus and training that was needed to defend his title.
“This year I’ve trained a lot harder for this race that ever before. Last year I had the best time of the year but people didn’t really know if I could step up to the plate and make it happen. I ended up winning so the bar and standard is set very high.”
Taylor’s training regiment has included logged a lot more base miles than ever before. Going for longer riders has expanded his focus to not only include pursuit-specific training, but preparation for elite road racing in Europe and North America. Coming into the race championships in Denmark, Taylor describes himself as already a much stronger rider. Despite top form, the individual pursuit remains an intense mental battle.
“It’s always a little easier if you have great form, but no matter what way you come at it, it’s going to be painful by the end. It’s also a real mental battle and that is something I’m good at managing,” he explained.
Sergent edged Phinney in qualifying with the fastest mark of the day, clocking 4:15.988. Although Phinney’s winning time of 4:16.6 in finals was slightly slower than qualifying, he noted riders often put their best time forward in qualifying.
“Really the only guy in recent years to be consistent in qualifiers and finals is Bradley Wiggins. My goal coming here was actually to beat the world record mark,” Taylor said of Christopher Boardman’s mark of 4:11.114. “But to get a time like that you have to have perfect conditions, perfect track, a hot track and great form.”
Although it was not a perfect day, all competitors showed up to challenge each other on an even-playing field and only one walked away world champion. With that, one must note the unique atmosphere surrounding track racing.
Taylor described the environment as very supportive, as the exclusive group of “trackies” build tight-knit friendships. He explains, “It’s not a common thing at the elite level of any sport to be racing against some of your closest friends, who remain friends on and off the track. Being here made me realize how much I love doing the pursuit.”
Before Taylor and Jesse squared off in finals, the teammates and friends were able to exchange a quick good luck hug, but quickly returned to the “zone.” When asked about his warm-up regiment, Taylor explained how he tweaked his warm-up before his world championship victory.
“I did a different warm-up than before qualifying. For qualifying, I actually rode 45 minutes outside of Copenhagen, then got to the track and suited up for an intense 45-minutes warm up. While racing, I’m holding 530 watts for four minutes so I have to make sure my body is ready for that. But for finals, since my body has already gone through the pursuit once, it’s use to that effort and I brought my effort down about 30%. My body is very ready by that point.”
One other critical element to Phinney’s warm-up: his pump-up jams. His taste in music is a hot topic for the fans who enjoy catching a glimpse of the young rider’s playlist. However, Taylor has traditionally kept his self-titled playlist, “Kill Time” private. Fresh off his win, he decided to reveal one song – “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, stating it is a great pump-up song for anything really…
He elaborates, “Kill Time is mainly remixs and mash-ups of popular songs; songs you would here if you went out to a night club and people are dancing. Music is my reinforcement to get in the zone. I think I’ll slowly start to leak the details of some of the songs. People will be surprised to hear what I’ve got playing.”
When asked what he was thinking during the actual race, Taylor described an extreme, deliberate focus that includes watching his track coach Neal Henderson for pacing cues. Like other coaches, Henderson takes steps along the line to signal to Taylor if he is ahead or behind his opponent. Although Phinney finished nearly two seconds ahead of Sergent, Henderson had only taken two steps up the track, indicating he was only leading by :20 seconds.
“I wasn’t really sure my lead was very much, but I wasn’t going to look around either. You have to give it everything you have until you cross the finish line. Only then is when you really know.”
And for the signature “Phinney victory salute”, Taylor blew kisses and saluted the crowd with wide smile and a “spread eagle” post-up. His celebration moved quickly to giving thanks and praise to his always supportive parents, Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter, as well coach Neal Henderson.
One this is for sure, whether it’s logging more base miles than ever before, the guidance of coaches like Neal and Axel Merckx, or his go-to pump-up jams, whatever Taylor is doing…it is working. He hopes to continue to deliver joining the US national team at nationals and Trek-LIVESTRONG for Europe’s U23 Paris-Roubaix, Olympia Holland, and Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt.
Taylor next races the omnium event at the World Track Championships today, Monday, March 29, before heading to Belgium to continue road racing with Trek-LIVESTRONG and the US national team.
Check out all of the photos here.
Photos: Graham Watson