Taylor Phinney’s return to European racing this season has had its up and downs, with the latest highlight coming last week when his BMC Racing squad won the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The 25-year-old American has put in 12 race days in Europe so far this season, starting in France with his debut at Tour de Haut Var, where he finished an inauspicious 57th overall. He followed that with 73rd overall at Tour la Provence and 76th at Strade-Bianche before lining up at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The Italian WorldTour race provided a boost to Phinney’s morale after the opening team win and his 15th place in the 10.1km individual time trial on the final day.
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The path back from his debilitating crash in June of 2014, when he severely fractured the tibia and patella of his left leg and ruptured his patellar tendon, has been arduous, but there are signs of his old self starting to emerge. Phinney returned to racing in August of last year, starting things off with a podium finish in the opening stage of the Tour of Utah and then winning a stage at the USA Pro Challenge in his home state of Colorado.
He was on BMC’s winning squad at the team time trial world championships in Richmond, where he competed in the both the individual time trial [12th] and road race [85th]. Phinney told Cyclingnews' Stephen Farrand on Tuesday after the Tirreno-Adriatico finish that his return to European racing is a work in progress.
“It’s been a very pleasant Tirreno with the cancelation of the queen stage and good weather, so for me it’s a pretty perfect week,” he said. “At the team time trial, I personally felt great and the team obviously did a good job. So I was happy that I was able to contribute there.
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