Taylor Phinney (Cannondale-Drapac) is set to make his Tour de France debut on Saturday, with the American an outside challenger for the 14-kilometre prologue in the German city of Dusseldorf.
The American moved to Cannondale-Drapac over the winter and has endured a slow start to his season, with niggling injuries slowing his progress. That said, the former maglia rosa wearer heads into his first Tour brimming with excitement. The race has been a major objective for Phinney since he was a youngster, and he follows in the footsteps of his his father, who is one of only three Americans to win multiple stages in the race.
There was a point when Phinney Jr. doubted his future in the sport after a serious crash at the US Professional Road Championships in Chattanooga in 2014 saw him fracture both bones in his lower leg, shatter his kneecap and severely injure ligaments and tendons in his knee. The recovery has been arduous, but Phinney has fought back to take the start and make history on Sunday.
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Cyclingnews: Taylor, how is your form ahead of the Tour and Saturday’s time trial?
Taylor Phinney: The time trial is a bit of an unknown. I’ve not had the perfect season so far. I feel like I’ve been coming back the whole time from three different incidents. I got through Tour de Suisse and got a decent result in the prologue there, and doing that race will bring me up another level. That said, everyone is coming here at a high level. I did come here in April to recon the course, so I’m going to go out there and do my thing. Wherever that puts me, that’s where it puts me.
CN: What was the last time trial you did that you were truly happy with, where you were happy with the performance and got the result you wanted out of it?
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