Lights, Camera, Not so Much Action

Boulder Center for Sports Medicine - Human Performance Lab, June 26, 2008
Taylor being interviewed and filmed by a local TV staion...with another journalist filming the interview....all while a documentary producer caught all of it on film (and I snapped this shot everyone).

Taylor Phinney press day was yesterday. From 2-6pm, there were photojournalists, writers, photographers all lined up to get a piece of young Mr. Phinney. Some of the interviews were simple, standard Q & A - while others were a big more interesting. Nicole Mudloff of PepperCom press agency out of New York and the capable staff at BCSM's front desk including clinic manager Mel Johnson kept everyone in line and pretty much on time. Mom and pop also got called into action for a few words on film (hey, they're both Olympic medalists) and I was even asked a few questions on camera. Read it now...you'll see it later - "like tissues in a furnace", which will make sense if you see the interview that I gave.

As usual, Taylor was himself - pretty much as cool as a cucumber. One of the funniest moments came when Taylor announced on camera that "he was going to become a man tomorrow"...which got the photojournalist smirking a little bit. What he was trying to say, is that today is Taylor's 18th birthday....and yes, now he is a man. I guess that means that him being a junior is still just a technicality. Unfortunately, he didn't become a man early enough to be able to compete in the Tour of PA Under 25 race that is going on right now...but next year we've got a good target set on that race!

My departure date has been pushed back a couple of days....which is nice. Originally, Taylor and I were going to leave Boulder on July 4...but instead, Taylor is going to Italy with his parents to meet Kelsay (Taylor's younger sister) to celebrate a family friend's graduation from college. I'm going to leave Boulder on Monday July 7, and meet Taylor in Frankfurt, Germany and then we'll fly to Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday July 8 arriving early on the morning of the 9th. Taylor will be racing the 3K individual pursuit on July 12 and then racing to defend his world championship in the individual time trial on July 18. Taylor's training has gone very well the past week, and it's almost go time!

Training, Mountains, and Preparations

My biggest ride of the year occurred yesterday with Taylor and Mike Freidman (of Garmin-Chipotle) here in Boulder, CO. We rolled out of Boulder and went straight up Lee Hill road, a solid climb. Taylor had some efforts to do during the ride and his first one was up Lee Hill. He fluidly rode away from Mike and I as he ascended the climb. You can view my effort during the ride at: GPS Data and Power Data We continued to climb to Ward, and then to Brainard Lake at over 3000 meters (10,000 feet). The mountains in the background of the photo are from the Indian Peaks wilderness area, and the road to this point only opened up just this week!

Needless to say, I was tired at the end. We stopped at the end of the ride to soak the legs in Boulder Creek...the cool water felt good! It's less than 2 weeks until Taylor and I depart, and we've got just a little bit more training to get into his legs before we go. Stay tuned for more updates.

Junior 3K World Record!

Last week's training sessions at the ADT Center in Los Angeles were capped by Taylor setting a new world record for juniors at 3000 meters. In March at the UCI Track World Championships, Taylor had ridden through 3K in 3:17.5 en route to his 8th place 4K ride of 4:22 but the UCI did not recognize the record. Based on Taylor's training efforts and the fact that he was going to be doing a simulation for Beijing on Sunday and Monday, we decided to have Taylor attempt an official junior world record. On Sunday, Taylor rode a 3:16.2 which is well under the standing record of 3:17.775. Monday, though, was the day set for the official record attempt - with a UCI commissaire there to weigh and measure his bike to make sure it was within regulations, as well as to have USADA there for Taylor to perform post-ride drug screening necessary to ratify any records. On Monday, Taylor rode two 3K efforts - the first one in 3:16.589 (breaking the world record) and then even more impressively posting a 3:16.9 ride less than 2 hours later! All of this bodes very well, and indicates that the training so far is going according to plan. We now have 2 weeks back in Boulder prior to our departure for Cape Town, South Africa.

LA Training Camp

Last week was a good week of training on the LA velodrome at the ADT Center. We used the time to try out different gears, warm-up routines, and different pacing strategies. Taylor hasn't been on a track since Manchester at the end of March but he sure hasn't lost anything. He looked smooth and fast, as usual. In training on Wednesday, he rode a 3K effort that basically equalled the current junior world record for that distance. He will be racing today (Sunday) and Monday in an Olympic simulation with 3 rides in two days...just like we hope to do in Beijing. The only difference is that in Beijing he'll be doing a full 4K effort each time instead of just 3K.
Taylor - Over the Top Oakleys....

The camp also featured several of the other US men's endurance team riders that are attempting to qualify for the Beijing games. There are two slots for four men - Mike Friedman, Brad Huff, Colby Pearce and Bobby Lea. They will be performing a 3K mass start test on both Sunday and Monday as part of their qualifiers. Keep tuned for more info and check out the videos at the bottom - including a video of Taylor's 3K ride on Wednesday. Three weeks until the Odyssey begins!

The Past, Present, and Future

Two years in May of 2006, my journey toward Beijing began as I talked with Taylor Phinney, and his Olympic medalist parents Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter, about coaching him in cycling. Taylor had already won a few local races and showed great promise. From that point on, I've been part of the team of folks that has helped Taylor grow into a world class athlete in an extremely short time. In August of 2007, Taylor won the UCI Junior Time Trial world championship title in Mexico. In October of 2007, Taylor won the Elite USA National Championships in the 4km Individual Pursuit in Los Angeles. From there, Taylor entered the UCI world cup track cycling events in Sydney in November (9th), Beijing in December (4th), LA in January (1st), and Copenhagen in February (9th). I then went to Manchester, England for the UCI Track World Championships with Taylor where he finished 9th in a personal record time and set a new "unoffical" junior world record time at 3km en route.

Above - Taylor and I in Manchester (I'm not a midget...but Taylor is a giant!)

Taylor has just returned to the US after a 2-week European junior racing circuit with the US Junior National cycling team based out of Belgium and had successful races at the Trofeo Karlsburg in Germany and at the Tour du Pays Vaud (TPV) in Switzerland - including an individual TT win at TPV and finsishing 7th overall. Next up is the USA Cycling Olympic team camp in Los Angeles next week and then the Tour of PA U25 race at the end of June.

On July 4, Taylor and I will leave for a 7-week odyssey that will involve a round the world trip to South Africa for the UCI Junior Track and Road Cycling world championships, then t0 Bordeaux, France for track specific training on the velodrome there, and then finally to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games. This blog will be a way to tell the story of the journey leading to China to my friends, relatives, co-workers, and others interested in this epic adventure. Enjoy!