Professional Cycling For the Fans - little phinney to BMC

http://www.bmc-racing.com/int-en/team/news/team/bmc-racing-team-signs-taylor-phinney.html

It's interesting that his dad raced for Ochowicz, and now it's Mini-Phinney's turn. I'm also surprised that he chose BMC over Trek-LiveStrong. (That is not to say that I'm disappointed, just surprised.) It's going to be great watching him in the coming years!

It's interesting that his dad raced for Ochowicz, and now it's Mini-Phinney's turn. I'm also surprised that he chose BMC over Trek-LiveStrong. (That is not to say that I'm disappointed, just surprised.) It's going to be great watching him in the coming years!

The issue I heard is that Radioshack was only signed on as a sponsor for another year. He didn't want to switch teams in 2011 because he is focused on the 2012 olympics and doesn't want to have to switch bikes just a year or less before that.

^^^^^ My guess that's the reason he went to BMC and not Radioshack.

Good for him :) I see impec track coming up soon :D

It's interesting that his dad raced for Ochowicz, and now it's Mini-Phinney's turn. I'm also surprised that he chose BMC over Trek-LiveStrong. (That is not to say that I'm disappointed, just surprised.) It's going to be great watching him in the coming years!

His mom also raced for Ochowicz (speed skating) and is good friends with Eric Heiden (team doc?).

Doh, thanks for catching that oversight on the team name! (Radio Shack, not Trek-LiveStrong)

Good point about Connie Carpenter and the speedskating. I didn't know about Och's involvement with that.

The cyclingnews article had to get a dig in on Lance Armstrong (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/phinney-explains-decision-to-sign-with-bmc-racing-team). It suggests that LA stopped talking to Phinney after Phinney started negotiating with other teams. CN wants to play the vindictive LA line, but it could be that LA saw the writing on the wall in terms of being unable to offer a long contract and doesn't have time for chitchat w/ Phinney.

First thing I thought of was Phinney was trying to get some distance between himself and Armstrong. Davis Phinney is no fool and certainly wants what's best for his son. Certainly this was a family decision made by very smart, experience professional athletes.

Might not be a bad idea to slowly move away from the Lance empire as it begins to crumble, particularly if you're a young kid with a promising future.

First thing I thought of was Phinney was trying to get some distance between himself and Armstrong. Davis Phinney is no fool and certainly wants what's best for his son. Certainly this was a family decision made by very smart, experience professional athletes.

Might not be a bad idea to slowly move away from the Lance empire as it begins to crumble, particularly if you're a young kid with a promising future.

Or he saw what happened the last time Lance retired and him ex-teamates ended up taking over a new team then missing races because of it.

Wow, awesome for him. Hopefully Hincapie and Ochowicz will help shape Phinney into a great cyclist. Just hope Phinney is willing to listen and learn so he can keep improving.

Karma.
Didn't Lance "steal" TP from JV?

The cyclingnews article had to get a dig in on Lance Armstrong (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/phinney-explains-decision-to-sign-with-bmc-racing-team). It suggests that LA stopped talking to Phinney after Phinney started negotiating with other teams. CN wants to play the vindictive LA line, but it could be that LA saw the writing on the wall in terms of being unable to offer a long contract and doesn't have time for chitchat w/ Phinney.


That's ********. Cyclingnews reported the story. They didn't get a dig in. If you think it was a jerk move by Armstrong to do that to Phinney, just say so instead of blaming the news agency. You said it, not me. Armstrong wants to act like a little girl, then waaaah. Go cry me a river.

I hope Armstrong is angry with Phinney and stops talking to him. That would mean there's still hope for this (obviously immensely talented) guy. The longer he stays with Armstrong and the closer they are the deeper Phinney inevitably would get drawn into the underbelly of cycling.

guess both of you are wrong......no surprise for LA haters..........

From Phinney's twitter..........

Just got a txt from @lancearmstrong (http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong). I haven't talked to him in a while but he was very supportive of my decision... Thx 4 everything boss!

What? They're not enemies? Nooooo!
Now how's Greg's number one fan boy gonna spin this?

guess both of you are wrong......no surprise for LA haters..........

From Phinney's twitter..........

Just got a txt from @lancearmstrong (http://twitter.com/lancearmstrong). I haven't talked to him in a while but he was very supportive of my decision... Thx 4 everything boss!

That could still be a PR move to cover up the truth.

^^^^^Yep a conspiracy is always the right answer when the obviously one is overlooked. :rolleyes:

How about the “non-talking” being a business move. If Phinney was talking to other teams why would Radioshack talk to him once they had an offer on the table?

what? They're not enemies? Nooooo!
now how's greg's number one fan boy gonna spin this?


+1

lmao

Regardless. Phinney is getting away from Armstrong and that's good.

LA is a force of nature. Little Phinney did good to get as far away as he could. It is always advisable for talented new guys to maintain a distance from the grey beards of their sport/interests.

That's awesome Phinney got into a good program. As we've all seen this year, riders move for all kinds of reasons even from winning squads. Family, training philosophy, roles, sponsorship commitment, salary, gear, friends, mentors, etc. Trying to somehow push this into a LA thing is dumb. Johan knows that you never know where your next job is for both manager and rider and it's best not to burn bridges. Classy stuff.

Not even Sean Kelly could live up to the hype this kid is getting. I feel bad that no matter what he does it will be a disappointment.

By the way, not to hijack the thread, how is his pop doing with his health?

Not even Sean Kelly could live up to the hype this kid is getting.

The word 'hype' and the name 'Sean Kelly' should never appear in the same sentence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Kelly_(cyclist)

What's going to be extra sad is if he has a huge career in which he lives up to all his potiential and no one in the US cares because he's not winning the Tour.

Less cynically, I really hope he does well and gets some non Grand Tour rides noticed and on TV here.

I was saying that there is so much hype around Phinney that even if he had a career up there with Sean that he still wouldn't have met all the expectations placed on him.

How am I always so misunderstood on this forum?

How am I always so misunderstood on this forum?

I didn't misunderstand you but I think you misunderstood me.

I was simply making the point that Sean Kelly was and is the very antithesis of hype.

Phinney jnr. would be well advised to ignore the hype and get on with his cycling career. Easier said than done in this age of hype.

What's going to be extra sad is if he has a huge career in which he lives up to all his potiential and no one in the US cares because he's not winning the Tour.

Less cynically, I really hope he does well and gets some non Grand Tour rides noticed and on TV here.

Well - the unfortunate fact is that the media, and least implicitly is selling him as the next LA. Phinney is too big to ever be competitive in the mountains. Look no further than his performance in the Tour of Utah, which is pretty good proxy for how he would perform in a Grant Tour. He is and should be a classics rider, which of course will ensure he is relegated into obscurity within the US media landscape.

Well - the unfortunate fact is that the media, and least implicitly is selling him as the next LA. Phinney is too big to ever be competitive in the mountains. Look no further than his performance in the Tour of Utah, which is pretty good proxy for how he would perform in a Grant Tour. He is and should be a classics rider, which of course will ensure he is relegated into obscurity within the US media landscape.



It's a great thing that TP is distancing himself from Bruyneel and Armstrong. I'm sure Dad's old connections with Och probably helped too.

Not sure really if Phinney is really ever going to be competitive in the mountains. It's not a stretch though because while he is very tall, he's also fairly skinny. He's got the length of Cancellara, but not the same build. And there have been rail thin tall riders who have been great climbers. It would be great to see him do well as a Grand Tour type of rider, but who knows. Even if he doesn't go that route, he could still specialize completely on the track and have a great career. He's already one of the fastest in the world at that type of discipline.

Not sure really if Phinney is really ever going to be competitive in the mountains. It's not a stretch though because while he is very tall, he's also fairly skinny. He's got the length of Cancellara, but not the same build. And there have been rail thin tall riders who have been great climbers. It would be great to see him do well as a Grand Tour type of rider, but who knows. Even if he doesn't go that route, he could still specialize completely on the track and have a great career. He's already one of the fastest in the world at that type of discipline.

Indurain made it happen, so I wouldn't rule it out.

Phinney is 3 inches taller then AS and 2 inches taller then Indurain. Although about 30 lbs heavier then AS.

He seems to be trying to break some of the hype on his twitter feed talking about how hard hills are for him. Time will tell what he does and how that effects him in the US and aboard.