Davis Phinney on his role in son Taylor’s cycling career

Davis Phinney waits for Taylor near his son’s Boulder Olympic training route

There’s no doubt Taylor Phinney’s lucky when it comes to his family.

Recently, at a press conference in Boulder for Taylor about his Olympic selection, his father Davis Phinney commented on how he and mom Connie Carpenter have influenced Taylor. He said, “He’s absorbed the best of both of us in the sense of being able to express himself well and clearly and genuinely, and the kid, he’s got a great personality.”

Possibly racing his bike didn’t rank for Taylor as the most challenging part of joining Pro Tour BMC Racing Team at the age of twenty. Likely it was living part of the year in Italy and juggling the “business” aspects of life as a pro-cyclist with a hectic travel schedule.

His parents Davis and Connie have been instrumental in helping Taylor adjust to this new stage in his career. According to Davis, they save him energy by coordinating as needed with Taylor’s agent and his team; they helped him re-locate to his part-time home in the Tuscany region of Italy.

“He’s very mature and he’s very comfortable in public. He speaks Italian well,” Davis said. “But as with any kid trying to live on a global stage and be successful, he needs help and his team has been very helpful in that regard and we just try to facilitate or ease his passage through making this transition.”

Taylor Phinney riding his TT bike on Boulder roads

But most of all, Davis assists Taylor with equipment. For example, he’ll contact BMC Racing Team’s Santa Rosa office to ask for helmets, wheels, and other items to carry out aerodynamic testing. Davis acknowledged Taylor could do this himself, but he likes the equipment side of racing and feels it’s “one less thing [Taylor] needs to worry about.”

Over the years Davis said, he has “filled the role as [Taylor’s] overseer of equipment needs and his basic positioning. Throughout his whole career I’ve been involved with overseeing wind tunnel testing and aerodynamics. For me that’s a really enjoyable aspect – keeping mentally engaged, keeping involved with the sport, and of course it’s just being able to help him become as good as he can be.”