TAYLOR PHINNEY

Published in The Freeman Newspaper on August 15, 2011 Monday issue
by Jose Vicente Araneta, Columnist - Allez
Manny Villaruel, Sports Editor

...The most common question to be asked about Taylor is this: will he win the Tour de France in the future? At this point, it’s unlikely. At 6”4’, 180lbs, Taylor is a relative giant. Cycling is a POWER-TO-WEIGHT ratio sport and the bigger you are, the more difficult it is to climb the mountains. There’s not a lot of Tour winners near Taylor’s size but the nearest would be Jan Ullrich, Miguel Indurain and Bjarne Riis who stood just a shade over 6 feet.If there is a race that would fit Phinney, it’s the time trials and the sprints. Paris-Roubaixis also a perfect fit.

But if he were to scale the mountains like Alberto Contador, it would take a few more years to develop and adapt his body. Armstrong wasn’t a climber when he started racing. He only became a contender when he lost a lot of muscle mass after he got cancer. If Taylor is patient, I’d say he has a good chance to win the Tour one day. Unlike most Americans who raced in Europe, Taylor has an excellent support group. He is levelheaded and his parents are always behind him. BMC’s manager, Jim Ochowicz, is also the same guy who managed the career of Davis with 7-11.

RACE NOTES: The inaugural Tour of Bohol will be on September 24 and 25 this year…Thanks to AndorSabal for spearheading the weekly Cebu Cycling Crit series…thanks also to Eve and Diego… Hasta la vista, Igimax!!! - THE FREEMAN