Taylor Phinney’s tough start to his debut pro season continued today when the rider was forced to withdraw from the Volta a Catalunya, his first WorldTour event.
The 20 year old BMC Racing Team rider had experienced knee pain during the winter and had a delayed start to the season, making his debut in the Tour of Oman. He once again experienced trouble in his knee, and dropped out midway through the mountainous tough stage. He had first felt twinges on stage one.
Today’s stage featured three first category climbs plus the hors categorie ascent up to the finish. Phinney lost contact early on, but chased hard to try to recover. He would ultimately have to give in to the problem.
“By the third climb, my knee had had enough," he explained. “One of the hardest things to do in the sport of cycling is to get off your bike and I fought as hard as I could.”
Phinney’s preparation for the race was complicated by the fact that he suffered concussion in a training crash after the Tour of Oman and only recently was given the all clear to resume racing. He had accepted that he would face a tough fight in the Volta a Catalunya, but resolved to suffer through it in order to gain form for the Classics.
While he won’t now get the workout he intended, he’s still hoping to compete in one of the biggest spring one day events.
“I am incredibly disappointed to leave this Volta a Catalunya and go through yet another setback in my first year as a professional, but I am learning from all of these experiences,” he stated. “I am fortunate to have an amazing team around me that is willing to do what is best for me in the long run. In the end, I had to do what was best for my health. I am still hoping to still make the start line for Roubaix.”
Clearly his ability to build form will depend on how his left knee holds up. Reassuringly, BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa didn’t feel the situation was terribly serious. He indicated that the pain in the quadriceps tendon was most likely a combination of several factors, namely the increased intensity of racing, some small changes in his position a few days before the race, plus the cold weather Monday’s first day.
He said that the team wanted to avoid any long-term complications and so it was playing things safe. “We didn't want to take risks, so we decided to stop him,” he stated. “We'll evaluate the injury tonight and then he'll probably take a couple of easy days. Then we'll reset his program.”
Phinney has twice won the under 23 Paris-Roubaix and wants to compete in the pro version as soon as possible. He is regarded as one of the most talented of the young American riders.