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Taylor Phinney, 36, has returned to elite track cycling and is set to lead the U.S. men’s team pursuit at the Track World Championships, his first appearance there in 16 years. The former road professional says he entered the comeback after a friend raised the possibility of joining the squad, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as his goal.
Taylor Phinney has returned to the U.S. men’s team pursuit and is set to lead the quartet at the Track World Championships in Shanghai, his first appearance at the championships in 16 years. The 36-year-old former professional road racer is pursuing a place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after six years away from road racing and more than 15 years away from track competition.
Phinney told Cycling Weekly that a friend contacted him early in the previous winter, saying USA Cycling was looking for powerful riders for its men’s team pursuit squad and asking whether he wanted an introduction to the coach. Phinney initially thought the suggestion was a joke. After the call, however, he said the possibility stayed with him.
He contacted USA Cycling and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on February 1 to ask to be returned to the testing pool, then attended a U.S. team camp in April at the Carson velodrome. He said he paid his own travel expenses from Girona, Spain, and arrived without an established track position or wind-tunnel data. After the tryout, he worked with coach Tim Decker and took part in wind-tunnel testing. Phinney told Cycling Weekly that the tryout went well and that he is now part of the program.
Phinney announced the comeback on Instagram after the camp. In August, he joined the team for a second camp in Zolder, Belgium. He also won team pursuit gold at the U.S. National Track Championships that month, according to Cycling Weekly. The report says he is now preparing to lead the U.S. quartet at the world championships; it does not establish that his place on a future Olympic team is secured.
A Route Toward Los Angeles 2028
Phinney’s return gives the U.S. men’s endurance program an experienced rider as it builds toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He has won two individual pursuit world titles and previously achieved major results on the road, but those accomplishments do not determine how he will perform in a modern team pursuit or whether he will make the Olympic squad.
The goal also carries family meaning: his mother, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, won the women’s road race at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, while his father, Davis Phinney, earned bronze in the team time trial at those Games. For Taylor Phinney, the chance to race toward an Olympics in his family’s home city helped make the unexpected return worth attempting.
The comeback also involves a change in priorities. Phinney told Cycling Weekly that he has less energy for creative work and missed attending the Tour de France Femmes to support his wife, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, because of the August training camp. He said he sees his athletic window as limited, while expecting to have more time for creative pursuits later.
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From Road Retirement to Track Racing
Phinney’s last recorded road result was a DNF at the Japan Cup in October 2019. He had announced his retirement days earlier, at age 29. He told Cycling Weekly that injuries had left him no longer in love with professional cycling. After retiring, he focused on art and DJing and occasionally entered gravel races.
Before retirement, he had won a Giro d’Italia time trial stage in 2012, taken silver in the road world championships time trial that year and placed eighth at Paris-Roubaix. His track career included two individual pursuit world titles. He said the removal of the individual pursuit from the Olympic program left him feeling that part of his career had not reached a natural close; returning to the track now feels to him like continuing something he left behind.
The U.S. team’s invitation did not begin with a formal selection announcement. It started with a friend’s call, followed by a coach introduction, a spring camp and a tryout. Phinney said training on the velodrome began to feel familiar again after several months, even though his previous track world championship appearance was 16 years earlier.
“I thought it was a funny joke that somebody would even think that I was still capable of doing that.”
— Taylor Phinney, speaking to Cycling Weekly
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Olympic Selection Is Still Ahead
Phinney’s place in the current U.S. program and his appearance at the world championships do not confirm selection for the 2028 Olympic team. The report provides no final Olympic roster, selection criteria, qualifying results or timeline for deciding the squad. It also does not detail Phinney’s individual performance figures from the national championships or his precise role in the world championship race beyond leading the quartet off the start line.
How his form will develop against international competition remains to be seen. Phinney has returned quickly, but the available report does not provide comparative data on his speed, fitness or the U.S. team’s prospects at the championships.
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World Championships and Team Building
Phinney is due to lead the U.S. men’s team pursuit quartet at the Track World Championships in Shanghai. The event will offer a current measure of his return to elite track racing, though one championship appearance will not settle the question of Olympic selection.
The U.S. program is working toward Los Angeles in 2028. Further camps, racing results and selection decisions will determine whether Phinney remains part of the squad over the next two years. No specific future selection dates or Olympic roster decisions were included in the report.
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Key Questions
Why has Taylor Phinney returned to track cycling?
A friend told him USA Cycling was looking for riders for its men’s team pursuit squad. Phinney said the idea appealed to him as a chance to return to the track and pursue the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
When did Phinney last race at the Track World Championships?
His last appearance was 16 years before the Shanghai championships described in the report. He had not competed on the track for more than 15 years.
Has Phinney qualified for the 2028 Olympics?
No Olympic selection is confirmed in the report. Phinney is part of the U.S. program and is targeting Los Angeles, but the final team and selection process remain ahead.
What has Phinney achieved since beginning his comeback?
He attended U.S. team camps in Carson and Zolder, completed a tryout and later won team pursuit gold at the U.S. National Track Championships, according to Cycling Weekly.
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