Taylor Phinney is back - Former American pro makes comeback to cycling with the goal of racing Track Olympic Games in 2028

'Comeback 3000' - This is what former American pro Taylor Phinney has called the project in which he aims to return to professional cycling, in order to try and qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games which are set to take place in Los Angeles, United States of America.

"NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS could I have predicted this…but here we are. The old horse still has some kick. What started as a return to gravel racing has delicately snowballed into a full on Olympic dream," Phinney revealed in an Instagram post. "It’s been super fun and rewarding to find the love for training and ripping high speeds again over the past few months. Huge thank you to @usacycling and especially @allenskratch for planting this seed of an idea in my brain. I laughed it off at first, but with encouragement from wifey @kasianiewiadoma94 the seed started to grow and before I knew it all I could think of was closing this final loop in my cycling career".

Phinney is a former track World Champion and throughout the 2010's he was one of the most successful time trialists on the road, winning the USA national title on three occasions as well as a stage in the Giro d'Italia - in a career where he's taken 13 pro wins, several of them at World Tour level. He retired from the spor in 2019 at age 29 but has always remained active and part of it, specially being the partner of former Tour de France Femmes winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma.

With the 2028 Olympic Games taking place in his home country, a new-found motivation has kicked in. "The track was where I first found love and success in this sport, it was even the first discipline to break my heart when my specialty event, the individual pursuit, was removed from the Olympic program, which prompted me to swiftly abandon the track and go all in on the road".

With just over two years to prepare, it is fully possible to make a return to the highest level, albeit naturally being a difficult decision for a set of highly contested positions for the event. "Recently the USA boys have been making huge strides in the Team Pursuit, and I couldn’t be more stoked to be joining them in the chase for the Olympic Dream. I have a lot of work to do in the gym and refining the position, but after my first camp with them (and first time in a tt position in probably 7 years…) I must say, it’s awesome to be back in a team environment".

"I’m happy with how I slotted into the group considering I’ve only been “back” training since November, and I look forward to stepping up over the course of the next two years. The energy and vibe of the squad is top notch," he concludes.

"Regardless of whether I make the official team for LA28 or not, I’m honored to be in the running and will look forward to making some World Cup teams to elevate the team to its highest potential and Olympic qualifying position!"