Phinney returns to help BMC defend world team title

American Taylor Phinney, fighting back from a career-threatening 2014 crash, was named on Saturday to ride for defending men's team time-trial champions BMC at the World Road Cycling Championships.

The 25-year-old son of 1984 Olympic road race champion Connie Carpenter and former pro cyclist Davis Phinney will ride on a six-man squad on Sunday over the 38.8km street layout in Richmond, Virginia.

Phinney was hurt 16 months ago in a crash during a descent at the US road race championship, suffering a major left knee injury, a compound left tibia fracture and a severed tendon.

He began his comeback last month at the Tour of Utah and followed by winning the first stage of the USA Pro Challenge, then proved himself in training with BMC.

"I'm happy that I was able to make the team," Phinney said. "I feel like I can contribute in a way that I was able to contribute before my accident, which is saying a lot.

"To be honest, I did not even think I was going to have the ability to make this team a couple of months ago. Then I started racing and started doing well and exceeded most of my expectations."

That spurred Phinney to try and recover in time to chase a world title in an event being held on US soil for the first time in 29 years.

"I went to Belgium and rode with the guys and surprised myself and I think I surprised the management as well," Phinney said. "It was on my radar, but something I was not getting my hopes up for because it is such an intense effort. I did not think my knee and my body could handle it."

Phinney will ride alongside four members of last year's winning squad -- Australian Rohan Dennis, Swiss Silvan Dillier and Italians Daniel Oss and Manuel Quinziato -- and Swiss Stefan Kung, the reigning world track individual pursuit champion.

Dennis said it will be important to set aside worries about others and focus on the task at hand.

"Time trials are sort of my speciality, but I still get nervous," Dennis said. "There are no tactics. You just hope the preparation you have done is the best and that you win on the day."

- Velocio seeks four in a row -

On the women's side, Velocio seeks a fourth consecutive team time-trial title on Sunday after losing last month for the first time in more than three years, falling to RaboLiv at the Vargada World Cup in Sweden.

"We knew that at some point the competition gets closer and that we eventually will not win," Velocio sports director Ronny Lauke said. "There was disappointment, but we didn't put our heads in the sand crying. The races between Sweden and now have shown that the form of the team is good and that we will be able to compete again for the victory."

Germany's Trixi Worrack, a three-time team time-trial champion, will be joined by two-time champions Lisa Brennauer of Germany and Karol-Ann Canuel of Canada for Velocio.

Top challengers should be RaboLiv, featuring Aussie Shara Gillow and Dutchwoman Anna Van Der Breggen, and Boels Dolmans, with Britain's Lizzie Armitstead.
Source: AFP