Update: Sept. 22, 2010 — Phinney signs 3-year contract with BMC Racing
Seconds matter in time trial cycling races. So do tenths of seconds and hundredths of seconds.
That was proven in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday when Taylor Phinney won the USA Cycling professional time trial championship by a scant 14 hundredths of a second over Levi Leipheimer.
Phinney is the phenomenal 20-year-old up-and-comer on the Trek-Livestrong Under-23 development team. The strapping 6-4 son of cyclists Davis Phinney and Olympic gold medalist Connie Carpenter-Phinney, he rose through the ranks of junior-level track competition.
Career
As an under-23 pro in 2010, Phinney has won nearly a dozen victories on the track and road, including the world championship in the individual pursuit.
Leipheimer is a seasoned 36-year-old veteran on the RadioShack with a host of time trial victories in his career. He was given the edge in the 15-man field on Saturday.
Leipheimer was the last cyclist to start the 20.7-mile time trial course and was preceded by Phinney.
Leipheimer closed gap
According on live Tweets from USA Cycling, Leipheimer trailed Phinney after each of the three laps — down 15 seconds after the first lap, 8 seconds after the second lap, and just .14 seconds on the third and final lap. Just a little faster out of the gate, a little tighter on a corner, a little more aero on the straight-aways and Leipheimer would have won.
Bernard Van Ulden of Jelly Belly came in third, by 1.12 seconds.
Day 2 of the USA Cycling Pro Championship will be held Sunday. George Hincapie will attempt to defend his national championship in the road race. Read more at “That Paris Mountain ascent…”
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