Taylor Phinney, Boulder’s 18-year-old Olympian, said today he is leaving Boulder-based Team Garmin-Chipotle after signing a contract this morning with a new Under-23 team started by Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion who is coming back after a three-year retirement, wants to develop American youth cycling under the direction of Belgian cyclist Axel Merckx, the 36-year-old son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx.
“The main reason was because they were the two key people in the cycling world that affected my career other than my parents: Axel Mercyx and Lance Armstrong,” Phinney said from his Boulder home. “I met Axel in the 2005 Tour. I realized we had a lot in common. He played soccer until he was 15; I played soccer until I was 15. He was one of the main reasons I wanted to be a bike rider.
“And Lance is just Lance.”
He is under no obligation to turn pro with Astana, the Kazakhstan-based cycling team Armstrong is joining under the direction of Johan Bruyneel, his old director with Team Discovery and U.S. Postal Service. Phinney said he could still return as a pro under Garmin-Chipotle.
Phinney will join Armstrong on Thursday in Las Vegas for a news conference.
Phinney said the team will allow him to continue competing on the track in Olympic years. Phinney reached the knockout stage of the 3,000-meter individual pursuit in last month’s Olympics.
