SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Taylor Phinney’s day started on another bus, heading to another destination he thought he would reach by bike. His day ended with a terrific start in his American pro road racing debut. Turns out the wait was worth it.
The Boulder High School graduate finished eighth in Stage 2 of a Tour of California that has turned into a bus tour of the Sierra Nevada. One day after snow canceled Sunday’s start around Lake Tahoe, icy roads moved Monday’s start from Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, down 3,000 feet to the old California gold rush town of Nevada City.
More than 55 miles were shaved off the stage, which became nothing more than a 76.3-mile downhill sprint to three loops in downtown Sacramento.
“It was a shorter race, but everybody was still pretty nervous,” Phinney said. “There was some wind, so it wasn’t like it was a relaxing day.”
The change worked in favor of the 20-year-old Phinney, the youngest rider in the 144-man field and a two-time world pursuit champion. But when he woke up in snowy Squaw Valley, he tweeted that it’s “making me feel like I’m on ski vacay, not at a bike race!”
He stayed in the top 20 or 30 in the peloton as they caught a four-man breakaway with about 8 miles left. Then came three loops of downtown in a very tight peloton.
Thor Hushovd of Boulder-based Team Garmin-Cervelo led the mad sprint with 250 yards left before finishing seventh with Ben Swift of Sky Pro Cycling (Great Britain) winning.
“I thought I did all right,” Phinney said. “I just tried to hang up there and stay out of trouble. I went for the sprint at the end, but I found myself out in the wind a couple times.”
He has another shot today with a flat 121.9-mile stage from Auburn to Modesto.
“I was on all the big guys’ wheels for the last 500, 750 meters,” Phinney said, “but I was just missing that last little extra kick at the end, which I hope will be able to develop over time.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
