Taylor Phinney To Race for RadioShack

Published July 30, 2010 at 12:14 a.m.

{gallery}riders/taylorp{/gallery}You knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

Team RadioShack announced today that Taylor Phinney would be joining the team as a "stagiaire" for the remainder of the season. Next month's Tour of Denmark will be his first race for RadioShack.

So, what's a stagiaire? It's a French word for trainee or intern. In cycling, it's used to describe a young rider who joins an established team but is not yet a full-time racer on the team. It's essentially a try-out for an up-and-coming rider.

Philley's pedigree and résumé are unparalleled. His mom is Connie Carpenter, the Olympic and 12-time US national champion, and his dad is David Phinney, winner of two stages in the Tour de France, a US Pro champion and Olympic bronze medalist. 

On the bike, Taylor is a two-time world champion in the individual pursuit, and the winner of the last two Under-23 Paris-Roubaix races. In short...this kid's the real deal. He's been racing on Lance Armstrong's Trek-Livestrong U23 team, so this move to the RadioShack squad is a natural.

But...can we all do him a favor? Let's not proclaim him the next Lance Armstrong, please! Let's just be content to declare him the first Taylor Phinney.

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