Taylor Phinney will line up for Cannondale-Drapac at the Tour of Flanders and it will be his first classic for the Green Argyle team.
“Everyone in Belgium knows this race. It’s Super Bowl Sunday for bike racing even more so than the Tour de France,” said Phinney, lining up for his third Flanders start on Sunday.
“The first time I rode Tour of Flanders, I was in the breakaway, which was the coolest thing,” said Phinney. “Last year, we had a crash and it was racing from the back. I saw the other side of Flanders. It’s really nervous, and it can be terrifying at times, but it’s Belgium’s race. It stays true to the heart to the sport. This is where it all started.”
“I haven’t done any classics this year because of my leg, because of a small re-injury,” said Phinney. “It’s nice to go into Flanders completely fresh mentally and not scarred by any of the previous classics. It’s a long stretch when you do the whole thing starting in Omloop, which was right when I had my little incident.
“I’ve been hanging out in Belgium this week,” Phinney added. “I have to do something almost every day to make sure my body responds the way I want it to, that my knee is working properly. Everything is getting better. The whole system is responding.”
Phinney along with the rest of the team will be supporting team leader Sep Vanmarcke who has finished third twice in the last three years.
“The whole group is devoted to giving Sep the best chance to succeed,” said Directeur Sportif Andreas Klier. “The plan is to protect Sep, to keep him in the right place and the right time as much as we can.”
