'The Games are very special to him': Niewiadoma on why Taylor Phinney is chasing the Olympic gold at 35

Surprising news last week: Taylor Phinney — a former top talent who retired at the end of 2019 — is planning a comeback ahead of the 2028 Games. Not on the road, but as a track cyclist. His partner Kasia Niewiadoma is fully behind the 35-year-old American's plan, she told IDL Pro Cycling after her second place in the Amstel Gold Race.

Phinney was long regarded as one of cycling's great talents. In 2010 he won four stages and the overall at the Olympia's Tour, claimed the under-23 Paris-Roubaix, and became under-23 time trial world champion. The major American teams RadioShack and BMC fought for his signature, and he turned professional with the latter.

Everything looked good for the the man from Boulder. In his first season in 2011 he won the prologue of the Eneco Tour, before winning the opening time trial of the Giro d'Italia the following year, finishing second at the World Championships time trial in Valkenburg, and fourth in the Olympic time trial in London.

Ultimately that was largely where it ended for Phinney. After a serious leg break that he would ultimately never fully recover form, the American closed his career in 2019 at EF to pursue a path in the art world. In the meantime he remained partly active in the cycling world as a gravel rider — and of course as the partner and supporter of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, winner of the Tour de France Femmes in 2024.

Last week Phinney announced his comeback, with the 2028 Games in Los Angeles as his ambition. "I laughed it off at first, but with the support of my wife it started to grow. The track was where I first found my love — and my success — in the sport."

"It was even the first discipline that broke my heart, when my speciality — the individual pursuit — was removed from the Olympic programme. That's why I went all-in on the road," Phinney — who calls himself the old horse — explained. He will now focus on the team pursuit. "I've been training since November and I'm really looking forward to the next two years."

We asked Niewiadoma after Amstel Gold Race about her husband's news. The Polish rider is, naturally, incredibly proud. "He supported me all those years after he stopped, so he knows how much effort it takes to lead a life as a top athlete," she laughed.

Niewiadoma explains why the fire started burning for Phinney. "The Games are very special to him, and especially because the 2028 Olympics are in Los Angeles — because his parents competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics there. I'm really happy that we can now write that story together," she said with a smile.

Phinney is the son of former rider Davis Phinney and former long-track speed skater and cyclist Connie Carpenter-Phinney, both of whom have fond memories of the world's biggest sporting event — and of the Los Angeles edition of 1984 in particular.

Father Davis won two stages of the Tour de France, but claimed bronze in the team time trial at the Games on home soil in 1984. Mother Connie competed in the 1500 metres speed skating at the age of just 14 in 1972. But her moment of glory came in Los Angeles when she won gold in the Olympic road race in 1984.

No pressure then, Taylor!