Davis Phinney

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Davis Phinney

Davis Phinney in 1991 Thrift Drug Classic
Personal information
Full name Davis Phinney
Nickname "Thor"
Born (1959-07-10) July 10, 1959
Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Sprinter
Professional team(s)
1982–1983
1984
1985-1990
1991–1993		 7 Eleven - Schwinn
Gianni Motta - Linea
7-Eleven
Coors Light
Major wins
Infobox last updated on
May 26, 2013

Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959 in Boulder, Colorado) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He was a brazen sprinter and the star of the 7-Eleven Cycling Team in the 1980s and early ’90s,[1] and is the leader in race victories by an American, with 328.[2][3][4][5] In 1986, he became the second American to win a stage at the Tour de France, while riding for American-based 7-Eleven. His racing career spanned two decades and included two stage victories in the Tour de France, a United States National Road Race Championships title, and the 1984 Olympic Bronze Medal in the Men's 100 km Team Time Trial, alongside Ron Kiefel, Roy Knickman, and Andrew Weaver.

Since retiring from cycling, Davis has remained active as a cycling sports commentator, public speaker, journalist, and avid Nordic ski racer.[6] He is married to champion cyclist Connie Carpenter-Phinney, with whom he has two children, Taylor and Kelsey. On Thursday, August 9, 2007, Taylor became the Junior World Time Trial champion at the 2007 UCI Junior World Road and Track Championships held in Aguascalientes, Mexico,[7] and on September 29, 2010, he became the 2010 UCI Under 23 World Time Trial champion.[8]

Davis was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 40, and established the Davis Phinney Foundation in 2004, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Boulder, Colorado-based foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson's disease – today and in future.

The Davis Phinney Foundation aims to inspire and inform people living with Parkinson’s through:

  • Information on how to live well with PD through the Victory Summit and Every Victory Counts programs
  • Investment in research that can improve quality of life
  • Impacting the lives of people with PD through funding of exercise and speech programs
  • Encouragement of those impacted by the disease to celebrate the daily victories in their lives

Phinney has looked to his son for inspiration and as a source of energy in his battle with Parkinson's. Before the 2008 Summer Olympics, where Taylor would compete in the men's individual pursuit, Davis told Juliet Macur of the New York Times:

“I could easily slip into a very, very dark place with everything I’ve lost, so I have to focus on the pinpricks of light to stay positive,” he said. “But with Taylor, it’s easier. I just look at what he has been doing, and I’m instantly connected to a magnificent source of energy.”[9]

As Taylor was about to go to the Beijing Olympics late in 2008, Davis underwent deep brain stimulation in an effort to control some of his symptoms. Dr. Jaimie Henderson, a neurosurgeon at Stanford University Medical Center, implanted two electrodes 2.5 inches into either side of Phinney's brain, powered by a pacemaker in his chest. According to ESPN, the procedure was risky and not promising, but worked instantly.[10] Phinney explained:

The doctor said, 'OK, let's try a little current now, and just like that, all these muscles that had been at war with each other suddenly were at peace. It was like Armistice Day. It was just like, 'Oh ... my ... god!' I looked at my wife and she was crying. She said, 'I haven't seen your smile in a year!'[11]

Unfortunately for Davis Phinney, the disease is setting in again. Doctors told him the brain pacemaker could turn the clock back on the progress of Parkinson's five years. But nearly five years have passed since the surgery, and while Phinney doesn't shake like he used to, his balance is severely compromised.[12]

Major results

1981
1982
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1983
  • 1st (Gold), Pan American Games - Team time trial
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1984
  • 3rd (Bronze), Summer Olympics - Team time trial
  • 5th, Summer Olympics - Individual road race
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1985
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1986
Winner stage 3
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1987
Winner stage 12
  • 1st, Points classification, Coors Classic
1988
1989
1990
1991
1993

References

  1. ↑ Macur, Juliet (March 26, 2008). "For the Phinney Family, a Dream and a Challenge". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "Phinney, 48, was a brazen sprinter and the star of the 7-Eleven professional cycling team in the 1980s and early ’90s. He was a risk-taker with beefy biceps, nicknamed Thor, the Norse god of thunder." 
  2. ↑ Reilly, Rick (August 21, 2012). "Riding it out". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "Davis Phinney went on to win 328 bike races, two Tour de France stages and an Olympic bronze." 
  3. ↑ Macur, Juliet (March 26, 2008). "For the Phinney Family, a Dream and a Challenge". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "His father remains the leader in race victories by an American, with more than 300. He was the first American to win a road stage of the Tour de France. At the 1984 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the team time trial." 
  4. ↑ Phinney, Davis. "2004 Tour retrospective: Thanks for the memories". Davis Phinney's Tour Diary: A Sprinter's Tale. Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "With over 300 national and international victories in a career that spanned two decades, Davis Phinney is still the winningest cyclist in U.S. history. In 1986, he was the first American ever to win a road stage in the Tour de France; five years later, he won the coveted USPRO road title in Philadelphia." 
  5. ↑ Davis Phinney Foundation
  6. ↑ Phinney, Davis. "2004 Tour retrospective: Thanks for the memories". Davis Phinney's Tour Diary: A Sprinter's Tale. Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "In 2000, when Davis was just 40 years old, he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease. But that hasn't kept him down. Since retiring from professional cycling, Davis has been a cycling sports commentator, public speaker and journalist." 
  7. ↑ "Phinney golden in Mexico". bikeradar.com. 16 Aug 2007. 
  8. ↑ "UCI Road World Championships: Taylor Phinney wins men's under-23 time trial title". The Telegraph. 29 Sep 2010. 
  9. ↑ Macur, Juliet (March 26, 2008). "For the Phinney Family, a Dream and a Challenge". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "In August, if all goes well, he intends to be in Beijing, a new man watching his son ride fast, as he once did. 'I could easily slip into a very, very dark place with everything I’ve lost, so I have to focus on the pinpricks of light to stay positive' he said. 'But with Taylor, it’s easier. I just look at what he has been doing, and I’m instantly connected to a magnificent source of energy.'" 
  10. ↑ Reilly, Rick (August 21, 2012). "Riding it out". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "Finally, in 2008, as Taylor was about to go to the Beijing Olympics, Davis decided to take a literal plunge. Using deep brain stimulation, surgeons implanted two electrodes 2½ inches into either side of his brain, powered by a pacemaker in his chest. It was risky and not promising. And it instantly worked." 
  11. ↑ Reilly, Rick (August 21, 2012). "Riding it out". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "The doctor said, 'OK, let's try a little current now," Davis remembers, "and just like that, all these muscles that had been at war with each other suddenly were at peace. It was like Armistice Day. It was just like, "Oh ... my ... god! I looked at my wife and she was crying. She said, 'I haven't seen your smile in a year!'" 
  12. ↑ Reilly, Rick (August 21, 2012). "Riding it out". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2013. "Sadly, while Taylor seems to get stronger with every race, his dad has been regressing. The doctors told him the brain pacemaker could turn the clock back on the progress of Parkinson's five years. It's been four years. The disease is setting in again. He doesn't shake like he used to, but his balance is awful. When he greeted me at the door of his Boulder home, he stumbled backward and almost over." 

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