The BMC Racing Team has confirmed that Taylor Phinney will miss the start of Paris-Nice on Sunday, with the first year pro being passed over due to a crash he suffered in Italy last Friday.
The 20 year old and training partner Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Cervélo) collided on a training ride near his base in Lucca, Italy. "We kind of got jumbled. It was a freak accident," Phinney said afterwards. "The next thing we knew, we found ourselves flipping over our bikes and onto the ground. All I remember was smacking my head pretty hard."
He suffered a concussion in the accident, and the team stated that it would be monitoring him closely to make sure that his recovery went without any problems.
The American squad is thought to be satisfied with his recovery, but wants to play things safe. It will consequently pass over selecting him for the race. In theory he could compete in Tirreno-Adriatico instead; the Italian event begins on Wednesday and features both a 16.8 kilometre team time trial and a 9.3 kilometre concluding test.
If Phinney is sufficiently recovered to be selected, both could suit him well.
The BMC Racing Team will count on four riders for its hopes for the Paris-Nice general classification. These are Brent Bookwalter, Amaël Moinard, Steve Morabito and Ivan Santaromita. Moinard won a stage and took the King of the Mountains title last year. The Frenchman is motivated to go back and to perform strongly once again.
“This race can be a little complicated with wind, cold rain or even snow and it also being the first major stage race in Europe," he said. “I'm pretty sure of my physical condition, so I'm confident about doing something good.”
The quartet will be joined by Classic specialist Karsten Kroon, who is building form in advance of the big one day races, as well as Yannick Eijssen, Jeff Louder and Danilo Wyss.
Directeur sportif John Lelangue said that he regarded this year’s race as a difficult one, and predicted that the GC would change each day. It will be necessary for the riders to be particularly attentive as a result.