Phinney rolls to USA Cycling pro time trial win

By Jim Tanner May 25, 2014 4 min read

Photo Gallery

Judge Van Pelt uses gardening to find peace in present, link to past

Blueberry bushes bloom in Van Pelt's front yard.

A variety of pepper plants grow in the front yard of Van Pelt's Ringgold home.

Superior Court Judge Ralph Van Pelt kneels beside the chocolate-mint plant in his backyard. Prior to going to law school and then working his way up to judge from attorney to assistant district attorney and then district attorney, Van Pelt considered being an archaeologist. He said he likes to study archaeology and history.

Kentucky Colonel is another kind of mint which Van Pelt is growing in his yard.

The bamboo growing in Van Pelt's side yard helps showcase how far his garden has come in five years.

Superior Court Judge Ralph Van Pelt shows some rosemary growing in his front yard. Prior to going to law school and then working his way up to judge from attorney to assistant district attorney and then district attorney, Van Pelt considered being an archaeologist. He said he likes to study archaeology and history.

Taylor Phinney rounds a curve on his way to finishing first in his race in this file picture.

Taylor Phinney brought a lot of pressure into Saturday’s race at the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championships at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant – literally carrying some of it in a box.

He was the clear favorite Saturday after winning the same event in 2010 in Greenville, S.C., and producing a string of solid performances that included a fourth-place finish at the 2012 Olympic time trial in London and wins this season in the Dubai Tour and stage five of the Amgen Tour of California just over a week ago.

But perhaps the biggest motivating factor was an unopened box in his hotel room — a box containing a national champion’s Stars and Stripes skinsuit he had made.

“You guys might hate me when I say this, but I actually have it already,” the BMC Racing rider said when asked about his national champions racing kit after finishing 51 seconds ahead of defending champion Tom Zirbel to win the title. “I didn’t trust them to make a cool one, and I have to go straight to France on Tuesday [for a race]. So I was like ‘We’ll just have this set up for a template for future years if I don’t win this year.'”

Phinney’s decision proved wise, as he blew through the 19-mile course in 37 minutes and 48 seconds, well ahead of Zirbel in second and 5-Hour Energy rider David Williams in third place.