World Champion Michael Freiberg is hoping that a stint living and training with US cycling star Taylor Phinney in Boulder, Colorado will pay dividends at the Airforce Cycling Classic beginning tomorrow in Arlington, Virginia.
Staying in the Phinney family home for the past few weeks, Freiberg is surrounded by American sporting icons with Phinney’s father, Davis a former professional cyclist, and his mother Connie a formed Olympic gold medallist.
“The Phinney family is one of the top cycling families in the US,” Freiberg said.
“Being able to train with Taylor lets me see the next level.
“Taylor is a very sprint-orientated rider and that’s something I need to improve on, so it’s really good being able to ride with him because we’re almost exactly the same in just about everything else; height, weight, size and mentality.”
With the long term focus on the Olympic Omnium gold medal in London next year, Freiberg will use this weekend’s race as solid preparation along the way.
“A good omnium rider is also a really good road rider, just because of the length of the event and how versatile you need to be in order to ride the event,” he said.