Phinney to complete season as RadioShack stagiaire

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Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) has confirmed that he will ride as a stagiaire for Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team for the remainder of the season. Phinney, who recently competed in the Internationale Thüringen-Rundfahrt, is yet to confirm his racing schedule but come August he could race both the Tour of Denmark and the Tour du Limousin.

"I've more than achieved the goals I set out to achieve at the start of the year with the help of a really amazing team around me," he told Cyclingnews.

In 2010 he has already won his second U23 Paris-Roubaix title, in addition to claiming four stages and the overall classification at the Olympia's Tour, a stage in the Tour of Gila and his second individual pursuit world championship on the track.

"The main reason I'm doing this is to see if I like being a pro and riding with RadioShack. The option of racing with Trek-Livestrong in the US is fairly limited for the rest of the year with Cascade and Utah the only races, and with Missouri being out that doesn't leave a lot of racing before the worlds," Phinney said.

"It's a good time for me to test my skills and test myself."

Phinney will remain under contract with Trek-Livestrong for the time being, but with RadioShack having first refusal on a professional contract the next few months will be a chance for Phinney to test himself at a higher, more competitive level.

"Originally I thought I would do Tour de L'Ain but we've changed it to the Tour of Denmark and the Tour du Limousin. That's not 100 percent certain but there are a bunch of one-day races that I can choose do if I don't do the Tour de l'Avenir with the national team. That's all a little bit up for grabs."

Phinney is currently taking a break from racing and is training in Italy. He may well make Italy his European base should he turn professional next year.