Taylor Phinney has taken a big step in his comeback goal of making the USA Cycling track squad for the LA Olympics in 2028 by earning a spot on the team for the upcoming 2026 UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai, China.
The endurance and sprint squads were announced on Thursday, October 1, and having come out of retirement in April, Phinney will make up part of the team pursuit squad alongside new U23 road race World Champion Ashlin Barry, Graeme Frislie, Grand Koontz, and Anders Johnson.
Points Race silver medallist from 2025, Peter Moore, and Brendan Rhim make up the rest of the US men's endurance team, with no men's representation in the sprint events. Track Worlds will run from Wednesday, October 14, to Sunday, October 18.
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In Santiago, Chile, last season, the US men's team finished fourth behind Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand, their best finish in the event since 1995, when they last won a medal.
It will be Phinney's first return to international track competition, having made his return to racing at the US Track National Championships back in August. There, he won gold in the team pursuit alongside Johnson, who he will be headed to China with, Colby Lange, and David Domonosky, at what was his first appearance at the event since 2008, aged 18.
A two-time World Champion in the track previously, Phinney won Individual Pursuit gold in Pruszków in 2009 and Ballerup in 2010. He also raced at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 on the track, finishing seventh as a teenager.
Phinney had been racing gravel for the past two seasons, having retired in 2019 from road racing, and has continued to do so into 2026, taking on Unbound Gravel in Kansas once again back in June.
The US team will also be sending a strong presence to China for the women's endurance and sprint events, with former Olympic road race champion and reigning Olympic team pursuit gold medallist Kristen Faulkner as the standout name announced for Shanghai.
Fresh off the back of finishing 19th at the road Worlds in Montreal, Faulkner will be joined by talented 18-year-old Emma Jimenez Palos, Bethany Ingram, Megan Jastrab, Stephanie Lawrence and Anna Hicks for the endurance events.
After landing the USA's best-ever result of seventh in the women's team sprint in Chile last season, the trio of Kayla Hankins, Emily Hayes, and Hayley Yoslov will return to action together in China. Taking on the team event and individual sprints, they will also be joined by McKenna McKee.
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