Taylor Phinney started the 2015 season well by winning the Dubai Tour and the United States national time trial championships title. But when the road race, the BMC Racing Team rider missed a turn and fall heavily. It is very physically touched. He suffered fractures to his left leg. He talks to Cyclingnews about his convalescence and the next season. 

"I had the accident and they told me it would be a six- to nine-month process, with six months being the most optimal progress. I think they kind of said that to make me feel better about it, but it's more of a nine- to 12-month thing. I did a lot of damage to myself", he explain.

He admits that some days sounds harder than others. But thanks to medicine, he is patient and sees light at the end of the tunnel. 

"Every time I do yoga or strengthening in the morning, I feel better on a bike," he said. "It's a slow process. When I'm at home, I just ride easy so that it doesn't hurt, and I get better."

"It also gave me a glimpse of what life would be like without a bike. That's something that a lot of people think about but struggle to embrace when it comes time to hang the bike up. It's hard when you're a kid and you barely go to high school and then you don't go to college and you just race your bike and live the dream."

This long period of convalescence also allowed the American rider to think about him, his sport and his life. 

"There is a lot of mental energy that goes into having an injury. I was thinking the other day that the amount of time that I spend every day just thinking about my leg and how it feels - maybe it feels good, maybe it feels bad - that doesn't stop the whole day. When you're sick and have a little cold, that's all you think about - it's like that and then you get healthy and forget you were even thinking about that."

Phinney wants to make his return to the squad in the spring. He also hopes to soon return to the level to be present at the Tour de France, his main goal for 2015.

"They say the five to seven or eight-month period is the hardest because you get mobility back and some strength back, but you still have to work hard to even yourself out and you still have chill out."

"I was supposed to go (at the Tour of France) this year for the first time, but didn't because of the crash. There is a prologue this coming year which is really exciting for me. Then it's Worlds and beyond that, the Olympics. If I had to have something happen, this year was not a bad time to have it happen."

And if Phinney try to beat the hour record ? "I'm thinking about it, but I can talk about it and say I'm thinking about it and people love to make it a headline. There's a lot of people thinking about it. The bar was set, but it wasn't set that high."