Phil Gaimon

Phillip "Phil" Gaimon (born January 28, 1986) is a former American professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI World Tour team . He began his racing career while attending the University of Florida and competed in collegiate races as part of the University's Cycling Club.  As a professional, in addition to his time with Cannondale-Drapac, he also rode for Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies and Garmin-Sharp. A noted blogger, Gaimon has written for VeloNews; he formerly posted at Bicycling, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated Born in Columbus, Ohio, United States, Gaimon spent his adolescence in Tucker, Georgia, United States. Gaimon resides in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.

After five seasons competing domestically with the ,  and  teams, Gaimon signed with the  squad for the 2014 season. Gaimon won his very first race with his new team, stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de San Luis, and managed to hold on throughout the race to finish second overall, behind Nairo Quintana, who claimed the leader's jersey during an individual time trial. Gaimon went back to the American scene in 2015, riding for Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies on a one-year contract. After riding the 2015 season at UCI Continental level, Gaimon announced he would be returning to the World Tour with  for 2016. Gaimon announced his retirement at the end of 2016. 

Gaimon began authoring books during his professional career, including Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro, which was released in 2014 by VeloPress. He continued writing in retirement, including 2017's Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage (also published by VeloPress) and Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) released by Penguin Books.  Gaimon also hosts a weekly podcast called The Peloton Brief and an annual charity event ride in Simi Valley, California called Phil's Cookie Fondo.

Gaimon is vocal about performing without performance enhancing drugs, and commissioned a tattoo from a tattoo artist of a bar of soap with the word "CLEAN" on his right bicep. Since retiring from participating in professional event brands, Gaimon has generated social media engagement by attempting to beat "king-of-the-mountain" (KOM) records on the digital app Strava. Phil Gaimon also has created a video series called "Worst Retirement Ever" of his  KOM attempts on YouTube.

Major results
Sources:

2006
8th Overall Tour of the Bahamas
2007
7th Univest Grand Prix
1st  Youth classification
2008
1st Mount Washington Hillclimb
2009
1st Mount Washington Hillclimb
2010
2nd Overall Tour de Taiwan
2011
6th Overall Tour de Beauce
8th Overall Cascade Cycling Classic

2012
 1st  Overall Redlands Bicycle Classic
1st Stage 1 (ITT)
 4th Overall Cascade Cycling Classic
2013
 2nd Overall Tour of the Gila
 6th Overall Cascade Cycling Classic
1st Stage 1
2014
2nd Overall Tour de San Luis
1st Stage 1
2015
 1st  Overall Redlands Bicycle Classic
2017
 1st USA Cycling Hill Climb National Championship 
 1st Mount Washington Hillclimb

Phil Gaimon Bibliography

References

External links

https://www.velonews.com/2012/08/rider-journal/phil-gaimon-diary-florida-takes-grassroots-steps-against-amateur-and-masters-doping_232960
http://stevetilford.com/2016/12/05/phil-gaimons-strava-kom-cleansing/
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/retired-gaimon-goes-to-work-toppling-doping-tainted-strava-koms/
https://abovecategorycycling.com/blogs/journal/kom-hunter-the-worst-retirement-ever

 
 Team profile
 VeloPress profile
 Pro Cycling on $10 a Day
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/phil-gaimons-kom-hunting-youtube-makes-fascinating-viewing-322652
https://cyclingtips.com/2016/12/gaimon-begins-retirement-by-hunting-banned-riders-strava-koms/
https://road.cc/content/news/220212-video-phil-gaimons-new-hobby-collecting-strava-koms-and-he-targets-those-held

Category:Living people
Category:American male cyclists
Category:1986 births
Category:People from Studio City, Los Angeles