Like any proud father, Davis Phinney marvels at the man his son has become. It is not because Taylor Phinney juggles his senior year’s studies at Boulder High School while training as an elite cyclist. Or because he speaks fluent Italian. Or that he is, according to his coach, Neal Henderson, “physiologically phenomenal,” a perfect combination of his parents.

What makes Davis Phinney most proud is something more personal. “To get the benefit of me,” he often tells his son, “you have to be somewhat responsible for me, too’.”

And he has been. Nothing has made Taylor, 17, grow up faster than watching his father’s body decay. Phinney, 48, was a brazen sprinter and the star of the 7-Eleven professional cycling team in the 1980s and early ‘90s. He was a risk-taker with beefy biceps, nicknamed Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Now, he fights his stiffening body to even roll over in bed because of the ravages of Parkinson’s disease, an incurable neurological disorder that attacks a body’s mobility. He leans on his son, his daughter and his wife Connie Carpenter, a two-sport Olympian. They help butter his bread, button his shirts and open his pill bottles.

In return, Phinney has put treating his illness, and his pain, on hold.

Seeking Olympic berth

On Wednesday, Taylor will compete in the individual pursuit at the world championships in Manchester, England. He is tied for third in the overall world rankings and could earn a spot on the US team for the Beijing Olympics by finishing seventh or better. If he wins, he will secure his place at the Games.

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