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.

Taylor’s philosophy remains the same. “The difference is not accepting that you will lose, just deciding not to give up,” he said. He thanked his father for teaching him that.

Davis Phinney is in England for the championships, nine days before he is scheduled to have a brain operation to ease the symptoms of his disease.

It’s in the genes

Championship DNA courses through Taylor Phinney’s 6-foot-4 frame. With more than 300 race victories, his father remains the winningest American cyclist. He was the first American to win a road stage of the Tour de France. At the 1984 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the team time trial.

Taylor’s mother was 14 when she finished seventh in the 1,500-meter speedskating event at the 1972 Olympics. At the University of California, Berkeley, she became a national champion in rowing. She won the gold medal in the debut of Olympic women’s road cycling in 1984, 10 months after marrying Phinney.

Carpenter senses that Taylor is inspired by his father’s determination to stay positive. “It has shown him how much you can impact others and how cool it is to be known for something,” she said.

In August, if all goes well, Phinney intends to be in Beijing, a new man watching his son ride. “I could easily slip into a very, very dark place with everything I’ve lost, so I have to focus on the pinpricks of light to stay positive,” he said. “But with Taylor, it’s easier. I just look at what he has been doing, and I’m connected to a magnificent source of energy.”