Davis + Connie Movie from Rapha
While COVID-19 disruption continues around the world, here’s the Davis + Connie movie from Rapha to keep you inspired and motivated when riding inside or out.
Long before Taylor turned a pedal in anger, his parents, Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter-Phinney were well established as two of the greatest American cyclists of all time. Our film from 2014 celebrates their accomplishments not only as road racers but as enigmatic members of the cycling community. Bold racers with uncompromising attitudes on and off the bike, they continue to inspire us now.
I never saw Davis race, but did meet him at Interbike a few years ago. His son Taylor won a World Championship in 2010. Filmed at their home in Boulder, Colorado, the Davis + Connie Movie relies on interviews with both riders, along with accounts from their contemporaries such as Andy Hampsten, Douglas Emerson and Coors Classic race promoter, Michael Aisner. Through archive footage, the Davis + Connie Movie also documents their journey to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and deals with Davis’s subsequent experiences of living with Parkinson’s disease. Following Davis’s diagnosis, in 1999, these two celebrated riders went on, in 2004, to establish the Davis Phinney Foundation, an organisation that informs and supports families living with the disease, and which has raised millions of dollars for cutting-edge research into treatments.