Phil Gaimon

Phillip Gaimon (born January 28, 1986) is a former American professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2016. 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, Gaimon rode for Jelly Belly Cycling Team, Kenda–5-hour Energy, Bissell, Optum–Kelly Benefit Strategies and Cannondale–Drapac. A noted blogger, Gaimon has written for VeloNews;[1] he formerly posted at Bicycling,[2] ESPN,[3] and Sports Illustrated.[4]

Phil Gaimon
Gaimon at the 2014 Tour of Alberta
Personal information
Full namePhillip Gaimon
NicknameCookie Monster
Born (1986-01-28) January 28, 1986
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder/climber
Amateur teams
2005AG Edwards
2006VMG Racing
2007CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25
2008–2009Fiordifrutta
Professional teams
2009Jelly Belly Cycling Team
2010–2012Kenda–Gear Grinder
2013Bissell
2014Garmin–Sharp
2015Optum–Kelly Benefit Strategies
2016Cannondale
Major wins
Stage races
Redlands Bicycle Classic (2012, 2015)

One-day Races and Classics

USA Cycling Hillclimb National Championship (2017)

Career

Gaimon was born in Columbus, Ohio, United States and spent his adolescence in Atlanta, Georgia.[5][6] As of 2014, Gaimon resides in Los Angeles, California, United States.[5]

Gaimon at the 2014 Tour de San Luis

After five seasons competing domestically with the Jelly Belly Cycling Team, Kenda–Gear Grinder and Bissell teams, Gaimon signed with the Garmin–Sharp squad for the 2014 season.[7][8][9] 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.[10] Gaimon went back to the American scene in 2015, riding for Optum–Kelly Benefit Strategies on a one-year contract.[11] After riding the 2015 season at UCI Continental level, Gaimon announced he would be returning to the World Tour with Cannondale for 2016.[12] Gaimon announced his retirement at the end of 2016.[13] In June of 2019, while training for the 2020 Olympics in the Team Pursuit, Gaimon suffered a serious crash breaking his collarbone, scapula, 5 ribs, and partially collapsing a lung. [14]

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.[15] 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)[16] and Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While) released by Penguin Books.[17] Gaimon also hosts a weekly podcast called The Peloton Brief[18] and an annual charity event ride in Simi Valley, California called Phil's Cookie Fondo.[19]

"The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club." Fight Club film 1999. Soap bar logo from movie poster. (above) Cyclist Phil Gaimon's "clean" tattoo (below).

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.[20][21][22] Since retiring from participating in professional event brands,[23][24][25] 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.[26][27][28][29]

Major results

Sources:[30][31][32]

2006
8th Overall Tour of the Bahamas
2007
7th Univest Grand Prix
1st Youth classification
2008
1st Mount Washington Hillclimb[33]
2009
1st Mount Washington Hillclimb[34]
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[35]
1st Mount Washington Hillclimb[36]

Bibliography
  • Gaimon, Phil (2014). Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress. ISBN 978-1-937715-24-3.
  • Gaimon, Phil (2017). Ask a Pro: Deep Thoughts and Unreliable Advice from America's Foremost Cycling Sage. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress. ISBN 978-1-937715-72-4.
  • Gaimon, Phil (2017). Draft Animals: Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While). New York, New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-1431312-4-3.

References
  1. Phil Gaimon. "The Phil Gaimon Diary". VeloNews. San Diego, California: Competitor Group, Inc. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  2. Phil Gaimon (March 23, 2011). "Living the Dream". Bicycling. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale, Inc. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  3. "Gaimon: Talking camp, protests and burritos". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  4. Gaimon, Phil. "A cyclist's quest to find America's best cookies". SI.com. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  5. Daniel McMahon (June 23, 2013). "Phil Gaimon Interview: The Long Way to Europe and the WorldTour, Garmin, Racing Clean, and Writing a Book". Cycling Reporter. New York City, New York: Daniel McMahon. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  6. Dan Wuori (June 5, 2013). "Gaimon signs with Garmin-Sharp for 2014". VeloNews. San Diego, California: Competitor Group, Inc. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. "Earning Garmin-Sharp contract, Gaimon psyched with chance to race at WorldTour level". VeloNation. Chevy Chase, Maryland: VeloNation LLC. June 5, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  8. "Team Garmin-Sharp signs Phil Gaimon for 2014". Garmin–Sharp. Boulder, Colorado: Slipstream Sports LLC. June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  9. James Startt (January 2014). "Nairo Quintana Wins 2014 Tour de San Luis". Bicycling. Rodale, Inc. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  10. Daniel Benson (7 October 2014). "Q&A: Phil Gaimon signs with Optum Pro Cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  11. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gaimon-returns-to-cannondale-garmin-as-ben-king-extends/
  12. "Phil Gaimon calls an end to his cycling career | Cyclingnews.com". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  13. "Phil Gaimon Suffers Bad Crash on Velodrome". SoCalCycling.com. 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  14. Gaimon, Phil (2014-05-05). Pro cycling on $10 a day : from fat kid to Euro pro. Boulder, Colorado. ISBN 9781937716554. OCLC 914190594.
  15. Gaimon, Phil (2014-05-05). Ask a pro : deep thoughts and unreliable advice from America's foremost cycling sage. Boulder, Colorado. ISBN 9781937716554. OCLC 967457214.
  16. Gaimon, Phil (2017). Draft animals : living the pro cycling dream (once in a while). New York, New York. ISBN 9780143131243. OCLC 981117051.
  17. Gaimon, Phil. "The Peloton Brief". iTunes. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  18. Weislo, Laura. "Phil Gaimon calls an end to his cycling career". Cycling News. Cycling News. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  19. Delaney, Ben (2017-06-23). "Ex-pro targets Strava KOMs with funky bike and world-class power". BikeRadar. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  20. "Cycling's Cookie Monster and his Anti-Doping Crusade". Sportshour. BBC. BBC World Service. 2017-10-27. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  21. Fight Club, retrieved 2019-07-23
  22. Lindsey, Joe (2015-03-09). "UCI: Doping Continues". Bicycling. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  23. "Review Of Leaked Test Results Shows Doping Is Widespread In Track And Field". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  24. "Leaked IAAF doping files: Wada 'very alarmed' by allegations". 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  25. Tilford, Steve (2016-12-05). "Phil Gaimon's Strava KOM Cleansing". Steve Tilford. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  26. Collis, Simon (2017-03-30). "Phil Gaimon's KOM-hunting YouTube makes for fascinating viewing". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  27. "Video: Phil Gaimon's new hobby is collecting Strava KOMs (and he targets those held by a convicted doper)". road.cc. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  28. Gaimon, Phil. "Phil Gaimon's Worst Retirement Ever". YouTube. Phil Gaimon. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  29. "Phillip Gaimon at USA Cycling". USA Cycling. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  30. "Phillip Gaimon at Cycling Archives". Cycling Archives. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  31. "Phillip Gaimon at Cycling Base". Cycling Base. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  32. "Phillip Gaimon wins Mount Washington Hillclimb". VeloNews. San Diego, California: Competitor Group, Inc. August 16, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  33. "Phillip Gaimon defends Mt. Washington crown in Bicycle Hillclimb". New Hampshire Lakes and Mountains. Meredith, New Hampshire: Salmon Press Newspapers, Inc. August 20, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  34. https://www.road-results.com/race/9661#cat107379
  35. http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ritfiche.php?ritid=298003
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