Finishing the Tour was a dream come true for Phinney, who says he realized he wanted to be a professional cyclist after visiting the Tour de France with his dad 12 years ago. Phinney is also passionate about reading and painting -- a hobby he took up after the accident.

Phinney is now back home in Boulder, preparing for next week's Colorado Classic, which replaces the USA Pro Challenge. Phinney won the first stage of the Pro Challenge in Steamboat Springs in 2015, and next week he'll race against teammate Uran.

Interview Highlights With Taylor Phinney

On How The 2014 Crash Changed Him:

"Once I broke my leg, you know, that planted me back in Boulder, and planted me physicially in my body. My mobility was limited. And that left me a lot of time to start to go a little bit -- feel like I was going a little bit crazy in my brain. I didn't have the physical expression that I was used to. I wasn't able to expand my physical radius by jumping on a bike and explore different parts of my surroundings. I found painting, which was and is, continues to be, a really important part of my life. Kind of an emotional digesting of sorts."

On How Riding Down The Champs Elysees Compared To His Expectations:

"I had actually never been to downtown Paris before. I'd saved it for, ideally just for this moment of being in the Tour de France... There are these fighter jets that are flying towards you that are timed to fly the opposite direction that we're moving. And behind them they have, you know when planes can put out different colors. They have basically the French flag, the colors of the French flag coming out behind them. And they're coming straight towards you."