Tom Danielson

Tom Danielson

Danielson at the 2007 Tour of California
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Danielson
Nickname	Tom or Tommy D[1]
Born	(1978-03-13) March 13, 1978 East Lyme, Connecticut, U.S.
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	59 kg (9 st 4 lb)
Team information
Current team	Garmin-Sharp
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Amateur team(s)
1999–2001	SoBe/Headshok
Professional team(s)
2002 2003 2004 2005–2007 2008–	Mercury Saturn Fassa Bortolo Discovery Channel Slipstream-Chipotle
Major wins
Tour of Qinghai Lake (2002) Tour de Langkawi (2003) Cascade Cycling Classic (2003) Mount Evans Hill Climb (2004, 2007, 2009) Tour of Utah (2013)
Infobox last updated on January 2, 2014

Thomas "Tom" Danielson (born March 13, 1978) is an American professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam Garmin-Sharp.^[2] He is a former member of UCI ProTeams Discovery Channel (2005–2007), Fassa Bortolo (2004), Saturn (2003), Mercury (2002), and amateur team SoBe/Headshok (1999–2001). Because of the success he achieved early in his career, he was billed in the media as "the next Lance Armstrong."^[3]

Career

Early years

Danielson holds the record for the fastest ascent of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb.^[4][5] The previous record holder was professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton. He also holds the record for the Mt. Evans Hill Climb in Colorado, which traverses the highest paved road in North America.^[6][7] The previous record holder was Jonathan Vaughters, who is currently Danielson's manager.^[6][8]

In 2004, Danielson had an uneventful stint on the Italian UCI ProTeam Fassa Bortolo, missing the early spring campaign because of visa problems.^[9] Subsequently, he raced for the American UCI ProTour team Discovery Channel, with which he won the 2005 Tour de Georgia and the 2006 Tour of Austria.^[10][11] Since Discovery Channel disbanded in 2008, Danielson has been part of the Garmin-Chipotle team.^[12]

2010

Danielson started the season by finishing twelfth at both the Tour Méditerranéen and the Tour du Haut Var. Following his two twelfth place finishes, Danielson, however, struggled through Paris-Nice; finishing only fifty-second overall. Following, Paris-Nice, Danielson regained his form at the Tour of the Gila; placing second to Levi Leipheimer (Team RadioShack). A couple of weeks later, Danielson rode the Tour of California, but was unable to complete the race. After California, Danielson returned to form at the Tour de Suisse, finishing twenty-fifth overall. Following Suisse, Danielson finished in eighth place at both the Tour de Pologne and the Trofeo Melinda. A month later, Danielson rode his fifth Vuelta a España. He completed the race as the highest placed American, in eighth place. Danielson concluded the season with a thirty-ninth place at the Giro dell'Emilia.

2011

Danielson started the season with the Vuelta a Mallorca, and finished thirty-sixth in the third classic, the Trofeo Deia. Danielson, however, was unable to complete the fourth and fifth classics, the Trofeo Magaluf-Palmanova and the Trofeo Inca. Following the Spanish "Vuelta", Danielson finished thirty-first overall at the Volta ao Algarve, and a preseason best of twentieth overall at the Vuelta a Murcia. However, after Murcia, Danielson's form deteriorated, finishing fifty-fifth overall at the Volta a Catalunya, forty-seventh at the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, and eightieth overall at the Tour of the Basque Country. Following Basque Country, Danielson withdrew from racing, and focused on rebuilding his form. A few weeks later, Danielson returned to racing, and finished twentieth overall at the Tour de Romandie. After Romandie, Danielson finished third overall at the Tour of California, and ninth overall at the Tour de Suisse, which ultimately led him to a Tour de France debut. At the Tour, Danielson rode well, and finished as the highest placed American, in eighth place.^[13][14][15] After the Tour, Danielson finished fifth overall at the Tour of Utah, and fourth overall at the first addition of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Following the two American stage races, Danielson concluded the season with an eighty-sixth place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

2012

After being unable to complete the Tour de Langkawi, Danielson returned to form during the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished twelfth overall, and second in the Mountains classification. Following Catalunya, Danielson finished twentieth at the Tour of the Basque Country, and offered a good showing at the Tour of California, where he took fifth place in the "queen stage" of the race, a finish at altitude at the winter ski station of Mount Baldy.^[16] He also came in ninth place in stage five's individual time trial, therefore keeping a high placing in the overall classification.^[17] These performances helped him climb on the third step of the podium.^[18] After California, Danielson finished eleventh at the National Road Race Championships, seventh at the Tour de Suisse, and was selected to start his second Tour de France. However, due to injuries sustained from crashes, Danielson abandoned the Tour during stage six. The following month, Danielson returned to competition at the Tour of Utah, where he finished eleventh overall, and assisted with stage two's team time trial win. After Utah, Danielson competed in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, where he finished seventh overall, and by soling up and over Independence Pass, won stage three. Bicycling subsequently named the stage, "the most exciting day of road racing on American soil".^[19]

2013

Following his six month ban, Danielson returned to racing at the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished tenth overall. After Catalunya, Danielson, however, was unable to complete the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, but returned to form during the Tour of the Basque Country, where he finished eleventh overall. After Basque Country, Danielson continued to ride strong, and finished fourth overall at the Tour de Romandie. Danielson started the Giro d'Italia hoping to assist teammate Ryder Hesjedal in a repeat victory, however, Hesjadal withdrew following stage twelve. After Hesjedal's departure, Danielson was able to ride for himself, but fell ill during the latter weeks, and finished only 49th overall.^[20] In June, Danielson was selected to start his third Tour de France as a domestique; he finished the Tour in 60th place.^[20] Following the Tour, Danielson competed in, and won the Tour of Utah.^[21][22][23] Danielson concluded the season by finishing third overall at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.^[24][25]

Doping confession

In a September 2012, online-forum post, Garmin-Sharp team manager and owner Jonathan Vaughters stated that Danielson had used blood doping products to increase oxygen delivery to his muscles.^[26] On October 10, 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Danielson would be suspended for six months after admitting to doping during his time with Discovery Channel.^[27][28] Later that day, the organization issued a statement confirming his acceptance to a six-month ban from September 1, 2012, to March 1, 2013. The action included the stripping of all race results between March 1, 2005, and September 23, 2006.^[29] Danielson released his own statement a day later that expressed regret at his decision to "cross the line." "I accept responsibility for my choices and apologize to everyone in my life for them – in and out of the sport," he said.^[28]

Personal

Born in East Lyme, Connecticut, Danielson currently resides in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife, Stephanie, and their children, Steven (b. 2010) and Stella (b. 2012).^[2][30][31] While spending his childhood years in Connecticut, Danielson attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.^[31] Danielson considers both Boulder and Durango as his home towns.^[31]

Palmarès

Sources:^[2][32][33]

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Giro	WD	WD	—	—	76	—	—	—	49
Tour	—	—	—	—	—	—	8	WD	60
Vuelta	7	6	WD	—	WD	8	—	—	—	—

Withdrew = WD; In progress = IP; Voided results = struck through.

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Danielson.

• Official website
• VELOBIOS Rider Profile
• CyclingNews.com 2005 interview
• SI article
• Tom Danielson at Trap-Friis.dk. Archive copy at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 May 2011)