Tom Danielson in Tour de France. A long road over.

//Tom Danielson in Tour de France. A long road over.

Tom Danielson in Tour de France. A long road over.

Danielson at Tour of California. photo twisted spoke

Oh-la-la-la-la.

Garmin-Cervelo’s Tom Danielson is finally in the Tour de France. It’s been at least 4 years of lobbying Jonathan Vaughters but at last he makes the cut.

Something always seemed to go wrong and derail his plans for a tour ride. There was illness, diet issues, unpredictable form, untimely crashes, and at times a fragile psyche, even just plain bad luck.

That’s all behind him at least for the month of July in France. He’s going to the big show, La Grand Boucle, the best suffering you can do on a bike. Danielson is riding the Tour de France.

This year he rode a strong, consistent Tour of California, taking the final podium spot behind old men Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer of Radio Shack. Then he went to Switzerland and got himself a top ten result. There was nothing Vaughters could say but “allez Tom, venez avec nous a Paris.”

Some say the progression happened late but finally happened. Once saddled with the terrible expectations of being the next Lance Armstrong, Danielson couldn’t deliver those kind of goods. But Garmin has proved an ideal team for Danielson and slowly but surely Vaughters and his crew were able to build Danielson’s confidence and diagnose the mysterious way his body processing food. The massive talent began to show itself again.

It’s been a long, long ride for both Danielson and Garmin-Cervelo. At times Danielson has been frustrated and angry when those tour rides didn’t come through. He’s been short-listed a few times and had to endure watching guys like Ryder Hesjedahl go to France and surprise the cycling world.

But he’s got his airline ticket and hotel reservations now. The man is going to Brittany for the July 2nd start of the Tour de France. Ca c’est super fantastique, mon vieux.

After such a long wait, Danielson himself seemed stunned and at a loss for words. “I honestly don’t know what it means to me,” he said. “On the last day of the Tour, I’ll tell you what it means to me.”

It means a whole hell of a lot and we’re damn happy for Tom Danielson.

By |2019-02-03T16:19:00-08:00June 21st, 2011|Uncategorized|6 Comments

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6 Comments

  1. IdeaStormer Jorge June 21, 2011 at 4:01 pm - Reply

    Would be best if he missed his flight, got transferred to a flight that had to change routes, got detained for having a bike as carry on in an airport not accustomed to such baggage, then missed the tour start by 2 minutes, and gets to watch his replacement start the prologue.

  2. Jason Crawford June 21, 2011 at 7:35 pm - Reply

    I'm so excited for TD. I really think that of all the Garmin boys he has the best chance to shine. Love VandeVelde but let's be honest….he's not going to be able to hang.

    Allez Tom, nous te souhaittons bonne chace.

    • TwistedSpoke June 24, 2011 at 10:27 pm - Reply

      I'm pulling for CVV, a genuine nice guy. I'd like to see him one place higher on GC than wiggins just for symbolism. Matt

  3. Tusher June 24, 2011 at 12:47 pm - Reply

    He'll certainly miss the July 2nd start if he turns up in Brittany- the Tour is starting in the Vendee.

  4. TwistedSpoke June 24, 2011 at 10:26 pm - Reply

    Jorge, are you not a Danielson fan? I figure he's earned his ride in the Tour. If he cracks the top 20 on GC I'll be impressed and surprised. Matt

  5. TwistedSpoke June 24, 2011 at 10:31 pm - Reply

    It's all Brittany to me, Baby. I learned my French in Brittany. Matt

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