The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team notched another solid victory as Tom Danielson took overall victory at the 7-stage Tour of Austria. Danielson overcame a solid showing by Christian Pfannberger, taking final control in the 31 kms Individual Time Trial before a flat finale sprint finish on Sunday.

DC Assistant Sports Manager Lorenzo Lapage recapped the race and the strategy for the boys in blue. "Since this is not a Pro Tour event, there were a lot of smaller teams looking to make a name and so it was very hard to control early on," he said after the final stage. "We knew we had to stay close early on and set ourselves up for the critical uphill finish on the 3rd stage and the boys did a great job keeping Tom close. Tom was really good on the final climb and was on a solo run to the finish until he got cramps in the final km. So we then decided to wait until the Stage 6 TT because we thought he could do well enough to bring back the time to Pfannberger."

And come back he did, knocking back 2'09" on the TT course, but it was not without drama as Danielson crashed in the final 2500m's to the line. "He was a little nervous because he knew he had the race on the line. He took a corner a little too fast and his front wheel came out from under him, but in reality he really only lost about 10-15 seconds."

The race winner had this to say as he looked back on his first overall victory of the 2006 season. "I came to Austria after a month break but I also came here quite motivated. I wanted to do a good race and as soon as the race started I began to have aspirations of the overall. A friend I met through the LAF, Gene Mclean who is fighting brain cancer, motivated me throughout the race. His fearless fight each day of his life gave me motivation. Each day I rode smart and improved physically. My team was fantastic as the guided me through each stage. I am very thankful for their work and I was very happy to repay them with the victory. For me this race is very special as it is my first win in Europe and it showed to me how I am becoming a better cyclist."

In addition to the fine showing by Danielson, Lapage also gave credit to the DC support riders. "Yes, this really bodes well for us for the Vuelta as Tom is probably only 80-85% on form, but we saw very good performances from riders like Jurgen Van Goolen and Janez Brajkovic. Van Goolen - coming back from a broken hip - was always there when it counted and never complains. Brajkovic also had an excellent race - he has a huge engine coupled with a very small body, and he was totally willing to work for Tom. It's very important for our riders to be a big part of the team and not just be looking for individual results."

Lapage finished by saying he was very happy that the entire team gave 100% to ensure the final victory, so big congratulations to Tom and all the Discovery Channel riders at Austria!

Final General classification
1 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 25.09.47
2 Ruslan Pidgornyy (Ukr) Team Tenax Salmilano 0.16
3 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Elk Haus-Simplon 1.27
4 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Elk Haus-Simplon 2.12
5 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 2.46
6 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 3.32
7 Gerhard Trampusch (Aut) Team Wiesenhof Akud 4.12
8 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 4.41
9 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4.54
10 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 5.05