 |
| Hometown:
Durango, Colorado |
Teams: |
| Birth date: March
13, 1978 |
Slipstream/Chipotle (2008
- present) |
| Height: 5'10" |
Discovery Channel (2005
- 2007) |
| Weight: 129
lbs. |
Fassa Bortolo (2004)
|
| Cycling Strengths: Climbing,
TT |
Saturn Cycling Team (2003) |
| Favorite Food: Chicken
Burritos |
Mercury (2002) |
| |
Sobe/Headshok (1999
- 2001) |
|
Tom was
born and raised in East Lyme, Connecticut, USA, the only child of Terry and Etta
Danielson. In his early years, Tom was no stranger to sports, riding motocross
and running track in high school.
Tom began racing mountain bikes in 1994 and after
some successes racing in New England, he moved onto Team Devo, the leader in U.S.
junior development teams. In 1996 Tom won the NCS points series as a junior and
represented the U.S. as a member of the Junior Worlds team in Australia.
The next year Tom raced elite and headed off to
Colorado to attend Fort Lewis College in Durango, and to pursue his career in
off-road racing. |
|
 |
Three years of mediocre results saw Tom's career on the mountain bike stagnating.
In the fall of 2001, Tom met Rick Crawford who would eventually turn his
career around. That fall, with Crawford's assistance, Tom won a National
Championship with Fort Lewis College. That
winter
Tom worked closely with Crawford who helped him realize his potential on the
road.
During the spring, Tom raced on the road for the
Sobe/Headshok team attending races in Arizona and the front range of Colorado.
Tom showed immense potential but was still green when it came to experience on
the road bike.
Intense structure and training from Crawford led
Tom to his early-season focus: New Mexico's Tour of the Gila. With some impressive
climbing and an overall 8th place finish, Tom caught the eye of the powerful Team
Mercury. |
Being thrown into the the deep end of professional racing could be a daunting
task to some, but Tom welcomed the opportunity with both arms.
One of Tom's first big races with his new team was the five-stage Estes Cycling
Challenge in Estes Park, Colorado. Danielson won the opening prologue and then
with excellent team support he won the next day's 87-mile Devil's Gulch Road Race.
The chase for the overall title was all but over by stage three when Tom dominated
the field and won the Trail Ridge Hill Climb Time-trial by 5 minutes, an awesome
performance ending at an altitude of almost 11,000 feet.
Tom's next big performance came during the middle of the summer, when he traveled
to China to race the Tour of Qinghai Lake with the U.S. Team. Strong performances
in the mountains and a Time Trial win gave Tom his first international stage win
only two months into his career as a professional cyclist.
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Estes Cycling Challenge
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Tom then went on to race domestically, supporting teammate Chris Wherry at the
Cascade Cycling Classic, and the Saturn Cycling Classic.
|
Tour de Langkawi
Mt. Evans Hill Climb
|
Tom tackled the slopes of the New Hampshire's Mt. Washington, winning the race
and breaking Tyler Hamilton's record by almost a minute.
There was no slowing down for Tom in 2003, as part of the dominant US Powerhouse,
Team Saturn. Success came early when Tom took the overall win at the Tour de Langkawi,
one of the largest stage races in the world.
His winning ways continued throughout the season with victories at the Nature
Valley Grand Prix, the Cascade Cycling Classic, the Tour de Toona, and a repeat
win at the Mountain Washington Hill Climb.
In 2004, Tom signed on with the Italian squad, Fassa Bortolo. There, he gained
valuable experience in the European peloton. Back in Colorado, Tom broke yet another
long-standing Hill Climb record, the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb race.
He won the 28-mile event which has an elevation gain
of 6,500 feet and reaches a final altitude of 14,120 feet, in 1:41:20, four minutes
faster than the race's previous best time.
Tom had several solid performances for Fassa
Bortolo, while learning the intricacies of racing at the highest level, including
a top 20 finish at the Tour of Romandie.
In April of 2005, Tom proved to his new Discovery
team that he has what it takes to win at the elite ranks by winning the Dodge
Tour de Georgia. The win was sealed on the Brasstown Bald stage where he left
the rest of the peloton gasping and won the stage on the super-steep climb to
the finish.
Tom has helped create the Fort Lewis College Cycling
Scholarship fund to assist young collegiate cyclists.
In November of 2006, Tom
established the Tom Danielson Junior Race Series and Camps to provide support,
encouragement, and skills development to junior racers in a competitive environment.
For 2008, Tom rides for Slipstream/Chipotle with his
main goal of doing well at the Tour de France.
Last updated 2.06.08
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Tour de Georgia |
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