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Tom Danielson, Discovery Channel

6 May 2005

Time with Tom before the Giro d'Italia

Danielson Final GC Tour of Georgia, photo: Tour of Georgia

Tom Danielson has just won America's grand tour and is ready to tackle Italy's grand tour. He will be backing up Paolo Savoldelli ("Il Falco") but many are tipping Tom as the Discovery Channel man to watch out for. And why not? Tom has won the Tour of Langkawi in 2003, then cut his teeth with Fassa Bortolo, and has the TT/Climbing skills to get the job done in the big races. BiciRace.com caught up with Tom in Spain and we talked about a wide range of subjects, from Georgia to Italy, LeMond to Pinarello, and of course, Lance Armstrong. Read on and learn more about this rising star.

Tour of Georgia, Thinking About The GC

Danielson GC Leader, photo: Tour of Georgia

BiciRace.com:  Ciao Tom. Thanks for taking the time to join BiciRace.com for an interview. A lot has happened since we last traded emails during the Pais Vasco. You have now won America's grand tour, the Tour of Georgia. Was it your goal going into the Tour of Georgia to go for the GC?
Tom Danielson:  No, my goals were to work for Lance Armstrong. I was just super motivated to be there riding with Lance. He's riding really strong. I wanted to do a good race to show him and the team that I was strong, and to help give the team the victory.
BR:  The Tour of Georgia was a big win. Congratulations! It was also an opportunity for you to get back home to see your friends and your wife. Was it nice to be back in the United States?
TD:  It was great. It was really nice to see familiar things and all the people and all my friends. It was really special at the race. My wife and my parents came, so it was really nice.
BR:  Did you bring back any peanut butter from the United States?
TD:  (Laughter) Yeah. We've got some stuff. The local bakery in Durango called The Bread donated a bunch of stuff for the team, Discovery Channel, for the race. I've got some of their coffee and stuff like that. We've got some things. Lots of good stuff.
BR:  So, Brasstown Bald, stage 5, was one hard stage and very, very exciting to follow. How was it for you on that epic day?
TD:  Whoh ... Stressful, you know? The day before was really difficult [stage 4], and that stage was really difficult. The team really wanted to win the race. So our team gave 110% on a day that we needed 110%. Everything went together really well. The team was unbelievable. And the crowds, and the people on the sides of the road were incredible. It was an experience that for sure I'll never ever forget.
BR:  And going into that stage, was it already determined that you would be the guy going for the stage win and for trying to wrap up the GC?
TD:  No, I think Lance. We looked at Lance a lot for that stage. And if I was able to do it, then I was going to try to do it. Lance had a lot of faith in me, and kind of stressed me out a little bit because he was so confident that I was going to be able to do it, and at the same time I just wanted him to do it so I could have a little less pressure, but when he started working for me ... You know ... when you have your idol, your mentor for your entire life, and a good friend working for you, a lot of emotions come together...
BR:  All of the top American riders were at the Tour of Georgia giving their best in the Georgia outback. Were you impressed with the turn out?
TD:  Hoh, it was incredible. I've never seen anything like that before. Even the biggest races I've done in Europe aren't even close. It was incredible. The size. So many people. And so many enthusiastic people. It was just incredible. All day. The whole stage you could hear people and see people on the sides on the road. Big huge crowds for the start and big huge crowds for the finish and everything in between was roads lined with people clapping and cheering. It was like people had been waiting the whole year for this. It was incredible.
BR:  Yeah, when BiciRace.com talked to Tim [Check out The Tim Johnson Phone Tap] after every stage and that is exactly what he would say, 'The crowds are incredible! The crowds are huge!'
TD:  Yeah, Yeah. I've never seen anything like it.

Italy Versus Spain, Where can we get a good cup of coffee?

Tom In Italy, photo: Zajicek

BR:  So, it's 10 PM in Spain, have you had dinner yet?
TD:  Heeheeha. We actually just finished, but we made a conscious effort to have it earlier. Two nights ago we didn't finish until 1:00 AM. My wife, Kristin, is with me, and we have some friends from Durango visiting. So we're just having fun, sampling the food from Spain and relaxing, and trying to stay calm.
BR:  And what time are you getting up in the mornings there?
TD:  (Laughs)... I think maybe 11:00?
BR:  Nice! So, do you like it better now living in Spain with your friends and riding companions, as compared to Italy?
TD:  Yeah ... I mean, Italy is a beautiful country and a nice place to live. But I think as a foreign cyclist, Girona, Spain is a very nice place to be. It's easy to do things. The roads are good, and the people are super friendly. Here there are a lot of other Americans. Couples and stuff. Kristin is here and we both have people to go out with and ride with. When I'm here and she's not here, I have people to go out to dinner with. It's really a nice environment.
BR:  Yeah, it makes a big difference to have a support system and everyone around you so you don't have to worry about that aspect. You can just get on with everything else you need to do, like training.
TD:  Yeah.
BR:  BiciRace.com is based in Italy. Life is nice here, but it can be complicated. Was it tough for you in Italy? Any learning experiences? Can you tell us about that?
TD:  (Laughs) Yeah. It was difficult to live in Italy. Just setting stuff up and things like that were very difficult. All the same stuff that you've probably gone through. Codice Fiscale ... Carta d'Identità ... and ...
BR:  Yeah, BiciRace.com has had Telecom Italia hang up every time we've tried to call them.
TD:  I haven't even tried here, but in Italy it took me like 6 months or something like that.
BR:  So, what do you miss about Italy?
TD:  I think the food was incredible. The food was really nice. Some of the roads that were close to my house were really nice for training. I'd say the food and some of the road riding.
BR:  For clarification, were you near Bologna?
TD:  Yeah, Lugo di Romagna is where I was.
BR:  Do you think the caffè better in Spain or Italy?
TD:  I think the caffè is better ... (long pause) better in Spain.
BR:  Awwhhh.
TD:  Hold on. Hold on. [Asks wife Kristen: "Hey, is caffè better in Spain or in Italy?"] All right, she's not answering. So what do you think? Caffè better in Spain or Italy? ... hmmmm ... I think you're leaning more towards Italy though, huh? (Jokes) No one here has an opinion. I'm going to go with Spain.
BR:  (laughter) It's a personal thing, Tom.
TD:  (Laughs) What do you think?
BR:  Italy's got the espresso DOWN.
TD:  It's like the same. It's the same more or less.
BR:  OK, we'll move on. Now can you explain to the BiciRace.com readers what it was like to ride under a legend like Ferretti at Fassa Bortolo?
TD:  Ah, it was interesting for sure. I didn't get to experience the legend sort-of-speak. I just saw other sides of him. Maybe if I was a different rider from another country, like Italy, I would have experienced more. Personally he seemed like a good director, but for the type of rider I am, and the type of personality I have, it was very difficult with him.
BR:  Both Ferretti (Fassa Bortolo) and Bruyneel (Discovery Channel) are directors who are very successful and have different styles. Can you describe a little bit about the different styles? Not which is better or worse, but how they are different?
TD:  For me, Johann is incredible. Johann is a rider/team orientated director. He really focuses on the rider in the race. He does research. He raced in all the races to begin with. And then he's been alongside Lance through many different and difficult Tours and races. His knowledge is incredible. When you're racing with him, it's like he has a built-in GPRS unit in your ear. He not only tells you where you're going to go, but what is going to happen in the race - what you need to do to make the team's goal happen in the race. And then everything before and between, he's constantly telling you: 'You need to eat ... You need to drink ... Left turn ... Cross-wind ... OK, now you need to eat some bar ... Now you need to drink some more ... You need to move up ... You need to be next to Lance ... You need to follow him.' He's just incredible. He's so passionate about the team and the riders. He's always around us. He's always involved. He gives 110% and being underneath him, it's very difficult to even think to give less than 110%.
BR:  Very cool, OK thanks. Johann seems to really know how to push the riders, and that will be great for you in the Giro d'Italia.

Giro d'Italia, Flying With Il Falco

Danielson On Brasstown Bald, photo: Tour of Georgia

BR:  For the Giro d'Italia, have you previewed any of the stages specifically?
TD:  No. I didn't preview any of the stages for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that one of things we need to work on most is racing. It's not so much the fitness, but just learning how to race and becoming better in the race itself. Johann thought that it would be better if I did more race days than training days. Another reason why I didn't is because Paolo is the leader and this is going to be my first ever grand tour. I'm going to go there to be a good rider for the team and also to learn how to race this type of race for the future. It's very important to just go and learn and not have any high expectations or anything. I'm just going there to learn and to do the best ride I can for Discovery Channel and Paolo.
BR:  Yeah, cool. Paolo Savoldelli will probably teach you a lot, certainly.
TD:  Oh yeah. He's a great guy.
BR:  OK, so BiciRace.com has written down here: Tom Danielson first in Milano, then Savoldelli for 2nd. (Tom laughing...) So, who are your picks for 3rd? Is it going to be Ivan Basso or Damiano Cunego?
TD:  Ohhh, I don't know. First of all, I'm not even thinking about my own results. That's crazy.
BR:  No, No ... (laughter) For 3rd place ... Ivan Basso or Damiano Cunego?
TD:  I don't know ... I'd say Basso. I think Basso. I think he'd probably win the race, Basso.
BR:  Agreed. He's a solid cyclist. Solid time trialing, and a great climber.
TD:  Yeah, I mean ... Lance has a lot of respect for him. So, when Lance has respect for somebody, he's the real deal. So, I think Basso.
BR:  BiciRace.com had an interview with Phil Zajicek (Navigators), your old Saturn teammate, and he says that you are going to surprise a few people in the Giro d'Italia. We think so too. What are your thoughts on that?
TD:  Oh, I'm not even thinking about that. Right now I'm just trying to get back on my feet after [the Tour of] Georgia. I'm going to the race with no expectations. I'm just going to go there to learn and to come out of it a stronger racer. In the near future I want to ride some good grand tours for Discovery Channel. In order to do that, I need to learn more and to become a stronger rider.
BR:  And this is your first grand tour too!
TD:  Exactly. And maybe my engine is OK, but for this racing you need experience and you need to know how to race over 3 weeks. It's ridiculous for me to go to my first one and think that I'm going to get a result. I'm going to go there to train, have fun, enjoy it and help Paolo along the way ... And see what happens.
BR:  OK, out of all the stages, is there a stage that you fear the most? If you could go for any of the stages, which one do you have your eyes on?
TD:  I'm excited for the mountain stages. Yeah know, just because they're ... mountains. We'll see how good we're riding, and if we can have some fun in them ... or what. I've never done any of these races. I'm excited to see them and go out and get 'em. Yeah know, that last stage before Milan, the one that finishes in Sestriere? That one looks like fun.
BR:  Yeah, stage 19, that one hits Sestriere twice and in between the Finestre, which is part gravel. Yeah, that one looks like a really tough stage.
TD:  Paolo rode it last week and he said it was super, super, super hard.
BR:  There are some photos on the BiciRace.com site of Marco Pinotti riding the Colle delle Finestre. He went training on that and we got some photos back. It's beautiful, but the roads ... The roads ... It looks like compressed gravel. All the "tifosi" are talking about it here.
BR:  So, how is the peloton positioning coming along? The roads here in Italy are narrow! Are you finding your way through the gruppo OK?
TD:  I think it's getting better. It'll take some time before I have it dialed. I'll keep working hard at it - I have this opportunity of 21 days of peloton training so I hope when I come out of it, I'll have it dialed.
BR:  Have you spent much time with Paolo Savoldelli, "Il Falco"? Are there any inside stories you can tell us about him? Can he descend fast or what?
TD:  Yeah, I've spent quite a bit of time with him actually. In training camp, then Paris-Nice and then the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He's a great guy. He's a lot of fun. In Pais Vasco he was helping me get to the front in some of the stages that finished on a small climb. He's so talented in the peloton. He'd be like, 'Get on my wheel.' And then he'd swoon through the people and take crazy lines on the downhill. Of course I wasn't there at the bottom, and then he'd come back for me, and he'd be like, 'Where were you? Just come with me!' And I'm like ... 'Man! You're Il Falco, man!' I'm super slow on the downhill compared to him. It was just funny. I'd say that his funniest contributions to the team are all of his Cipollini stories. Every night at dinner we'd have these Italian/Spanish conversations with Chechu and all those guys, and he would tell Cipollini stories with Manuel Beltran until we were blue in the face laughing.
BR:  From his days back at Saeco?
TD:  Yep, exactly. And those stories are incredible.
BR:  So, rumor has it that your crushed the record on Amer. Is this true? Or is Floyd the record holder?
TD:  I don't really know what the record is and I don't know who has the record or anything like that. I was just doing some hard training on the climb and Tony Cruz asked me what time I had, and I told him my time, and then Lance came up to me and told me that I crushed the record. But I really don't know.
BR:  So Tony Cruz, your Discovery Channel teammate, is the official record holder, is what you're saying?
TD:  Yeah. He's the one that converted all of the times to the record book. (Laughs) But, it's a training ride ... It's not, yeah know ... I don't know.
BR:  I know, but it is fun! You have the record on Mt Washington, Mt Evans, maybe Amer ... What is next on the agenda? Alpe d'Huez?
TD:  Ahhhh, I would like in my career to do good rides on Mt Ventoux and Alpe D'Huez when I get into the Tour de France. We'll see. I would prefer to win big mountain stages or do well in the mountains in the future than to focus on Mt Evans or Mt Washington. But those mountains were very hard and a good place to learn from.
BR:  Well, we think you'll be breaking the Alpe d'Huez record someday.
TD:  Thank you.

LeMond, Aero, AMD

Tom Danielson, photo: Beth Seliga

BR:  Out of your past bikes, did you like your LeMond (Saturn) or your Pinarello (Fassa Bortolo) setup better?
TD:  I think the ... Geez ... [Much hesitation] Uhhh, To be honest with you, I really liked my LeMond that I was on. But, if you were to look at the Euro-cool factor, the Pinarello would be higher. But I would say that possibly I liked my LeMond a little better.
BR:  Were you on a titanium frame that year?
TD:  Titanium and carbon.
BR:  Ah, cool. Yeah, it's a nice bike.
TD:  Yeah. I thought it was good.
BR:  So, currently what is the coolest piece of equipment that you are using tech-wise?
TD:  Oh Geez. With this team, there's so much. They have special meetings to come up with cool pieces of equipment. I just recently used a new prototype helmet from Giro at the Tour of Georgia, that I think they're going to come out with soon. And I really, really liked that. It fit awesome. It's super aero and I think it's the cutting-edge in aero helmet technology. Aside from that, we've got those crazy Bontrager Race-Lite wheels. And the Trek frame is incredible. I think that everything we're using is the best ... I mean, come on ... Lance uses it. Whatever Lance uses is going to be the best.
BR:  Yeah I mean, you have companies killing themselves to design these super-products for Lance and it's trickled down to the rest of you guys at Discovery Channel. Very cool.
BR:  Do you have any special equipment for the Giro d'Italia? You have the new time-trial helmet. Will that be ready for the Giro?
TD:  Yeah. I used it in Georgia, and I hope they'll let me use it at the Giro. I think I'll have a light climbing bike, which should be good. We have new light climbing wheels. We have time trial bikes with cool new stuff that you'll see. I think there should be some cool stuff coming out.
BR:  Cool. We will check it out at the Giro! Speaking of cool tech stuff at Discovery Channel, last month's BiciSport had interview with Popovych. He was saying that everybody on the team got new computers. Is this right?
TD:  Yep. AMD is a big sponsor for the team and they gave us all new laptops and iPods at training camp, which was pretty nice.
BR:  Ah, iPods too!?
TD:  Yeah. They're the perfect tool for training, and the perfect tool for resting in the dead of the afternoon.
BR:  So, you and Bob Roll are from the same town, Durango. Has he been giving you any tips on the Giro d'Italia?
TD:  Yeah. I've flown quite a bit with him this year because he's usually coming back from Europe when I am, or going to the same race that I'm going to. So we've talked quite a bit and he's given a lot of insight into the Giro and racing in Italy. He's been a sort of wealth of knowledge, with a human twist to it.
BR:  Yeah, definitely. I can just see you two lounging in first class! Nice!

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Tom In Italy, photo: Zajicek

BR:  OK quick question, you give a quick answer. Besides Lance Armstrong, who is the greatest grand tour rider in your opinion?
TD:  For me there's only one. Lance. Sorry.
BR:  Frank Vandenbroucke, do you have any good stories?
TD:  No, man! I only saw the guy at training camp. I don't have any stories to tell. You read all of the stuff in your news. I mean, it can't get much better than that.
BR:  Yeah, it's terrible. OK, well that wraps it up! Thanks Tom! I really appreciate your time. It was great talking with you.
TD:  See you at the Giro!
BR:  OK, ciao!