Category — Sports

If you followed this year’s Tour de France, you were sure to have seen the stunning performances and bike-tire’s length wins as well as the downright carnage that marked this year’s course. Every rider that finished all 21 stages without mishap had cause to feel proud, but for the Tour’s top American rider Tom Danielson, finishing 9^th overall in his first Tour de France was a “dream come true.”

Thirty-three year old Danielson has had an impressive cycling career to date, making a name for himself by winning China’s Tour of Qinghai Lake in 2002. Since then, his accomplishments include racing in the Vuelta a Espana and finishing 7^th in 2005, 6^th in 2006, and 9^th in 2010. However, it was his success in more recent races—finishing 3^rd in the Amgen Tour of California and 9^th in the Tour of Switzerland that prompted team manager Jonathan Vaughters to choose Danielson to race in the Tour on team Garmin-Cervelo.

Originally considered only a team helper for other Garmin-Cervelo riders like Christian Vande Velde and Ryder Hesjedal, Danielson surprised many by finishing ahead of both his teammates and keeping pace with the top riders including Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers. After three weeks and over 2,200 miles of sweat and stamina, Danielson had completed the Tour in 9^th place, no small feat for a rookie rider.

Now, this Boulder resident is set to compete on August 9^th in the Tour of Utah, a race that spans a total of 409 miles beginning in Park City, Utah and ending at the Snowbird Ski Resort 6 days later. On August 22^nd, Danielson will ride in the first-ever USA Pro Cycling Challenge. This course covers over 500 miles of Colorado’s most challenging mountains in 7 days, and Danielson hopes to crush the competition and take the lead on his home turf.