Tommy D

[BroDeal]

He placed 9th in Palencia - Palencia ITT. Has he finally got it together?

I never really liked him when he was on Disco and mooning over Armstrong. For a thirteen year old it would have been bad enough, but for a dude in his mid twenties the man crush was rather pathetic. I thought the change to Garmin might help him cowboy the F up, but last year was even worse. Now he looks like he is on the way up--assuming he can stay healthy, which is perhaps a big assumption.

I have made fun of him in the past, but I have sort of warmed to him. Maybe it is just sympathy.

It will be interesting to see if he climbs at anywhere near his potential.

 

[jaylew]

I've sorta gone the opposite direction with Danielson. I became a fan after his Langkawi win and followed him at Fassa, Disco, and now Garmin, but my excitement about him has waned a bit each year despite his 2 Vuelta top 10s. His "I'm still learning" shtick got rather old, especially as he was in his late 20s, as did the LA worship. I still hope he can put it together for a podium run at a grand tour at some point, but he really seems to have a problem staying healthy and Garmin seems to have put most of their eggs in the CVV basket.

 

[TRDean]

I totally agree with you guys!! Danielson seems a bit quirky and out of step for me. One thing I find interesting is that last year wasn't he supposed to mix it up in some hare one day classic style rides to get his bike handling, pack savy going? I remember reading something from Vaughters about it...but of course then he got hurt.

I am happy to see him getting it together and will be thrilled if he can be a second big gun for Garmin in the big tours. CVV would probably be really happy too.

 

[BrandonT]

JV of Garmin-Slipstream has taken over Tommy's full training and apparently has changed his eating habits. His body wasnt burning enough fat and it was burning the sugars and creating to much Lactic acid.
Here is an amazing article about JV that has a lot of what he is doing with Tom.

http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2009/jonathan-vaughters-interview

I hope he can make a full recovery back to Grand Tour form.

 

[Kazistuta]

I bet on Tom!

He has expressed desire to be competitive in all races he participates in (a pretty grand statement IMO), so I'd say it tells us something about his general wish to step out of the shadows... He was one of the greatest climbers in ToC, but sadly enough the lack of really tough mountain stages made his deficit from the TT impossible to regain. Tom aims both at the giro and the tour, and despite the pretty rought competition in both races I see him placing in the top10 in one of those GT's.

 

[cyclelicious]

I dig Tommy D but he?s a good example of how you need more than innate ability to win/place in the GT's. Unfortunately Tom has been plagued by injury and illness but most importantly his own psychological makeup. I think his time has passed for a high placing in the grand tours. What is he 31,32 now?

BrandonT - thanks for the interesting article link

 

[jaylew]

http://nyvelocity.com/content/interviews/2009/jonathan-vaughters-interview

Thanks for the link. Hopefully it pays off for Tom. I'd like to see him up there in the GTs. That's a great interview. You gotta love the part where he asks Vaughters if he ever doped at Discovery and he once again says he's not going to answer that question.