# Tommy D. at Vuelta



## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

Is Tommy D. in good form at the Vuelta, or is it still too early to tell? I have not been able to watch it, but he is not too far back. He also finished 6th in the TT today.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

he did well in the TT, but its too early

I can tell you what to expect


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

he had a strong TT - would be good for him to finally have a good GC standing in a grand tour.


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## Tugboat (Jul 17, 2006)

Hey... isn't he supposed to be the next big thing?


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

Ahh, let the hating begin. The only guy more vilified on these message boards is LA. I say good luck Tommy D quietly hope for another top 10 vuelta.


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## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

He's going to have to get over the high mountains. Next weekend will be hard, no bad days allowed.


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## Sojourneyman (Jun 22, 2007)

Stayed with the main group today. It'd be great to see him do well this year


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

It would be. Only 50 secs. back seems quite respectable considering who was ahead of him.


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

I guess he is the only hope for a decent US finish. I just looked, isn't it a bit wierd that he and Farrar are the only 2 Americans in the race? I guess that has a lot to do with Levi's and Horner's injuries. Is Vandevelde also hurt?


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## bradsmith (Mar 23, 2008)

Vandevelde is racing Missouri this week.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

coop said:


> Ahh, let the hating begin. The only guy more vilified on these message boards is LA. I say good luck Tommy D quietly hope for another top 10 vuelta.


 Yeah, this will cue the Tommy D venom to come out, no doubt.

I'm also hoping for a good finish, and top-10 would probably do it. Historically in his good Vuelta runs, he's had one bad day in the mountains so let's see if he can minimize the damage this year.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

It would be nice if he finished in the top 10. A couple of years ago, I figured that he wasn't going to anything more than a domestique. But, one never knows - maybe he'll pull off a good result now and then.


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

Maybe now that most people are over him being the next great American rider, he will settle into being a consistent good rider.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

coop said:


> Ahh, let the hating begin. The only guy more vilified on these message boards is LA. I say good luck Tommy D quietly hope for another top 10 vuelta.


Vilified? This is only the result of him being by far the most overhyped rider here for the past 3-5 years. I am sure when he is 35 years old people will still consider him as the "young guy" who is the "next big contender".

This is not Danielson's fault - it's American cycling fans' fault - have some sense of reality, he is just one of many, many decent riders, but not the next LA, or even Leipheimer - not even close.


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## fab4 (Jan 8, 2003)

Hopefully Danielson will finish the Vuelta in the top 5.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

fab4 said:


> Hopefully Danielson will finish the Vuelta in the top 5.


That _would_ be awesome. He has had that parasite eradicated and is under a new coach who may have helped him gain some confidence back. Next week will be very telling for TD. If he has another good week - I'd say a top 5 is possible. I'm not willing to say that yet though.


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

55x11 said:


> Vilified? This is only the result of him being by far the most overhyped rider here for the past 3-5 years. I am sure when he is 35 years old people will still consider him as the "young guy" who is the "next big contender".
> 
> This is not Danielson's fault - it's American cycling fans' fault - have some sense of reality, he is just one of many, many decent riders, but not the next LA, or even Leipheimer - not even close.



That's exactly what I'm talking about. Because of a couple comments made by his agent, and the timing of LA's retirement, Tommy D had many unrealistic pressures put upon him. 

The sad thing is the bitter American cycling fan that won't let it go. Everytime TD starts showing his head towards the front in a race, the haters show up spewing their venom. Grow up and enjoy a fellow cyclist who all in all is having a pretty decent year.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

coop said:


> That's exactly what I'm talking about. Because of a couple comments made by his agent, and the timing of LA's retirement, Tommy D had many unrealistic pressures put upon him.


 It wasn't just his agent. Discovery had that year-round "race to replace" promotion going after Lance retired, which was so wrong. You sure didn't see anything like that when Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, John Elway, or Cal Ripken Jr. left their respective sports. 

Unfortunately, TD got swept up in that, as did George Hincapie a little when he was being pushed as a Tour GC favorite.


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

Pretty good result today. He is still hanging tough.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

AJL said:


> That _would_ be awesome. He has had that parasite eradicated and is under a new coach who may have helped him gain some confidence back. Next week will be very telling for TD. If he has another good week - I'd say a top 5 is possible. I'm not willing to say that yet though.


And, apparently, helped fix his back problems.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

hammis said:


> Pretty good result today. He is still hanging tough.


Yeah, too bad he decided to cover an earlier attack, otherwise he may have been able to follow Gesink. Then again, I think Weltz advised TD to conserve his energy.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

*A Winter in Belgium*

A winter in Belgium has taught him to loosen up in the peloton. This’ll be a good race for Tommy D.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

The Moontrane said:


> A winter in Belgium has taught him to loosen up in the peloton. This’ll be a good race for Tommy D.


???

I thought he spent the last winter in Boulder.


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

Hopefully today is his only not so good day. Slipped a bit.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

"slipped a bit" ??? 

he was with the leaders at the base of the last climb, now he's out of the GC top 10.


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

Definitely a bad day. I meant slipped in the overall (4th to 9th).


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## thebadger (Jul 27, 2002)

Was sick today


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

thebadger said:


> Was sick today


he is always sick


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Another one of those big surprises (not):
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/illness-turns-danielsons-vuelta-on-its-head


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## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

they call it a virus, but if 3 others on the team have it, it is food poisoning. It should pass, he'll have to re-hydrate and might be better tomorrow.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Spunout said:


> it is food poisoning. It should pass,


pun intended?


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Damn, I really though he'd show us today what he is truly capable of. Unfortunately, he is plagued by an inability to remain healthy for a full tour (unless he's a domestique).


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## hammis (Jul 9, 2006)

That really stinks, but this kind of luck does seem to follow him around. Out of his control, but seems to happen too often.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

TD has told Cycling News today that he has re-upped with Garmin for another two years.

Back in June, it sure didn't look like this would happen, and I guess now he'll have another chance or two at riding the Tour.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

TD's out of the Vuelta due to illness.

Perhaps he should stick with shorter stage races (Germany, Paris-Nice, Tirreno, Poland, etc.) I don't think he has the immune system to withstand the germ attack from within the peleton for three weeks.


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## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

moonmoth said:


> TD's out of the Vuelta due to illness.
> 
> Perhaps he should stick with shorter stage races (Germany, Paris-Nice, Tirreno, Poland, etc.) I don't think he has the immune system to withstand the germ attack from within the peleton for three weeks.


Sadly I think you're right. He can finish a 3 week tour, he just can't be competitive. Although it does seem there has been a lot of riders sick at the Vuelta this year.


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

moonmoth said:


> TD's out of the Vuelta due to illness.
> 
> Perhaps he should stick with shorter stage races (Germany, Paris-Nice, Tirreno, Poland, etc.) I don't think he has the immune system to withstand the germ attack from within the peleton for three weeks.


I think he has a chance to win some of those races too, which would really add to his career.

When he retires we'll remember him for his Langkawi and Georgia wins, not for 6th place at the Vuelta.


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## masterken911 (Jun 17, 2009)

tommy d always teased us and suck big time when all chips are in. so until next time he showed me otherwise i'll be his biggest " naysayer ".


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

SilasCL said:


> I think he has a chance to win some of those races too, which would really add to his career.


I agree. While he has the motor for grand tours, his body just can't handle the stress. C'est la vie!


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

coop said:


> Sadly I think you're right. He can finish a 3 week tour, he just can't be competitive.


He reminds me a bit of his boss, J Vaughters.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Poor TD, he is a fragile flower. I was starting to be a believer again in the Vuelta until the Sierra Nevada stage. Sick is sick, not much he can do.

I agree, maybe he should put his focus on the smaller stage races since he really has a hard time surviving 3 weeks. Paris-Nice, Basque Country, Dauphine, Romandie, Tour de Suisse are all top-notch races that might fit his profile much better.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

paris-nice, tour de suisse, and criterium international would suit him. maybe amstel?

he reminds me of levi with his luck.


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