Danielson

redbicycle

Kind of interesting read but this quote is great.
The American rider took an insightful look at himself. "To be brutally honest the one weak point in my career has been my head and it always has been. When my head is really good I'm strong but when it's not so good I am worthless. You can see that in my performances.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/sep07/sep22news

Rather refreshing to see that kind of honesty - perhaps he'll have an easier time of getting past it...

dave_1

This Tom Danielson has only a stage win at the lesser of 3 grand tours....and he says he is a great cyclist..see his website! He has said he will deliver and will not!
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drenkrom

You don't hold the record for the Mount Washington hillclimb unless you are a phenomenal climber. He always seems to choke when the time comes to deliver the big one but he has great potential in there, that's undeniable. Maybe with a little of the "The Next Lance" (TM) pressure off his shoulders, his wings will spread a little wider.

ContrelaMontre

drenkrom wrote:

You don't hold the record for the Mount Washington hillclimb unless you are a phenomenal climber. He always seems to choke when the time comes to deliver the big one but he has great potential in there, that's undeniable. Maybe with a little of the "The Next Lance" (TM) pressure off his shoulders, his wings will spread a little wider.

Just out of interest, who else has actually attempted the Mount Washington Hillclimb apart from the rescuer of fluffy bunnies, Tyler?

moray_gub

[quote=

Just out of interest, who else has actually attempted the Mount Washington Hillclimb apart from the rescuer of fluffy bunnies, Tyler?[/quote]

http://www.mtwashingtonbicyclehillclimb ... ecord-time

Dont see too many top pros mentioned in this article,seems to me saying he is MT Wash recolder holder dont mean too much in cycling terms.

cheers
MG

eh

In terms of riding Mt Washington pretty much no one appart from Tyler and Tom. Ned Overend was 2nd when he was 50!! Ned is a class rider but I somewhat doubt that at 50 he is as quick as when he was World Champion in 1990 or could compete in the Pro Tour.

I think there are a few problems with Denilson, he didn't really start small then work up, he was seeming expected to win the Veulta and Giro at more or less first try. Second the pressure of being the new Lance can't help results, although probably his bank balance. Third by all account his riding in the peleton is supposed to be awful and this is something that he should have sorted out long ago, but maybe being late to the sport never will/

For me he is a decent solid pro who can win the odd GT stage, and probably with the right prep take the overall in small stage races, but he is not going to win a GT ever.

Michuel

redbicycle wrote:

Kind of interesting read but this quote is great.
The American rider took an insightful look at himself. "To be brutally honest the one weak point in my career has been my head and it always has been. When my head is really good I'm strong but when it's not so good I am worthless. You can see that in my performances.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/sep07/sep22news

Rather refreshing to see that kind of honesty - perhaps he'll have an easier time of getting past it...

Hasn't he got a degree in psychology ("the one weak point in my career has been my head and it always has been") ?

drenkrom

Oh, I'd never put money down on Danielson ever winning a GT, however tempting the odds may be. As for Mt Washington, you really have to drag your asses up that brutish climb and look at the stopwatch to understand. Even if not in the official hillclimb, it's been attempted by all self-respecting American cyclists. Same goes for Mt Evans, which is a weezer of a climb. That Danielson holds (or held) those records says he is among the very best US climbers. Considering the average weight of Americans, that may not be saying much, but it's the mark of a man that should have won more races than he did.

I feel for the guy, as he got all this pressure before he could ever post results as a pro. And when he didn't live up to the ridiculous expectations, he was branded a disappointment. I'd be pissed if it was me.

PS: "pissed" is used in the North American way, as in "angry", not the UK way, as in "drunk".

moray_gub

[quote="drenkrom
I feel for the guy, as he got all this pressure before he could ever post results as a pro. And when he didn't live up to the ridiculous expectations, he was branded a disappointment. I'd be pissed if it was me.

PS: "pissed" is used in the North American way, as in "angry", not the UK way, as in "drunk".[/quote]


Mmm i seem to remember a few Pro Cycling interviews where he was talking himself up as the next big thing out of States. A lot of the pressure on him has come from within .I think he has found out in recent years talk is cheap.

cheers
MG

Noodley

Ted who?

girofan

Thing that makes me smile about Danielson is that he's the Peter Pan of cycling.
He always seems to refer to himself as though he's a wunderkind; when actually he's about 28 years!

andyp

girofan wrote:

Thing that makes me smile about Danielson is that he's the Peter Pan of cycling.
He always seems to refer to himself as though he's a wunderkind; when actually he's about 28 years!

He's 29 now. He'll be 30 in March. :shock:

iainf72

andyp wrote:

girofan wrote:

Thing that makes me smile about Danielson is that he's the Peter Pan of cycling.
He always seems to refer to himself as though he's a wunderkind; when actually he's about 28 years!

He's 29 now. He'll be 30 in March. :shock:

Everyone needs to stop being so critical.

After all, how many of you have your own brand of coffee!

dave_1

Danielson quotes his time for the famous Madone climb in Monaco or thereabouts that Lance A beat Rominger's record on to show that he holds the record-faster than Lance A in 1999...so Danielson implies heavily that he has an ability he does not. Still, he is a good rider...but he's full of it at times

iainf72

Will he maintain his relationship with his current prepatore at Slipstream?

I guess we'll have to see how he goes next year. Perhaps the stomach condition did real impact his performance, who knows.