"Quacking" got Danielson down

Discovery Channel's Tom Danielson is recovering from a crash at last week's Tirreno-Adriatico, where he came down in the final sprint of stage four on Saturday, March 11. The American rider nevertheless finished the stage race, ending up a solid 10th on General Classification, and is now in his home in Girona, Spain, shaping up for the upcoming Tour de Georgia from April 18-23, where he wants to defend his 2005 title.

"There was a lot of quacking going on in Tirreno-Adriatico," Danielson said. Asked what the term 'quacking' meant, he explained, "It’s when you are in a race with a bunch of guys, in this case the spring classics tough guys, and they are bumping and grinding the whole day for position in the peloton. The roads are narrow, the pace is super high and guys are constantly battling for position trying to put you in the gutter." [kwakken is Dutch for 'bump' - e.d.]. Which was what happened in stage four, but fortunately Danielson wasn't hurt seriously, adding that he was "OK, a little sore but recovering well".

The 28 year-old, who celebrated his birthday on March 13, is looking forward to returning to the United States for the Tour de Georgia next month. "I’m really excited to come back to race in the U.S. and specifically Georgia," he said. "There’s nothing like having fans cheering your name. It’s amazing how much racing at home can motivate you to race at a higher level and hope that I will be able to successfully defend my title in Georgia."