Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) (Image credit: Daniel Simms)
A previous winner of the Tour of Langkawi has come a long way since scaling the heights of Genting two years ago. And despite playing down his chances of another victory, Tom Danielson has quietly moved into the top 10 on the overall classification. Anthony Tan reports.
I caught up with Tom Danielson soon after the fourth stage time trial in Bachok. It was a good 10-15 minutes after he finished, but he was still dripping with sweat, perspiring as if he had a fever.
"I mean, look at me - I looked like I just jumped out of the pool! You can write on Cyclingnews, 'there's Danielson, fresh out of the pool next to the TT course!'" he jokes.
Last time I spoke to Tom Danielson, he'd just won the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. The victory in Malaysia led to a swag of success for Danielson, driving his Saturn team to its best year ever, also its last year after a decade's involvement in the sport.
At the year's end, the then 25 year-old signed his life away with Fassa Bortolo, one of Italy's top teams, and with no real GC contender, Giancarlo Ferretti's team appeared the perfect choice. Or so he (and everyone else) thought.
