Danielson Wins Mount Evans Hill Climb, James Barry

July 21, 2007

Tom Danielson of the Discovery Channel Cycling Team wasn’t supposed set a new record on Mount Evans today.  He was supposed to be 5,000 miles away racing in his first Tour de France.  Instead of racing the relatively flat 54km Stage 13 Individual Time Trial in Albi, France, he raced what was essentially a 45km Time Trial up one of the most grueling climbs in the world: Mount Evans, just outside Denver, Colorado to 14,130 feet above sea level, where the highest paved road in North America terminates.

The Best Laid Plans

In 2006, Danielson worked to help teammate Paolo Salvodelli win the Giro d'Italia.  Danielson withdrew with 2 stages to go due to severe illness.  Later in 2006, after winning the Tour of Austria, Danielson got the nod as Team Leader in the Vuelta a España.  But again encountering illness, he lost time and thus team leadership but fought back to win Stage 17.  Still, after a season of hard work and dedication to the team, Danielson was told he would be on the 2007 Tour de France squad. 

Early in 2007, however, he again met with severe illness, this time like nothing he had dealt with before.  “I thought I was going to die,” Danielson said in reference to the combination of a parasitic infection in his intestines and giardia.  The illness forced him out of the Dauphiné Libéré and as a result, he did not race the Tour de France.

Return to Strength

After weeks of virtual bed rest, invasive medical tests, and medicine that he refers to as “Drano for your intestines,” Danielson wanted to get some intensity in his training regimen before returning to Europe in late July.  He found what he needed in the Mount Evans Hill Climb: only couple hour drive from his home in Durango, Colorado.  He knew the race well; in 2004 his 1:41:20 time up the 28 mile climb had set a course record by more than 4 minutes.  So on Saturday, he woke up in Idaho Springs, Colorado prepared to shatter his own record and prove that he is back on form.

A Little Help from his Friends

Three of Danielson’s friends from Durango, all members of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Cycling Team, came to the race to work for Danielson.  Grant Berry, Joey Thompson and Ben Kneller all wanted to be a part of history. Their job was to set a hard tempo up the relatively flat first 13km that average 3%.  They were on their trainers at 7:00AM to get an optimal warm-up for their sufferfest. 

As planned Chocolate Factory strung things out immediately, and almost as quickly, Scot Moninger of BMC Racing Team showed why he has the most victories of any American currently racing – he was glued to Danielson’s wheel. 

Up to the Minute

00:02:59 – Rocky Mountain Chocolate does a team time trial at the front and has the entire 52 person Pro-1-2 field single file

00:12:31 – Only Kneller is left from Rocky Mountian Chocalate and the field has halved

00:18:00 – Danielson goes to the front as Kneller pulls off, stops, and bends over his handlebars

00:20:00 – Danielson reaches the turn at 13km where the true climbing begins, only 15 racers are left

00:25:30 – Only 4 racers left: Danielson, Moninger, Michael Carter of Echelon Elite/Denver Spoke, and John Eisinger of Tokyo Joe’s

00:27:30 – Moninger and Danielson are alone – representing the old school and the new school of US cycling

00:43:48 – Danielson and Moninger reach Echo Lake but they are still several minutes from the fee station which is the half way point

00:58:15 – Moninger takes his first pull

00:59:00 – 25.7km: Danielson moves back to the front

01:02:52 – Moninger takes his second pull

01:04:12 – Danielson back to the front

01:07:34 – Moninger takes his hardest pull yet

01:08:30 – The two discuss tactics

01:17:05 – Danielson back to the front

01:19:00 – Quick descent to Summit Lake with Moninger taking what would be his last pull

01:22:50 – 35.4km: Left hand bend past the lake and the road kicks up – Danielson drops Moninger: the road is steepest and the air is thinnest after   Summit Lake

01:33:00 – Inside 5km to go: a steep-switchback-filled 5k

01:40:00 – Just under 2km to go

01:41:20 – Danielson’s time the first time he did the race.  This time, he has less than 1km to go.

01:42:17 – 200 meters to go

01:43:04 – Danielson crosses the line.  Missed the record by 1:44.  Moninger crosses 49 seconds later setting his personal best time

The Aftermath

While Danielson would have liked to beat his record, what is really important is that this is the “best [he] felt in years” and had “really good power.” (He used his SRM Power Meter.)  As to why he didn’t break the record?  Danielson guesses it had to do with not going fast enough at lower elevations: “between 7,000 and 10,000 feet there is more oxygen to use more muscles.”  He also thought it may have been windier at the top than in 2004.  He wasn’t upset about not beating his old time.  After all, he wasn’t supposed set a new record on Mt. Evans today.  Hopefully, he doesn’t break it for many years to come.  Hopefully, he will be 5,000 miles away.