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Tom Danielson had a stellar first half of 2003, winning the Tour de Langkawi and dominating US domestic races along with Saturn team-mates Nathan O'Neill and Chris Horner. Although he managed to defend his Mt Washington hill-climb title the second half of his season was limited by injury, and with the ending of the Saturn team Tom has high hopes for a Europe-based 2004 with Fassa Bortolo.
Buongiorno!
October 23, 2003
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That's one of the few Italian words I know right now. It's become very clear to me why, when I was racing in China last year, the only English word the Chinese fans would use was "hello." This word could be substituted for anything and everything. When I was in Italy a month ago I found myself in the same situation as I had to fend for myself in the beautiful Italian town of Lugo.
Since returning home I had to end my season a bit early to deal with a nagging tendonitis in my left IT band. It was a bummer to miss the world championships, but it was really a blessing in disguise. This injury forced me to evaluate my muscle structures and seek help of another outsider. This past month I have been 'vacationing' in Durango, more specifically, in the Durango Sports Club. But before I go into what I am doing currently, let me just start by telling you about my adventures in Italy with my new team, Fassa Bortolo.
In second half of August, right after defending my title at Mount Washington, I traveled across the pond to Italy to meet with my new team, Fassa Bortolo, and find a place to live for next year. Much has gone on in the past month or so for me. But neither the win in Altoona nor my epic race at Mt. Washington has been as much of an emotional high as finally signing with a team for next year. I don't know how to explain what professional cyclists go through on and off the bike. Not only do we race with everything on the bike, but off the bike we race to secure a job for the following year. For me, this season had tons of stress from both ends.
After my race in Langkawi, my ambitions to race in Europe became a reality. It is quite ironic because before this year my dream was to simply become a professional US-based pro. Now, the path ahead of me is inconceivable to me. I've seen it many of times on the television set, but now it has jumped out and bitten me! Now, this crazy dream has taken me to Lugo, Italy!
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Let me just start telling you this crazy story… well, with a crazy story. It all began when we (my tireless support team of my fiancée Kristin, coach Rick, and agent Bob) stepped off the plane to be greeted by the man himself, Giancarlo Ferretti. Wow, to say the least. I was hoping to have a mechanic or something to warm up my non-existent Italian on. But no, I had to flounder like fish out of water with the big boss. I hit the panic button and "Buongiorno" popped out. He said something… my response was "Buongiorno!" Luckily, both Rick and Bob knew Spanish and some Italian and could at least say something.
We packed the cars up and were off to our first stop, the Fassa Bortolo headquarters. I rested my head on the seat and thought I had a nice car ride to relax. Wrong! Mr. Ferretti drives like he is Michele Schumacher. We drove an average of 170 km/h on roads that were filled with two-lane, bumper to bumper, traffic. How did he do it? Simple! He drove right down the middle of the road, occasionally swerving right and left to accommodate the different sizes of oncoming vehicles.
This guy was crazy! Apparently he had no fear and maybe was even a past F1 driver! I couldn't act scared though, as I was trying to impress my new boss. Finally we arrived a my new home for the next three weeks, the Hotel Panazza. I did not know of it, but I soon found out that it is a hotel where many famous guests stay, such as Pantani, Schumacher, etc. It was just an honor to be welcomed there and stay as a guest.
After we settled in and had a good night's sleep we traveled over to the team's 'service course'. Basically, this was where the actual team staff and equipment is located. We arrived and we simply amazed how big this operation is. I walked around in awe as I observed the amount of resources this team had. Tons of team cars, vans, RV's, buses, semis, and of course, bicicletti! As soon as I set foot in there everyone greeted us and before I knew it my bikes were being built. So was Kristin's, while Rick and Bob hadn't brought bikes so the mechanics just started building them up fresh Pinarellos. Once again, wow!
Over the next week we met most of the staff, had numerous meetings with Ferretti and the other directors, and went sight-seeing. My IT band was driving me crazy, so my riding was not going so well. But, nonetheless, we were having a great time. Already I felt like a member of the family with the team staff and knew I had definitely made the right decision. Ferretti would walk around everywhere with me, spouting out Italian and acting as if I was his son. To add to the family feel, one of the team secretaries was his daughter, Federica, and she was my translator. She was great and together we learned about the new team's plans.
While we were there, we found a place to live, and checked out the town's surroundings. Being close to Ferretti is definitely a plus, but the town of Lugo is great. It is close to both the ocean town of Ravenna, and very close to the mountains. Also, we are located about 30km from Bologna (a very beautiful city) and 120km south of Venice. To top it off, Imola is 5km away with its a major GP motorcycle racing track. I definitely will not be bored between training and racing.
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While I was there we also visited Venice which was amazing. On top of sight seeing, I visited the Fassa Bortolo corporate headquarters and met the people who are in charge of the company. I even met Fausto Pinarello and toured the factory. I can't wait for my custom bike to arrive in the next week or so.
The trip was amazing and it just simply upped my motivation for next year another level. Today I am back at home enjoying some rest and relaxation, but working in the gym to strengthen my completely recovered IT band injury, and make sure it, or something similar doesn't occur in the future.
I am working closely with renowned PT Dave Farmer at his Durango Sports Club. He has put together a program for me that works on balancing and strengthening weak elements in my body. Much of the focus of our work is on the core area (stomach, back, trunk, pelvis) because every body part we use in cycling is either there or connected to this region. My program uses stretching, weights, pilates, and plyometrics. Very difficult, but I think all the hard work will pay off. Both my coach and I are very excited about working with Dave Farmer as he is a true specialist and his ideas are unique. Our goal, again, is not simply to increase power output, but to reduce the risk of injury. Being a light weight professional athlete makes you very susceptible to injury. I am just trying to eliminate very excuse possible for not reaching my goals next year.
Next year is right around the corner and I can't wait to make that turn. One more month and I will start my specific training for '04. Although my challenges are very large, I believe through hard work and my excellent support team of Kristin, Rick, and Bob we can accomplish any obstacle. In addition, my family has been extremely supportive as has my town of Durango.
Stay tuned for updates on preparing for my new European challenges as well as look for my new fundraiser I will be launching in the next month. It will be focused on the development of aspiring cyclists who dream of achieving great things in cycling as well as achieve academic goals (something I greatly support). Basically, the fundraiser will contribute to my collegiate cycling scholarship foundation which will be in affect starting in '04.
Grazie!
Tom
