Smith Optics has added rising road cycling star and hill climb specialist Tom Danielson to its roster of top professional athletes.
“Signing Tom is a coup for Smith's cycling team and our growing presence amongst the road racing ranks in general,” says Smith Optics Cycling Team Manager Greg “Chopper” Randolph. “Not only is he an amazing
athlete with tremendous talent and drive, but a great personality and a consummate professional. With time, I feel he will be the next superstar of American cycling and someone Smith can build a positive brand identity around. He is one of the keys to our successful penetration into the road market.”
Twenty-six-year-old Danielson, a resident of Durango, Colorado, is one of the U.S.'s most promising up-and-coming cyclists. Tom spent the 2004 season living overseas and racing for Italy's prestigious Fassa Bortolo
formation, as its lone American team member. With a list of prestigious titles and wins under his belt including back-to-back Collegiate National MTB Championships in 2001 and 2002, multiple Mt. Washington Hillclimb victories and an overall win at the Tour of Langkawi Stage Race in 2003, Danielson has proven he's a ferocious competitor and a
contender for the bigger prizes in cycling. His untapped potential caught the attention of the Italian squad which consequently gave him the opportunity to further his development.
In 2004, a breakout season under the tutelage of his Italian boss, Giancarlo Ferretti, Danielson blew the field and a 10-year-old record out of the water at the Mt. Evans Hillclimb and managed top twenty results in the Tour de Romandie, Euskal Bizikleta, Tour de Suisse and Tour of Portugal. Danielson will finish up the 2004 season as a member of the U.S. National Team at the World Championships in Verona, Italy, before returning to Colorado. 2005 will see Danielson changing team
colors as he has signed a multi-year deal to ride for Lance Armstrong's Discovery team (formerly U.S. Postal Service), an opportunity which will enable him to take the next great leap as a cyclist.
