Colorado riders derailed

Illnesses relegate Julich, Danielson to spectator roles

Brian Metzler, Special To The Rocky

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Bobby Julich and Tom Danielson represent the old guard and the next generation of American cyclists on Pro Tour.

But they have something in common aside from having strong ties to Colorado - they're both going to be watching the Tour de France on television today instead of riding in it.

Julich, 35, who grew up in Glenwood Springs, was hoping to ride in his 10th Tour de France, but a stomach virus took him out of the Dauphiné Libéré eight-day stage race in France three weeks ago, and he wound up getting passed over for other riders on Team CSC.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Danielson, of Durango, was a good bet to make the Team Discovery squad this season, but he came down with a parasitic infection in his intestines that weakened him for much of the spring and sent him to the sidelines of the Dauphiné Libéré.

Despite the illness, he placed third in a time trial at the Tour of Belgium on June 1 and supported teammates to five stage-race victories earlier in the spring.

The former Fort Lewis College mountain biker returned to Durango last week to undergo a battery of tests and start taking antibiotics. He started riding again last weekend and talked to Discovery director Johan Bruyneel on Tuesday to plan his possible return at the Tour of Germany in early August.

Danielson had been hoping to ride in the Tour for the first time.

"I'm definitely bummed about the year, but it all gets put into perspective quickly when you have something like this happen," he said. "I really wanted to do the Tour de France, but I was so sick that I just wanted to get well. I thought I was going to die, I was so sick. It's going to be a long and difficult road back, but it's all part of the game."

To make matters worse, Danielson's wife, Kristin, a pro mountain biker with Team Vello Bella, broke the top of her left tibia after crashing at the end of a training ride June 29 in Durango.

"She was waiting on me last week, and now I'm feeling better, so now it's time for me to take care of her," he said. "I'm just going to watch the race on TV with my wife and try to get back in shape."

Julich, who lives in Nice, France, admits he considered retirement in recent weeks. But he has been riding better since getting healthy and said he hopes to stretch his career through the 2008 Olympics.

His big breakthrough came when he finished third in the 1998 Tour de France, the race marked by the Festina drug scandal. Although he never has had the follow-up success in the Tour de France he had hoped - he has had only two top-20 finishes since 1998 - he has won several lesser-known European races and finished fourth in the Tour of Georgia in 2005.

Last year, Julich entered the Tour de France in the best shape of his life, but he crashed during the Stage 7 individual time trial and had to abandon the race. He said he'd like to have one more shot at winning a stage in the Tour next year.

"As long as I can still ride and contribute to a team, I'd like to continue doing what I'm doing," said Julich, who said he's a big Broncos fan and might move back to Colorado when he retires. "But if I lose that, then maybe it is a better idea that I don't do one season too many. I would prefer to go out like John Elway did, not Dan Marino or Brett Favre."