Garmin Slipstream rider and TrainingPeaks member Tom Danielson prepares to race up Mt Evans

TrainingPeaks member and Garmin Slipstream rider Tom Danielson stopped by the office today to get some help loading the file from his 2004 record-breaking 1 hour, 41 minute ride up Mt Evans onto his Garmin 705 in preparation for this year’s race on Saturday. By trying to follow the pace recorded in 2004, Danielson hopes to have another great race up to the summit of one of Colorado’s many 14ers, where altitude and weather may play a role almost as important as power output. During his visit, Tom sat down with Dirk Friel to discuss his record-breaking 2004 race, his plans for this year’s race, and his season overall. You can watch the entire video interview here, and read on for some highlights from the discussion.

Describing the challenges of racing up Mt. Evans, Tom discussed the previous record holder and how weather and altitude can be a factor for those who hope to set a new record. “Prior to that was Mike Engleman, I think he was just over 1:45, and then after that, a lot of people have tried to break it, like Jonathan Vaughters and Scott Moninger, and I think that the closest they got was 1:48, or 1:49, so it’s a difficult race to go after the record, it’s so long, it’s high altitude, the weather is definitely a factor, so it’s definitely a challenge.”

Although he was skeptical of the use of technology back in 2004, Tom is now very happy to have his record-breaking file for reference in preparing for this year’s race. “In 2004, you strapped on one of the first Garmin running devices onto my bike, and I think at the time I was like, what are you putting on my bike? Get that off of here! It was like this big giant mount thing. It’s kind of cool now, because 5 years later, not only do I ride for Garmin, bu I can actually plug in that 2004 file and use the Virtual Partner function, along with the help from TrainingPeaks, and as I’m actually racing the race, look and see in relation to where I was at in the 2004 race.”

Tom is now a true believer in the benefits of training with technology. “The great thing about technology is that it enables us to see where our condition is at compared to prior years. You know, I’ve gone through a couple years of transition, coming back from some injuries and some issues with my form. Had I not had some of these technology functions, whether it’s downloading my files into my TrainingPeaks and comparing my power or heart rate or time up climbs, I wouldn’t really have a gauge as to where I’m at now. I think it’s much harder to track form using simply race results, because we know that’s so unpredictable, but numbers and weights and values are predictable, and manageable, so I think that’s been huge to my success recently, and I hope it helps put me in the right position for the Vuelta.”

Look for Tom Danielson at this year’s Vuelta de Espana, where he hopes to improve on his overall finish from 2006. “I’d like to do a really good overall in the Vuelta de Espana and improve on my 6th place in ‘06.”