Tom Danielson was surprisingly upbeat after stage four of the Tour de Langkawi, despite being covered in bandages on his right side following his stage three fall. He spoke to VeloNation shortly after the finish in Muar and said that he felt better than expected, and also remained confident.
“I feel surprisingly good,” he said in the video interview below. “I hit the ground super hard…I lost my entire right side on the road and hit my shoulder real good. But surprisingly everything is okay and I feel pretty good. Usually the day after a crash you had a little less energy but I felt okay.”
Danielson joked about the effects of the crash, saying that losing skin could take 500 grams off his body weight and perhaps make him quicker on Wednesday’s crucial climb of Genting Highlands.
That aside, he believes that he is well placed to move up from his current position of fourth overall and fight for the yellow jersey and the final race victory. “I think we are in a perfect scenario,” he said.
Danielson pointed out that another former race winner José Rujano rode strongly in Friday’s opening time trial, but that it wasn’t an indication that he would shine on Wednesday.
“A few years ago, he was incredible in the time trial but didn’t do it on Genting,” he said, referring to the 2004 race, won by the late Ryan Cox. “I’m not too scared of him, I guess.”
Click the video below to watch the full interview.