Tom Danielson, Lance Armstrong's former teammate, had a finger amputated to remove a tumor

Tom Danielson, a former American cyclist, revealed in March 2023 that he had been diagnosed with a tumor on his hand. The news came as a huge shock to Lance Armstrong's former manager at the Discovery Channel and Garmin teams.

Removing the tumor required surgery that led to the amputation of the middle finger, followed by two months of rehabilitation. During the operation, the three remaining fingers were repositioned to compensate for the loss of the finger.

"Although I don't want to talk about the tumor, because many people have more serious tumors than mine, I'm grateful," Danielson said in a moving post on X (Twitter).

"Dr. Donaldson rebuilt my hand, which allows me to do everything I need to: switch, brake, climb, sprint, bend, stop, type, lift, open cans, etc. "I'm getting used to the way I look and I no longer hide my hand when I walk in public. If I'm getting out of the car at Starbucks or using it to hold my bag at the airport, I no longer worry about people looking. That's a big victory for me".

Tom Danielson has a controversial history in cycling. A stage winner at the Vuelta in 2006, Danielson was caught doping twice for using EPO and was suspended for six months in 2012 as a result. When his suspension ended, he signed for Garmin but tested positive for doping substances again in 2015, and subsequently ended his career.

I thought I would share a hand update as many people have been asking.

First off, I would like to say I have been hesitant to talk about it as there are people who have it and have had it much worse than I.

Secondly, I am committed to overcoming this and not using this as a… pic.twitter.com/oPpzpYOZKF

— tom danielson (@tomdanielson) February 5, 2024