Tom Danielson won’t win this Vuelta a España, but his dramatic stage victory in Wednesday’s 159.2km 17th stage from Adra to Granada bolstered his belief that someday he might.

The 28-year-old finally delivered the big victory that everyone has been expecting from him since he came to Europe to race in 2004 with Fassa Bortolo.

VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood caught up with Danielson at the finish line in Granada (portions of this interview are from the post-race press conference). Here are excerpts of what he had to say:

VN.com: This is the win you’ve been looking for since coming to Europe. What are your first sensations crossing the line?

Tom Danielson: Incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was perhaps even more special because the beginning of the race was such a disaster. So many people lost faith in me and so many people said Tom can’t do it, Tom can’t handle the pressure, so many people doubted me. This one is very special because I came back mentally with the help of a few people, especially my wife, Kristin. My guys on the team were so supportive, PJ back in Austin, Johan, Michael Barry, even Egoi today said, "Tom, you’re very strong, just go for it." It’s just an amazing experience.

VN.com: Talk us through the last climb. You were able to drop the others in the breakaway and you were going for the win — did you believe you had enough to hold off the main bunch?

TD: The whole reason I was in the break was to go for the win. That’s the reason why I was working so hard in the breakaway. Dirk (Demol) kept telling me, "Stop, stop, stop working so much." I just had good legs and I was so angry about my first half of the race, I wasn’t going to give this Vuelta away. I’ve worked too hard and spent too much time. The first half was so hard for me mentally dealing with the failure that I was experiencing. All that was going through my head in the last climb. I felt so good all day. It was just amazing.

VN.com: You came here with podium aspirations; now you’re back in sixth place, even better than last year. Does that take the sting out of what happened earlier in the Vuelta?

TD: I came here as a podium contender and I saw that all flush down the toilet rather quickly in the beginning. For me, this stage win is so much. After coming back after what I’ve been through, it’s much better. It shows me who really are my supporters.

Press conference: What was surprising about today for you?

TD: The best way to describe today was a slugfest. No one let anyone go anywhere. It was one punch from Astana and another punch from Caisse d’Epargne and I am just in the middle of it, trying to take advantage of the situation. It was a hard stage, and it reminded me a lot of last year when Roberto (Heras) attacked on the second-to-last stage and dropped (Denis) Menchov on the descent. Something like that was happening with Astana. My priority was to work with Egoi (Martinez) in the beginning to make sure he won the KOM and I pulled the last three K to the top. That was icing on the cake. A breakaway went and Egoi told me, "Tom, Tom, attack." I didn’t care if it was going to get caught. I had to be mentally strong to come back from the disappointments I’ve had since the beginning. Every pull I’ve had was to brush the dirt off my shoulder. At the finish line, I brushed it all off and it was a great experience.

Press conference: What happened when Vinokourov came up?

TD: He was chasing me but he really wasn’t gaining much ground and my director thought it would be better if I waited and we worked together. Obviously he’s a great champion and he didn’t sprint me for the win. Although I pulled a lot and he pulled a lot. We didn’t exactly talked about the situation and he’s a great champion.

Press conference: What does this mean to you?

TD: This race has the title of grand tour, so this obviously makes it very special. The biggest special part of today in one race I’ve been able to go from the lowest I’ve been in my cycling career with the help of my wife and my team and make a big comeback and deliver it at the finish. A big inspiration for me in America is a guy named Gene McLean. He has brain cancer and he’s been fighting it. That’s a battle you can never give up on. Bike racing is just a game. Thinking of him and what he goes through is an inspiration.