After a season at Continental level Phil Gaimon is back in the WorldTour for a second stint with Cannondale-Garmin. The ex-Optum rider spoke with VeloNews about his 2015 season, his return to the sport’s top tier and the positive doping test of close friend Tom Danielson.

Gaimon says his return to the top has come with humility, as he refused t burn bridges after he was a victim of the Cannondale and Garmin merger that came in the offseason after 2014. He opted not to wait for team manager Jonathan Vaughters and found a ride at Optum, where he was destined to chase results for himself. However, Mike Woods would ruin that by producing a super vein of form that would force Gaimon into riding as his super domestique. Woods was also signed by Cannondale-Garmin.

One issue that has really hurt Gaimon is the news that close friend Tom Danielson has tested positive for a second time and may be facing a lifetime ban. This especially hrts Gaimon as he has a tattoo on his arm of a bar of soap with the world “clean” inside it, referencing his attitude that he will never dope.

“I wish anybody knew what was going on. I wish I knew. I’ve spoken with Tom. He’s my friend. We all know he’s made mistakes in the past. Maybe he made another bad decision, maybe he didn’t. I don’t know. He met me on a group ride, and I ripped his legs off at a Florida gran fondo event. He invited me to Tucson. He trained with me. His whole lesson, the takeaway I got from him in a year and a half of being with him, was ‘Yeah, I used to do this stuff, and now we don’t have to. This is how we do it now.’ He called Vaughters, to help make my dream come true. He pulled me to the top of the climbs in San Luis, where we were hugging and crying on top of mountains together. So it’s really confusing to my entire understanding of the world, and human beings. I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s not the guy I know. I hope it gets sorted out, and I hope that my instincts, and my feelings about him, are proven true.”

Turning to the season ahead, Gaimon spoke about what constitutes a good season for himself and what his goals are for his return to the top with Cannondale-Garmin. He has made a lot of changes from what he did the first time he made it to the WolrdTour so that he doesn’t make the same mistakes he made and can keep his WorldTour dream alive for more than one season this time around.

“I finished this season, and looked back at the last two years, at my training logs, and asked myself what mistakes I may have made, what might have slowed me down. How many nights did I sleep poorly, and what might have caused that? I shut down small businesses I was running on the side — a small clothing company, and a recovery product — which were making a little money, but ended up being a distraction. The writing that I do, I think it’s therapeutic. I’m going to rent out my house in Los Angeles, and move to Girona, and that’s going to be home. I think that mental shift will help my focus. I told the team that, and they appreciated it.” 

On the racing side of things, Gaimon wants to ride more races and start a Grand Tour for the first time. But above all, he wants to learn just how far he can go and reach his full potential against the best in the business.

“I think that will turn into a few more race starts, and a few more chances to prove myself. Obviously I hope to do a Grand Tour. I just want to do all the biggest races I can. I know I won’t get a third shot at the WorldTour. Before I get too old, I want to see what my physical potential is, if I give it that focus, and put in all the work, and don’t screw up. That’s my goal, and hopefully that turns into a fat raise, and more years with the team. Then I’d be happy with it.”