PARIS — Former Fort Lewis College cycling champion Tom Danielson finished ninth place at the 2011 Tour de France, which ended Sunday in Paris. Danielson, who competed in his first-ever Tour de France, was the top American finisher.

Danielson, who rides for Garmin-Cervélo, finished 8:15 behind 2011 champion Cadel Evans of Australia.

Garmin-Cervélo won the team competition.

“I was able to avoid the crashes that took out some of the other GC contenders and I came to this Tour with great legs,” Danielson said on his website, http://wp.tomdanielson.com.

Danielson is a 2009 Fort Lewis College graduate with bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Psychology. He competed for the Skyhawks from 1997-2001, helping the team win numerous National Collegiate Cycling Association (NCCA) national championships.

He has worn the jerseys of Garmin-Cervélo (2008-present), Discovery Channel (2005-07), Fassa Bortolo (2004), Saturn (2003), Mercury (2002) and Sobe/Headshok (1999-2001) during his professional career. As a member of Lance Armstrong's Discovery team, Danielson won the 2005 Tour de Georgia and won the grueling stage 17 of the 2006 Vuelta a España.

Tom has helped create the Fort Lewis College Cycling Scholarship fund to assist young collegiate cyclists.