Road Bike Racing - Guys like Chris Horner..why not the big tour racing?

So we are spoiled with OLN and being able to watch the big tours, Giro etc.. If it wasnt for my subscription to Velo and the pick up of other mags, I wouldnt know much about guys like Chris Horner that are solid American racers. What makes these guys stay at the level their at, and why wouldnt they make the jump to the bigger race tours - so to speak.

Horner did spend a season or two in Europe. Some say he wasn't good enough (which I doubt), others say the Europeans couldn't abide his attitude.

Consider... he can stay in the US and be a big fish, or go to Europe and be just another elite cyclist. I'd sure stay in the US.

Some say drug use is more rampant in European cycling, including more pressure from the team and coaches (see How To Deal With The Problem of Doping, by Matt DeCanio (http://www.racelistings.com/rzone/articles/article.asp?recid=329)). Also, living in Europe involves a lot of difficulties for an American. A lot of them just would rather stay in the US.

According to this (http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/3143.0.html) Velonews interview he wasn't getting offered enough money to make it worth his while to go to Europe. He's got a wife and kids so he'd have to make enough to enable him to fly back and forth between the U.S. and Europe or re-locate them to Europe. Maybe his wife doesn't want to live in Europe.

He was on the La Française des Jeux team for a couple of years and didn't set the world on fire. I think it takes a certain type of individual to pull up stakes, head over to Europe, and do well. I imagine it's harder for people when they are younger to adjust to some of the cultural differences.

wait for Danielson to head back to the US full time.