John Vande Velde

John Vande Velde was US Junior Champion in individual pursuit in 1966 and later won US Senior titles in that event in 1969-70. He competed for the US at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics on the track, riding team pursuit both years and individual pursuit in 1972. A 1971 graduate of the University of Albuquerque, Vande Velde also rode at the 1971 Pan American Games, winning a bronze medal in the team pursuit (with David Chauner, David Mulica, and Michael Hiltner). After the 1972 Olympics Vande Velde turned professional and was one of the early US pioneers in racing professionally in Europe. He competed on the road and especially in 6-day races.

Vande Velde had a bit part in the movie “Breaking Away”, in which he played one of the bad guys on the Cinzano team. He later went into sports marketing and helped stage and manage cycling events. His daughter Marisa was a national-level competitive cyclist while his son, Christian Vande Velde, became a top level professional cyclist who rode the individual pursuit at the 2000 Olympics and the road race at the 2008 Olympics. He also rode in the professional peloton with various teams from 1998-2013, and finished fourth in the 2008 Tour de France.