Christian Vande Velde

Christian Vande Velde was a professional cyclist who competed in the team pursuit at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the road race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was mostly known for his road racing career as he spent 16 years in the professional peloton.

Vande Velde became a cyclist through his father’s influence. John Vande Velde was a track cyclist at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and then played one of the “bad guys” on the Cinzano team in the cycling movie, “Breaking Away”.

Christian Vande Velde rode for US Postal Service from 1998-2003. He was then with Liberty Seguros in 2004 and Team CSC in 2005-07, before finishing his career with Slipstream-Chipotle from 2008-13.

Vande Velde rode 21 Grand Tours, including 11 appearances at the Tour de France, with five each at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta à España. His greatest performance came in 2008 at the Tour when he just missed the podium, finishing fourth. He was also seventh in GC at the 2009 Tour de France. He won one stage at the Tour (2011) and two at the Giro, in 2008 and 2012. Vande Velde won several other lesser stage races, including the 1999 Redlands Bicycle Classic, the 2006 Tour de Luxembourg, the 2008 Tour of Missouri, and the 2012 US Pro Cycling Challenge. He retired after the 2013 World Championships.

Vande Velde became a well-known commentator on NBC Sports for cycling events. In 2012 he was suspended for six months by USADA after confessions of doping, issuing a statement a day later expressing his regret for having “crossed the line”.