Vande Velde: Giving it everything in final two years

As the first gathering of Garmin-Cervélo's 2011 squad wrapped up this weekend in the Caymans, it proved to be the ideal culmination of Christian Vande Velde's road to recovery following a season plagued with injury. Vande Velde suffered early exits from both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France due to broken bones, yet managed to put the dark days behind him with a rejuvenating performance at the Vuelta a Espana, a race he started low on form and with four cracked ribs.

Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.