Team leader Christian Vande Velde(Image credit: Lucas Gilman)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Barracuda)(Image credit: Lucas Gilman)
Christian Vande Velde sports argyle pants at the team presentation(Image credit: Casey Gibson/Garmin)
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Barracuda)(Image credit: Lucas Gilman)
Christian Vande Velde takes time out for the fans(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Millar, Vande Velde and the team enjoy lunch after their morning ride(Image credit: Lucas Gilman)
Kozo Shimano with a young Christian Vande Velde in US Postal kit.(Image credit: Kozo Shimano)
In 2008 Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Barracuda) topped most people's expectations by finishing fourth in the Tour de France. To many, it seemed as though GC aspirations in a major Tour were out of the American's reach; he was a strong climber and time trialist but lacked the edge that would turn him from a reliable workhorse and domestique into a true team leader.
However his run at the Tour in 2008, and backed up by eighth the following year suggested that Vande Velde could maintain a top 10 presence in the future. Yet he crashed out of the 2010 Tour de France and in 2011 found himself as the support act that helped propel Tom Danielson into the top 10
This year Vande Velde is confident that he can once again lead the line for Garmin at the Tour. Despite his age (35) he believes that if he can discover the form that served him so well in 2008 that he can even challenge for a podium spot. A more confident rider, and with a number of strong performances towards the tail-end of 2011 suggest that his dream could become a reality.
In these two exclusive videos, Vande Velde talks to Cyclingnews about his Tour aspirations and why he'll return to the Giro d'Italia in 2012 as part of his Tour de France preparations.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
