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Christian Vande Velde is a familiar name in the American cycling community. The south suburban Lemont, Illinois native twice was a member of U.S. Tour de France teams that helped cycling legend Lance Armstrong to victory in 1999 and 2000. On Thursday, Vande Velde was named to Team Garmin-Barracuda's Tour de France troupe.
Director of Competition for Team Garmin-Barracuda Allan Peiper had this to say about this squad:
"We have put together a well-balanced team with an emphasis on support for our leader, Ryder. We have Christian and Tom, both excellent climbers who each have had great GC rides in the Tour and have shown their strength in recent racing. Dan Martin, making his Tour debut, rounds out the climbers of the team"
The race is set to begin Liege Belgium on June 30 and end in Paris, France on July 22.
SB Nation Chicago is your source for 2012 Tour De France updates, and be sure to visit cycling blog Podium Cafe as well. You can also catch up on results and storylines from the 2012 Giro d'Italia here.
