Vande Velde started his Grand Tour career by participating in the 1998 Vuelta a España, where he assisted Lance Armstrong to a fourth-place finish. Vande Velde twice rode on the Tour de France team that brought Lance Armstrong to victory, in 1999, and 2001. In the 1999 Tour de France, Vande Velde was for a time the leader of the young rider classification; he did not compete, however, in the 2000 Tour de France. Vande Velde moved to Liberty Seguros in 2004, and switched to Team CSC in 2005. During this time, he worked as a domestique,[5] riding in support of varying team captains, even though the 2005 season saw Vande Velde taking chances of his own. In one instance, Vande Velde was a breakaway participant on the fourth stage of the Eneco Tour. The breakaway, however, was eventually hampered when the peloton was led on a false route, meaning the breakaway riders had to wait for the peloton to get back on track, at which time the gap between the break and the peloton was reduced from six to four minutes with 43 kilometres to go.[1]
Vande Velde in 2006
At the 2006 Tour de Luxembourg, Vande Velde showed impressive performances in the mountains, which secured him first overall in the general classification.[6][7]
Vande Velde crashed out of the 2010 Giro d'Italia on the third stage with a suspected clavicle break.[12] Coincidentally, in 2009 he was forced out of the Giro after a crash, also on stage three.[13] Vande Velde withdrew from the 2010 Tour de France upon completing the second stage, with two broken ribs. The crash was caused by oil leaking from a fallen television motorcycle.[14]
In the 2012 Giro d'Italia, Vande Velde was instrumental to the victory of his leader Ryder Hesjedal,[17] protecting him in the mountain stages. He also was Hesjedal's roommate during the Giro, and shared his thoughts about the race, and his teammate in an interview with Velo News, where he stated that winning the Giro was "surreal".[18] Suffering various crashes during the first week, Vande Velde, however, finished second in the fifteenth stage of the 2012 Tour de France, losing in a sprint to the finish to Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ–BigMat).[19]NBC Sports commentator Phil Liggett stated that amongst fans, Vande Velde was considered the most popular rider.[20] In the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Vande Velde put in an impressive performance in the last stage's individual time trial, finishing second to Taylor Phinney of BMC Racing Team by ten seconds. With that run, he took the leader's jersey off the shoulders of Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Levi Leipheimer, and stepped atop the overall classification podium.[21]
During Vande Velde's first race of the season, the 2013 Volta a Catalunya, Vande Velde crashed out with a metacarpalfracture.[22] Vande Velde started the 2013 Giro d'Italia hoping to assist teammate Ryder Hesjedal in a repeat victory,[23] however, Hesjedal withdrew following stage twelve.[24][25] After Hesjedal's departure, Vande Velde struggled through the race, and finished hundred-tenth overall. Following his disappointing Giro, Vande Velde rode the 2013 Tour de France, but withdrew on stage seven due to sustained injuries from stage five.[26][27] After the Tour de France, Vande Velde attempted to defend his USA Pro Cycling Challenge title,[28][29] however, he rode a quiet race, and finished twenty-second overall.[30] Vande Velde's strongest performance during the race was on stage five, when he placed ninth in the uphill individual time trial.[31]
In a September 2012, online forum post, Garmin-Sharp team manager and owner Jonathan Vaughters stated that Vande Velde had used blood doping products to increase red blood cell production.[33][34] On October 10, 2012, it was announced by USADA that he would be suspended for six months for admissions of doping during his time with the US Postal Cycling Team.[35] Later that day a statement was released confirming his acceptance of a six-month ban from September 1, 2012, ending on March 1, 2013, along with a stripping of all race results between June 4, 2004, and April 30, 2006.[36][37] Vande Velde released his own statement a day later that expressed regret at his decision to "cross the line".[38]
