Lemont Native Christian Vande Velde Crashes Out of Tour de France

ALBI, France  — Lemont native Christian Vande Velde withdrew from his last major race, the Tour de France, on Friday after suffering his second crash in three days.

Vande Velde, 37, crashed in the hilly seventh stage from Montpellier to Albi, according to an Associated Press report.

"It was a crash over a bridge. I was on top and underneath a lot of people," Vande Velde said. "I have to get home and heal up. I'm pretty beat up."

Vande Velde told reporters that the Tour de France was his last major race as a professional rider, ending a 15-year career.

"It's not a great way to go, that's for sure," Vande Velde said. "You're almost relieved, in a way, to stop. But at the same time, two or three days from now I'll be sitting at home watching my teammates—it's going to be really hard."

Vande Velde was riding with severe back pain and a blood clot in his neck muscle after suffering an earlier crash in Stage 5 on Wednesday. His last crash caused multiple contusions and abrasions, according to team 

This year marked the third time Vande Velde has failed to finish the Tour, according to the Associated Press. He crashed out during a team time trial stage in 2001 and during a mass Stage 3 pileup three years ago.

This was Vande Velde's 11th Tour de France. He was part of Lance Armstrong's winning U.S. Postal Service team in 1999, a title that was later stripped due to doping confessions. 

He finished fourth in 2008 and eighth in 2009, and in 2011 he and Team Garmin-Cervelo were awarded the team classification title for finishing with the best overall time.

For more on Vande Velde, follow his Twitter account at www.twitter.com/christianvdv.