Lemont Native Christian Vande Velde to Compete in 10th Tour de France

once again will be represented in the Tour de France by hometown cycling star Christian Vande Velde.

The Garmin-Barracuda team announced Thursday its much-anticipated roster for the 2012 Tour, which will begin June 30 in Liège, France, and end July 22 in Paris Champs-Élysées.

Vande Velde, a two-time top-10 finisher, is joined on Team Garmin-Barracuda by recent Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal, as well as 2011 top-10 finisher Tom Danielson. Rounding out the squad are David Zabriskie, David Millar, Tyler Farrar, Robbie Hunter, Dan Martin and Johan Vansummeren.

“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,” said Allan Peiper, Director of Competition, Team Garmin-Barracuda.

Vande Velde, 36, is making his 10th Tour de France appearance. He was part of Lance Armstrong's winning U.S. Postal Service team in 1999, and finished fourth in 2008 and eighth in 2009.

Last year, Vande Velde and Team Garmin-Cervelo were awarded the team classification title for finishing with the best overall time.

His teammate, Tom Danielson, finished ninth overall and was the top U.S. rider. Vande Velde finished 17th—the second-best finish for the Americans.

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

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