Wrist injury sidelines reigning Tour champion

Christian Vande Velde chats with other cyclists before the start of Stage 2 on Tuesday morning in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Vande Velde did not finish Tuesday due to a wrist injury from an accident Monday during Stage 1. Vande Velde's left wrist is taped. (Kit Doyle) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Reigning Tour of Missouri champion Christian Vande Velde joked that he didn't put on his riding gear because he looks good in it.

He planned to compete in Tuesday's second stage, less than 24 hours after breaking his hand during the first stage.

Vande Velde, who rides for Garmin-Slipstream, completed the neutral lap around Ste. Genevieve before deciding to withdraw.

"It's kind of throbbing, but it's not horrible," he said before trying to race. "I have it taped up quite well."

Vande Velde grew up in suburban Chicago and admitted the race's proximity to his hometown of Lemont, Ill., played into his decision to try to ride.

Vande Velde left Missouri for Chicago before the conclusion to Tuesday's stage, according to his Twitter page. He wrote, "Well, that sucked. On my way back north to Chicago on I-55."

Vande Velde broke his left hand during Monday's opening stage when he smacked into a fire hydrant after hitting riders who already had crashed.

Broken bones are nothing new to Vande Velde or any professional cyclist. He said he's broken eight just this year.

"It's a hard sport," he said. "There's a lot of things that people think are crazy about it that go into it. It's not a weight-bearing sport, and some things you don't have to use as much as others. If it is stable, you can go on. Maybe not at 100 percent, but you can do it."

Vande Velde tried to serve as a good ambassador for the sport and race by signing scores of autographs and answering dozens of questions from fans and reporters. The only sign of his crash was bandages on his left hand, but they mostly were covered by his riding glove. He talked about his plans to continue to compete for the winner's yellow jersey regardless of the pain and garnered more respect from his teammates for trying to tough it out.

"All the bones I've broken are unrideable," Garmin-Slipstream teammate David Zabriskie said. "I've never had the opportunity to ride with a broken limb. I'm sure it's painful."

Always had support

Cycling is in Vande Velde's genes. His father, John, was a two-time Olympian, competing for the U.S. in 1968 and 1972, but he didn't allow his father's success to put pressure on him.

"At the beginning, it was either ignorance or I don't know what it was, but I thought it was my God-given right to be a professional cyclist and ride the Tour de France," Vande Velde said. "My family, I always had a lot of support. It seemed like the natural progress."

Christian achieved his goal of success in the Tour de France when he rode on the U.S. Postal team in 1999 and 2001, helping Lance Armstrong capture his first and third yellow jerseys in Paris.

"It's great to see what you can do, but I think that there's a lot of pride you take in working for a leader, especially a leader who's going to win," he said. "I took a lot of pride in it."

He's moved on from the days of helping others to being the one receiving the help. He finished fifth in last year's Tour de France before winning the 2008 Tour of Missouri. He took eighth in this year's Tour de France, but he won't get to defend his Tour of Missouri title.

He didn't like the direction the race was headed anyway.

"I'm pedaling away from home, so that's not good," he joked about the route from St. Louis to Kansas City. "I'm going the wrong way."

He'd probably prefer that to having to watch the race from his couch in Illinois.