Lemont native Christian Vande Velde will jump from the U.S. Postal Service cycling team to the new Liberty Seguros team, joining two-time Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras. The Spanish squad is viewed as the successor to now-defunct powerhouse ONCE, and will be guided by ex-ONCE director Manolo Saiz. Vande Velde, 27, signed with Postal in 1998 and rode on Lance Armstrong’s first Tour de France-winning team in 1999, but has been plagued by injuries and mishaps since. “I’m sad to be leaving, but it’ll be good to have a little bit of a change, and I hope to get better opportunities,” Vande Velde said from his off-season home in Boulder, Colo. “I just hope I don’t ride back to the wrong team bus.”
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