The results of the Cyclingnews 2008 reader poll are in and Christian Vande Velde took the Most Improved Rider category by a HUGE margin over second place Carlos Sastre.

Christian took more than half the total votes as he clearly demonstrated this past year that “…he had the potential to not only hang with the best, but is himself one of the best.”

Also notable, neo-pro and current Irish National Champion Dan Martin was recognized for his breakout year, coming in a solid 6th in the poll.

Cyclingnews Results : votes out of 11,513 total
1. Christian Vande Velde 6147 votes
2. Carlos Sastre 1428
3. Kim Kirchen 1405
4. Philippe Gilbert 782
5. Andre Greipel 632
6. Dan Martin 390
7. Chris Anker Sorensen 243
8. Matti Breschel 237
9. Enrico Gasparotto 106
10. Yuri Trofimov 73
11. Jurgen Roelandts 70

The Michigan Bicycle Racing Association had the great pleasure of hosting Christian Vande Velde and his coveted Giro d’Italia maglia rosa late last week for a special holiday gathering.
For some shots of Christian and the popular pink jersey, check out this short MBRA report.

Philip Hersh of the Los Angeles Times talks to Christian Vande Velde about his 2008 season and the fact that he successfully rode both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, something Lance Armstrong hopes to do in 2009.
From the article: It’s a risky business, especially if the goal is to win both […]

CyclingNews follows Christian Vande Velde through the fitting process as he sets up his time trial bike with new 3T bars and stems.
From the article: It turns out that the aero bar swap will be anything but a mere plug-and-play operation. Vande Velde’s new 3T Brezza setup uses a level base bar while his old […]

Christian Vande Velde won the first ever Pirates Week Invitational in the Cayman Islands this weekend after winning the circuit race on Sunday. The first two stages of the inaugural event had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Paloma. See the full report and photo on Caymannetnews.com.

The Caymanian Compass reports on Christian Vande Velde’s participation in the Cayman Islands Pirates Week Invitational that starts today. The four-stage race runs through November 10 and includes an opening time trial, criterium, circuit race and final 75-mile road stage.
From the article: “I can’t wait to get down to race in Grand Cayman. It’s been […]

The 2009 Tour de France route announcement - complete with two individual time trials, a team time trial, a Girona stage and a crazy Ventoux climax - has Team Garmin-Chipotle talking.
Christian Vande Velde
“I am looking forward to next year’s Tour. Starting in Monaco with a time trial, a team time trial, and then […]

Check out the latest issue of VeloNews for a feature on cover boy Christian Vande Velde and his transformation from super domestique to team leader.
From the article: “Christian has always been someone who has the correct physiological and hematological parameters to win races clean,” Vaughters said. “Racing becoming cleaner is only going to benefit him […]