World-class cyclist Christian Vande Velde---a part-time resident of Boulder---crashed twice in yesterday's 11th stage of the Tour de France but still found a way to finish the day in eighth place overall, the same spot he held when he began the day (via the Chicago Tribune [2]). The crashes reinforce doubts in the minds of many cycling watchers, who question the 33-year-old's ability to contend in the race this year. Those doubts gain traction in light of a May 11 crash in the Tour of Italy, which gave him a hairline fracture of his pelvis, two fractured ribs, and three fractured vertebrae. It's not all bad for Vande Velde, though, who wrote for The New York Times [3] that a day of rest on Monday was a welcome reprieve from the grueling demands of one of sport's most challenging endurance events. Then again, a profile of Vande Velde in this month's issue of 5280 [4] makes the case that he's found the second wind in his career, four years after almost calling it quits. Vande Velde has proven himself as an elite rider---he placed fourth in last year's Tour de France---but the 84 seconds he has to make up on Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy may be too steep a hill to climb.