This has been a really helpful thread. I'm a little taller than you are, and I also ride a Veloce, and I've been having fit problems for the last couple of months. We changed some things around, including sliding the saddle back a bit, because I started having knee pain, and ever since I've felt really nervous on the bike. I finally figured out that it's because I feel like I don't have a good reach to the brakes, which makes me nervous in traffic. I have an old Specialized Allez that is configured to be almost the same size in every way to the Veloce, except the distance on the Allez is 2 cm shorter from the saddle to the brake hoods, and I am much more secure on the Allez. The steering is a little squirrely but I find that easier to deal with than this brake reach issue.

I had my "eureka!" moment when I borrowed my husband's bike, and it was about another 2 cm further to reach the brakes, and I had to actually come out of the saddle in order to get any braking power. THAT is what is wrong with my Veloce, although it's not quite that bad.

Anyway, I think a shorter stem is going to solve my problem, which is a huge relief because I love my bike. I hope you find a similar easy solution, or an answer that lets you know for sure that it's not the bike for you.