Levi Leipheimer must have breathed a sigh of relief when Ivan Basso was suspended for his involvement in the Puerto affair.

Signed up as Discovery Channel's number one man for the Tour at the end of last season, the American's status as team leader was suddenly thrown into doubt when team manager Johan Bruyneel hired the Italian.

Leipheimer, who won last year's Dauphine Libere, has never finished higher than 6th at the Tour, and although his critics say he's too ready to follow wheels rather than initiate attacks, the 33-year-old now has a stronger supporting cast around him than he did at Gerolsteiner.