Leipheimer finished a remarkable third place in last year's Tour of Spain but could struggle through lack of experience.

Boogerd has had his chances to impress but has never quite lived up to his early potential.

The Dutch team have dominated many of the one-day races, most notably through the sensational sprinting of Dekker.

And, with arguably their best team line-up to date, they could finally come away with more than just stage wins this time around.

Rabobank, which was previously known as Panasonic and then WordPerfect.

It is headed by Jan Raas, a former rider of the all-conquering TI Raleigh team of the 1970s, for whom Zootemelk won the Tour 22 years ago.