 | TEAM PROFILE Country: US Team manager: Johan Bruyneel Best Tours: Winner - Lance Armstrong (1999-2003) |
The team may have changed sponsor this season but very little else has changed in the switch from US Postal to the Discovery Channel. Distressingly for Lance Armstrong's rivals, the team have probably got even better with the aquisition of Paolo Savoldelli, Jan Ullrich's ex-team-mate.
More importantly, though, the Tour will be Armstrong's last ever race.
The Texan has announced he will retire from the sport regardless of whether he wins a seventh Tour.
Armstrong's hopes again rest heavily on his trusted lieutenants, none more so than Portuguese rider Jose Azevedo, who coaxed him up the toughest climbs to finish fifth.
Floyd Landis, however, is no longer part of the set-up, having opted to head up Phonak's team instead.
Much has been made of Armstrong's chances, with the American himself insisting he has been behind schedule with his preparations.
A year ago, he forgot all about the troubles of a tense 2003 Tour, to win by six minutes ahead of Andreas Kloden.
And while the phrase is trawled out each year, his rivals - among them Kloden, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso - will be more determined than ever to succeed.
It remains to be seen whether Armstrong can trump them for a seventh time.
MMIX
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