Levi Leipheimer, Gerolsteiner

2005 Tour de France finish: 6th

Despite being one of the more experienced Americans in the European pro ranks, Levi Leipheimer is the American almost nobody knows. He rode strongly in the ’05 Tour, especially toward the end of the race, and landed a very credible 6th-place finish after the final tally in Paris.

Levi is on a tear, fresh off a strong victory in the 7-stage Dauphine Libere. He has the form to be a Tour contender, as witnessed by his third-place finish in the Dauphine time trial and, more significantly, his powerful performance on the fourth stage, up Mont Ventoux.

Like Floyd Landis, the big question mark is less about Levi, and more about his team and whether they can handle the pressures of defending the leader’s jersey. Holding the lead for three stages of a seven-stage race like the Dauphine isn’t the same as defending it for a three-week grand tour.

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I want to believe these guys are up to the challenge, but on last year’s final stage into Paris three of Levi’s teammates tried to set him up for a mid-stage sprint, and the four of them couldn’t get around Alexandre Vinokourov (then riding for T-Mobile). Tactically, four on one should be an easy win — yet they couldn’t pull it off.

David Zabriskie, CSC

2005 Tour de France finish: Abandoned

It's uncertain if we can call David Zabriskie a Tour contender. He wasn't going to be a designated leader, but the man he was to work for, Ivan Basso, has been suspended in the widespread doping scandal that has struck the race.

At 27, Zabriskie hasn’t had a lot of experience racing in the spotlight, or under the pressures of team leadership. But man, is he fast!

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Zabriskie is one of just three riders to best Lance himself at a Tour time trial, since Armstrong began his TdF winning streak. And he won the Dauphine Libere opening prologue before absolutely crushing the opposition in the time trial, coming in almost a minute ahead of second-place finisher Floyd Landis.

Zabriskie excels at the time trial, the ultimate power discipline. Which means he can probably develop into a superb climber. And if he can dominate both, well, we have a Tour contender on our hands.

If something happens to Basso, I don’t know that Zabriskie would be tapped for leadership right away. But his strength in the time trials would undoubtedly give him a good chance at being CSC’s top man. This is the most technically perfect team in the Tour — they have been almost tactically flawless, and that may be enough to elevate Zabriskie to the podium.