I like his style, but he may have put himself in an awkward postion with the folks on his team in 2006. His age, and the competition from the "young bloods", such as Basso mean he is not the absolute "Number One" favorite for winning the Tour in 2006. But, he seems unhappy when asked to ride in support for another rider.

His ideal situation would be for his team to say "You're the man...we ALL are here to support you". But, without that sort of arrangement, he may end up with the same clumsy arrangement he had with T-Mobile: "Vino, you are our main man...but only if Jan should crash and the folks at the hospital refuse to release him..."