Lance at the Tour = daily, live coverage on OLN = good thing.

I'm making a prediction if nothing else than to lift up Laggard: Basso will win this year's Tour. So long as CSC is working solely for Basso, I think he will win. Riis has put together a powerhouse, and they're riding strong.

As long as they match up with Discovery, it'll be a race. If Piil is running off of the front in the first couple of stages, or Voigt is breaking away in the mountains, or Sastre isn't committed to helping Basso, or Julich is following a break, then mail it in for Lance.

And for Ullrich fans, I don't see it happening. Not if Lance is present. Plus, that team isn't constructed well for grand tours IMHO. Not when you have Ullrich and Vinokourov and an emerging Klöden with roughly equal chances of winning (or losing). Plus Zabel. I love him. He's one of my favorites, but he's of considerably less value to Ullrich/Vino/Klöden than Benjamin Noval is to Armstrong.