Armstrong has three main rivals in Tour de France (starts Saturday)

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PARIS (AP) -- Lance Armstrong's team director says only three riders could threaten the Texan's bid for a seventh straight Tour de France title when cycling's showcase race begins Saturday.

Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's tactical adviser in each of his six Tour wins, picked 1997 winner Jan Ullrich , Alexandre Vinokourov and Ivan Basso as the main competition.

``I think those three are the real challengers,'' Bruyneel said this week in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Lance's last hurrah -- don't miss it!

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=ap-armstrong-rivals&prov=ap&type=lgns

[BiggJawn]

1. Ullrich?

I dunno...I go with Basso, because Ivan says he's gonna take it out of Lance in the mountains, and he proved last year that is NO idle threat.

Bratwurst Boy? :rofl:

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2. agree

Basso is out for blood this year. Should be a tighter race.

[BiggJawn]

3. Lance will have to work in the mountains if he wants #7.

Hell, he knows it, he felt Basso breathing down his neck last year.

Jan might shine in the TT, but I just don't see him anywhere near the podium this year. If he's still such a hot-shit contenda, he should have been standing with Lance last year.

[dean_dem]

5. I don't know about Ullrich but T-Mobile...

...as a team mmight prove to be some good competition for Lance. I'd bet it will be a close race between Armstrong and Vinokourov.

But remember, all it would take is one bad day for Lance in the mountains to lose it altogether, which could very well happen. The last couple of years have been tough for him towards the end of the mountain stages. He's got a whole fleet of riders ready to take advantage of any weakness up there.

[BiggJawn]

6. Like wolves circling their aged leader....

If he "blows up" in the mountains, it's gonna like like Piranna feeding.

Anyway you slice it, it's gonna be exciting. Will Mellow Johnny put the record out of reach for years to come? Will a new Champion emerge? Will Jan Ullrich finally get what's been just out of reach (until last year) for so long?

Sure hope Phil Ligget's got his thesaurus warmed up and ready to go...

[dean_dem]

7. Honestly, I'm getting kind of tired of the Lance-o-Rama

...the Tour has turned into lately. It would be great to see one of the newer guys take it. I'm not betting they'll hold in the mountains, but I'll definitely be watching Voeckler and Cancellara blow the old guys away in the early stages.

[BiggJawn]

8. I'm watching Basso and Floyd, too.

Hincapie won't do anything of note until next year, after Lance retires.

I'm not "tired" of Lance, but I'm not sad that he's going to finally give it a rest.

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4. "On July 24, he will ride around the Champs-Elysees for the final time as

a professional athlete."

I wonder if he'll ride down the Arc de Triomphe too? :silly: