Cycling: Who can replace cycling's tour de force?

Lance Armstrong is calling it quits after this year's Tour. But with a possible seventh victory on the cards, will there be anyone worthy to take his yellow jersey, this Tour or next? Picture / Reuters

Who will take over from Lance Armstrong? The 2005 Tour de France, which starts from the island of Noirmoutier on Sunday, should provide some answers to the big question dominating cycling.

If the American wins his seventh Tour in a row on the Champs-Elysees on July 24, there may be no immediately obvious successor.

But the three-week race should provide plenty of indications to who the 2006 Tour winner might be.

Armstrong, who will retire after the race, has probably never had so many serious rivals in one Tour.

The sport has reached a turning point, with two generations of riders competing for the first time in the world's most famous cycling race.

The old guard, led by five-times runner-up Jan Ullrich, is composed of men Armstrong knows well and has regularly beaten.

The younger generation, led by Italian Ivan Basso, might not yet be experienced or mature enough to pose a threat.

Yet the twists and uncertainties of the Tour could help one of the Texan's opponents hit the big time.

For 1997 champion Jan Ullrich, this is a last chance to beat the American on the road.

When he won, many thought the German could go on to beat the record of five wins held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.

Personal problems, training errors, excess weight and probably the absence of an exceptional coach and adviser stopped him from fulfilling his promise.

With an Olympic title, two world champion crowns, a Tour win and five second places, Ullrich has had an exceptional career.

But he had the hard luck to belong to the Armstrong generation and became to the American what Raymond Poulidor was to Anquetil or Joop Zoetemelk to Merckx.

"I have always said that a Tour victory is more valuable if Lance Armstrong is participating. I will do everything I can to beat him in his last appearance," said Ullrich. The American's retirement, he said, was "extra motivation".

Ullrich, 31, will be able to rely on an exceptionally strong T-Mobile team this year with last year's runner-up Andreas Kloeden and 2003 third-placed Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov all capable of making it on to the podium at least.

The other team which could pose a threat is Phonak, with Colombian Santiago Botero and American Floyd Landis hoping to upset the Discovery Channel team leader.

Botero was impressive in the Dauphine Libere, winning a tough 46km individual time trial, and Landis upset his former leader in the Tour of Georgia.

Botero has faltered in the Tour in the past and Landis will be hoping to fare a little better than other former Armstrong team-mates who left to defend their own ambitions.

Olympic champion Tyler Hamilton is suspended on doping grounds but two other former Armstrong lieutenants will start.

Levi Leipheimer looked better prepared than ever in the Dauphine Libere, and fellow American Bobby Julich, winner of Paris-Nice this season, will be asked to help Basso in Danish team CSC.

Another ex-Armstrong aide, Spaniard Roberto Heras, will lead Spanish team Liberty Seguros.

Basso disappointed fans in the Giro d'Italia when a virus prevented him from taking a leading role but he should be better in the Tour.

The Italian has always been described by Armstrong as the likeliest rider to take over from him.

At 27, Basso, third last year, is coming of age and has improved in time trials thanks to CSC team chief and 1996 Tour winner Bjarne Riis.

Italian hopes rest on his shoulders after the withdrawals of Damiano Cunego and climber Gilberto Simoni.

Cunego, seen by many as the future of cycling after his Giro win last year, has had a disastrous season while Simoni has always struggled on the Tour.

Spain's Iban Mayo will be the rider to watch in the mountains.

For Spanish team Illes Balears, who have won the young rider classification several years in succession, the time might have come to deliver - Alejandro Valverde, Francisco Mancebo and Russia's Vladimir Karpets will be watched.

Russian Denis Menchov and Australian Michael Rogers will be among the youngsters seen as future prospects, or Armstrong's successor might be found in the Discovery Channel ranks with Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych.

- REUTERS