Americans have won the Tour de France 11 times since 1986. Greg Lemond won it in '86 and 89-90. If he wouldn't have been shot he might have won it 5 times in a row. We all know about Lance Armstrong and his 7 wins. He totally dominated. It never seemed like his winning was in doubt. Now we have Floyd Landis. The French must be going nuts. The last time they won was in 1985 and that was only because Greg Lemond gave the victory to Hinault. The U.S. is on a good streak. Congrats to Floyd. Let's enjoy it.

We have to enjoy it now. After Force Landis it will be a while before there is another great American hope.

We have some great riders on the European tour. But none of the quality of our last two champions. Though there are few in the world of their calibre.

Hincapie will be back. And Landis? After they replace his hip, I bet he could be even better...he's only 30. He could do it again.

WHOOP Americans! Dominate those anti-USA french(wuss)men

It might not be that long. Tom Danielson is considered by many to be a top 5 climber in the world. Work on his TT and keep at Disco with Johann leading the way and he will be fine.

The kicker is going to be when both Danielson and Popy are in a position to lead the team...who does Johann take...?

Also, Zibriskie could be good.

I love this more than Lance's wins......

Simply because they were SOOOOO excited for Lance to be retired. They tried everything for years to tear him down......and now, they finally had 'their race' back.

And then.....Landis pulls off an amazing ride to take it again!

Great Stuff.

I forget about Danielson. How old is he?

I really like the Z-man, but he was over 2 hours behind. What happened? I watched each stage, but never heard what occured that put him so far back.

I really like Hincapie and he has a heck of a motor. But he may have passed his prime. He deserves a shot at the GC, but I am afraid that his time has passed. But I could be wrong.

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Hincapie will be back. And Landis? After they replace his hip, I bet he could be even better...he's only 30. He could do it again.

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Hincapie may be back but he is not a GC contender. He was over-hyped from the beginning. He is a great super-domestique and could still win a stage or two. But he is not young.

Leipheimer and Zabriskie are probably the best TDF US riders other than Landis now. Horner was also a TDF guy and definitely a solid rider, but not a winner.

Leipheimer seems to be committed to win, and I think he has the team to do it. But bad luck befalls him each year.

He won the Dauphine this year and is still about 33 yoa. He could have a good chance if he is ready for it. I think the Dauphine may have taken too much of a toll on him to really compete successfully in the TDF. He hit the wall late in some stages this year. If he could have finished those stages in the lead pack and had a good first TT he may have found the podium. But it is a stretch.

Levi has signed with Discovery. That bodes very well for him, as there never seemed to be any Gerolsteiner boys with him on the last couple of climbs of the big stages. I personally wanted this to happen last year when there rumors of Vino going to Disco.

That also means that Danielson doesn't have to mature quite as fast.

That is great for Levi. He could make a legitimate run for GC next year. Is Eki coming back for Discovery?

Eki is retiring in September, but will remain on the team as a director.