Welcome to the first of our Tour de France previews. There’s going to be a few of these over the next few days, before the race starts on July 4th, in the principality of Monaco. Monte Carlo, of course, is known for its casinos and gamblers, which seems apt, given the risks that these riders will take over the coming weeks as they trek up and down mountains, through cities and villages, as they cross the French countryside en route to their final destination in Paris.

We’re going to look at the riders and runners in the coming days, but like it or not, far and away the biggest story of this year’s Tour is the grand return of Lance Armstrong. He’s nearing his thirty-eighth birthday, he hasn’t raced the Tour for four years, but still his name is the one on everyone’s lips. He would become the oldest winner since the Belgian Firmin Lambot won in 1922 at the age of 36.

The seven time winner, who has also won twenty two stages and eleven time trials, doesn’t have anything like the acclaim in France as he does in the United States. Even though he has never tested positive, to many French cycling fans he represents an era tainted by positive drug tests. More than this, though, he represents a different way of riding, a crushing dominance over the rest of the field, that, in a way, reinforces what many in France would consider to be the worst part of the American spirit. He’s never been one to be generous in a race, to give a victory to a domestique; the win, for him, is everything. Which is surely why he’s so successful.

But should we expect a successful Tour from Lance this time out? He has very little form of late, but has just completed the Giro d’Italia, a tough race in its own right. Whilst his overall ranking wasn’t that impressive, he seemed to get stronger with each passing stage. Will he be able to carry this over to the Tour? Only time will tell, but he surely does not lack in willpower to haul his body over the mountains one more time. He’s also said that the prospect of the finish at Mont Ventoux in the penultimate stage is a major driving force for him, having been pipped to the post in 2002 by Richard Virenque.

Another aspect to the story is that as part of the Astana team, he’ll be riding with the 2007 winner, Albert Contador. As one of the favorites, he’ll be expecting the full support of his team. But how will that work with the big star, Lance Armstrong, there too? Armstrong has said that if it comes down to it, he’ll be the best domestique the Tour has ever seen. This remains to be seen, but it’s a fascinating dynamic that’ll be worth watching as the riders enter the mountains.

So, there’s five days to go; coverage is going to be on the Versus channel and through the Tour website.