The Top Contenders

Alberto Contador (Spain, SAXO BANK)

With a possibility of getting a guilty verdict from a positive dope test hanging over his head, its amazing to see how "tranquilo" the Spanish 3-time Tour champion is. He is more mature and patient rider now. He doesn't attack spontaneously yet his attack is more explosive than before. His TT skills complements his climbing and what you have is a perfect Tour machine. I have nothing more to say except that it’s his Tour de France to lose.

Andy Schleck (Luxembourg, LEOPARD -TREK)

Bridesmaid the past two years, the strength of Schleck lies in his team and his older brother, Frank, who is equally a good climber. Schleck, if he is in-form, can climb with Contador but I don't think he can drop an also in-form Contador anytime. His Achilles Heel is his time trialling that's why he has to look for other ways to beat Contador and I think he has the team to do it. For me, his only problem was hid pre-Tour preparation which was wanting.

Cadel Evans (Australia, BMC)

At 34yo, Evans window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller while his rivals are getting younger, faster and hungrier. Compared to Contador and Schleck, Evans isn't as good a climber but on most days, he can climb with the best. He has a veteran team which could help and he is exceptional against the clock. He can't win the Tour by himself and although it may be a gamble, he needs rival teams to gang up on the Spaniard to give them a chance.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Belgium, OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO)

Belgium is a cycling mad nation and the greatest cycling ever, Eddy Merckx, is Belgian yet the last time a hometown boy has won the Tour was back in 1976 with Lucien van Impe. But there is a light in the tunnel with climbing sensation Jurgen van den Broeck. You may not have heard his name yet since he won his only race early this month, a stage in the pre-Tour race, Dauphine Libere, after seven years as a pro. However, his time trial is still suspect.

Ivan Basso (Italy, LIQUIGAS)

Basso has seen it all- the highs include 2 Girod'Italia crowns and runner-up to Lance Armstong in the Tour, and lows that included a ban for admitting "attempting" to dope. He is not an explosive climber nor a good time triallist, but he can set up a very fast tempo if he is at his best. His pre-Tour preparation weren't something to cheer about but you could never omit him in this list.

Robert Gesink (Netherlands RABOBANK)

Gesink has the same abilities as van den Broeck except that he has more wins and is a more aggressive rider than the Belgian. And just like the Belgian, his time trialling is suspect although he won an early season race the Tour of Oman via time trial, which could mean nothing of course when everybody is still groping for form.

The Others

Team RADIOSHACK has four contenders: Americans Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimmer, Czech Janez Brajkovic and German Andreas Kloeden. This is a completely different mentality when they had a supreme leader as before in Lance Armstrong. I hope it won't be a case of, "too many cooks…" Spain Samuel Sanchez's (EUSKALTEL) name has been in the mix but I doubt if he'll even make the top 10. Brit Bradley Wiggins (SKY) has also been considered a contender after placing 4th in 2009 but asking him to be the great white hope is too much. He may have won the Dauphine Libere this year but he did it with defense. Frank Schleck can also be considered a contender but I think he'll be working for Andy, so count him out for the overall.

Finally, congratulations to the Cebuano delegation to the Tour of Subic-Jerome Rodriguez, Art Lambo, Jon Simbajon, Jong Sepulveda, John Gayatin, RaldyVios, Tony Codina and Sankx Ontanillas for a job well done!......The rumored route for the August 7 road race is CICC-SRP-CICC loop times 3!!!..... Congratulations to the Maasin Cycling Club and Provincial Government of Southern Leyte and Governor Damiano Mercado for hosting the successful 4-day event, the Tour of Southern Leyte. — THE FREEMAN