Three U.S. cyclists hope to succeed Armstrong

STRASBOURG, France -- Could an American succeed Lance Armstrong as Tour de France champion?

The two favorites are European -- 1997 Tour champion Jan Ullrich of Germany and Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso -- but one of the best fields of U.S. riders will provide plenty of competition for the podium.

Levi Leipheimer, Floyd Landis and longtime Armstrong teammate George Hincapie all placed in the top 15 at last year's Tour, and all three are potential contenders this year in the event, which begins Saturday and ends July 23.

"It's a good crop of American riders right now -- as strong or stronger than ever," said Hincapie, the only rider to race with Armstrong on his seven Tour wins.

Armstrong's record run of seven straight Tour titles after recovering from cancer has raised the stature of the event in the minds of U.S. sports fans.

"It's definitely motivating," said Hincapie, who has emerged as a leader of Armstrong's former Discovery Channel team. "We want to get the sport as big as possible back in the U.S."

Leipheimer, 32, won the Dauphine Libere last month -- a traditional Tour warmup that Armstrong won twice. He was sixth in the Tour last year, when won the Tour of Germany.

Landis was ninth in last year's Tour de France. Landis, 30, this year has collected wins at the Tour of Georgia, the Tour of California and the Paris-Nice.

Hincapie, who has bounced back after breaking his collarbone in a crash in the Paris-Roubaix in April, placed 14th in the Tour last year and says he is close to the best shape he's ever been in.