After more than a week since the Tour de France, the wind has died down a little: Time for the Deutschland Tour! This Tour will be used by German media to promote their anti-doping program, which they're so proud of. Even the yellow jersey will have something "clean" written on it. Our former heroes become today's bandits, in the eyes of the organisers and media. Even the slightest doubt about a team or rider is sufficient to refuse them. Continental team Elk Haus - Simplon is directly involved: They're not welcome in Germany. A jugde intervened at the last minute, so the continentals are allowed to start.

If the organiser guarantees that we now have a doping free peloton, then that's only a guess. Fortunately, the Deutschland Tour is about cycling too. It's more than regrettable that it's more about all those other things, while the accent should be on cycling. The UCI considers this to be an important race, after checking the ProTour-plans. The Tour of Germany could well become the Tour of Europe if the UCI has its way, especially when the argument with ASO isn't resolved quicky. We'll just have to wait and see, let's do some cycling.

A number of teams come to Germany with a clear agenda. They want to do well here, preferably be on the podium after nine days. It's not a big secret, you only have to take a look at the startlist to find out: Discovery Channel, Gerolsteiner, T-Mobile, Team CSC and even Unibet and the wildcards should do well in this race. The rest looks a bit "iffy", but Lampre, Liquigas and Rabo might have a few talented youngsters of interest.

Compared to previous years the route is somewhat easier, so it seems. The trick is that the teams will be tested this time, their collective strength will have quite a big impact on the individual chances of their members. The second stage is a TTT (Team Time Trial) and gives the opportunity to get some time advantage across 42 km. of track. Team CSC, Discovery Channel and Gerolsteiner seem best equipped to take that advantage, especially when there's only one true mountain stage in the race. Making up two minutes in the last TT will be very difficult, so it opens up possibilities.

Realisticly, the winner needs to come from one of these teams. When we filter that through the "form-matrix", one red-hot favorite emerges. Levi Leipheimer may have peaked a little late in the Tour de France, but he'll be very motivated to win here and get his 2005 title back. He's got the right team for the TTT and a very experienced ally in George Hincapie, his guide and engine. Leipheimer can finish it off in the mountain stage, unless his legs refuse service on the day.

Gerolsteiner has proven to be strong as a team on many occasion. Sufficient capacity for the TTT, killer for the sprints and power in the mountains. Rebellin is the best known rider of course, but this classics specialist will gladly step aside for Bernhard Kohl this time. The 25-year old Austrian will be speerheading the German team. Judging by his climbing ability and his improved time trial he is certainly a real threat for the podium. The build up of form during the Tour de France points us in that direction.

He'll have to deal with the other German "block". T-Mobile wants to put Linus Gerdemann forward, and not without reason. Gerdemann wore yellow in the Tour because of excellent riding, he has the ability to do more than okay in the time trial, apart from good climbing. He could also try and sneak into an escapegroup, for which he's known. He too can count on a steady factor in the team: Giuseppe Guerini will guide him through the mountains, while the Italian has a reasonable chance himself as well.

Current titleholder Jens Voigt would like to retain his 2006 title. Back then it was a total surprise. Yet, the German has one big problem: He's to tall and heavy to climb with the best on the Rettenbachferner. There's just too much competition in that area. Team CSC might compensate for that through the TTT, though, having the best team op paper. If Voigt succeeds to do a really strong TT at the end, anything is possible. Also, he too is well known for his long escapes. He could gain valuable time there...

But this is cycling, thus the predictability is fragile. On paper it's pretty easy, on the road all sorts of things happen. One crash and you're done for, so it's good that we take time to have a closer look at the new generation coming up the ranks. Let's have a look at Unibet's Rigoberto Uran, for instance. He's not only talented, but is rapidly developing into an allrounder and could well blossom here. Another (former) promise, Marco Marzano (Lampre), could prove that it wasn't a coincidence when he won the "Baby-Giro" a few years back. Rabo-neo Robert Gesink has the same qualities. Probably a better climber than time triallist, certainly podium material. Don't forget Luis Léon Sanchez either, he had a brilliant spring. Is he going to make it this fall?

There's also ample opportunity for sprints, even more than usual. Yet, the top five is absent. Those teams didn't even send real sprinters, not counting guys like Sentjens and Furlan. Only Lampre sent a really fast substitute. The best chances should go to the German teams though. All of Förster, Ciolek and Zabel will want at least one win on home soil. Napolitano should counter them with speed alone, which he has sufficient of. Olaf Pollack should be glad he can compete at this level again and can win more than once in a good week. He's even got Steffen Radochla as a backup if he fails.

Old Sven Teutenberg (Volksbank) might even surprise, who can say? Skil-Shimano will have Van Hummel going for it, but it's more likely he'll end up somewhere around rank five or so. One flash of what we saw in the Giro can get Koldo Fernandez victory for Euskaltel, basically the only present and decent Spanish sprinter on paper. Maybe he can strike a deal with Juan José Haedo. This promising sprinter joined up with Team CSC only this year, and has yet to prove he can win in the ProTour ranks. Maybe he'll be the "Graeme Brown" of 2007 and surprise us all.

** Leipheimer
** Kohl
* Gerdemann