Johan Vansummeren (Silence-Lotto)
You can't miss Johan Vansummeren, 27, he's the tallest rider in the peloton, and the skinniest. At 1.97 metres and weighing 79 kilos the man from Lommel, in the Limburg region east of Antwerp, might look like a stick insect on his Ridley Damocles XL but he is a strong attacking rider who can mix it with the best in all sorts of races.
This is going to be a big year for Vansummeren as he will be a key member of Silence-Lotto in the big Classics like Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Then he will build up for the Tour de France.
In the Classics he will be alongside team captains Leif Hoste and Stijn Devolder, and at the Tour the pressure is really on as he will be protecting Cadel Evans, now a hot favourite for the overall win after the senseless rejection of Astana's Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer.
Last year Vansummeren finished 63rd overall in the Tour with only Dario Cioni in 56th and Chris Horner in 15th between him and Evans. This year Horner is gone (Astana) so he will be hoping to get to the Tour in top condition to help Evans.

Local Hero Archive
Philippe Gilbert (Français des Jeux)