Cadel Evans is quite happy to wear a big target on his back in the Tour de France.
Many of the Australian's peers, past and present, including seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and 2007 champion Alberto Contador, have branded him the favourite for this year's edition of road cycling's greatest race.
"I hope they're right," Evans, the 2007 runner-up by just 23 seconds, told AAP.
"I'm as interested as anyone to find out how the tour goes and, of course, how I go."
Contador will not defend his Tour de France title, starting on July 5 because race organisers did not invite his Astana team, who were embroiled in a number of doping cases last year while under different management.
The Spaniard recently tipped Evans to become the first Australian to win the yellow jersey.
"He's a solid rider who can really make time differences count in the time trials," Contador said.
Likewise, Armstrong recently told told Procycling magazine he liked Cadel Evans when asked to pick a winner for this year's 3,557-kilometre, 19-stage race.
But in professional road cycling more than many other sport, being the favourite poses a problem - Evans will be a marked man, his every move watched and covered by his competitors and their teams.
That's where the 31-year-old's Belgian team, Silence-Lotto, comes in.
It is their responsibility to protect Evans and help him across the line.
"It's for them to help me and for me also to be able to defend or attack or do whatever needs to be done in the race," Evans said.
"But everyone then in the race is watching you, of course it changes your tactics.
"It does add a little bit of attention and pressure but it's not the first time, so we should be able to handle it."
Last year, after two top ten finishes in as many attempts, Evans came close to victory, ultimately sealed by Contador on the penultimate stage time trial.
"The team as a whole is more focused and motivated than ever before and that's the main thing and that, of course for me, is comforting, so that helps a lot for me," Evans said.
"They all really see we can actually win this race so everyone's keen for that."
The focus of the Silence-Lotto team has also swung away from helping compatriot Robbie McEwen in his campaign for the sprinters' green jersey, and towards Evans' bid for overall honours.
Former mountain bike champion Evans shrugged off a bout of tendonitis in his left knee which kept him off the bike for 10 days to finish second in the recent Dauphine Libere.
"That's all seemed to have passed by without too much of a setback," Evans said of his knee while travelling between mountain training bases in Italy.
"Just doing the last bits of training ... not that far away from the start now."
Alejandro Valverde - winner of the week-long Dauphine Libere stage race in France, which is regarded as a good guide to form ahead of the Tour - could pose a threat to Evans come July 27 on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Valverde, sixth in the Tour de France last year, also won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic this year.
Other contenders include Russian Denis Mechov, the Rabobank team No.1 who finished fifth in the 2006 Tour de France, and ProTour rankings leader Damiano Cunego of Italy.
Evans also pointed to Luxembourg's Andy Schleck as one to watch, while another Luxembourg rider Kim Kirchen of the High Road team, due to change their name to Team Columbia at the start of the Tour, is also a chance.
Schlek's Australian CSC-Saxo Bank team-mate, Stuart O'Grady, is back after a lengthy spell in hospital following a terrible crash during last year's Tour that left him with multiple fractures and a punctured lung.
O'Grady added his voice to the chorus backing Evans.
"I think Cadel's probably the obvious choice," O'Grady said.
"Valverde has yet to prove himself in the Tour. Every year, he's one of the favourites, but he never seems to go all the way through to Paris.
"After that, I don't know. I think it's going to be a very open race."
Meanwhile, McEwen will be looking to win a fourth green jersey, despite the attention being paid to Evans' bid for glory.
Asked what it would mean to him to win the 95th version of the Tour de France, Evans said: "I haven't been in that situation before, so I really don't know."
Many Australians will be hoping he finds out.
Contenders for the maillot jaune, or yellow jersey, awarded to the Tour de France race winner:
Cadel Evans
Age: 31
Nationality: Australian
Team: Silence-Lotto
Boldly stated his credentials when he finished eighth on his first Tour de France in 2005 and fourth the following year. Was runner-up by just 23 seconds in 2007 and topped the ProTour rankings at year's end. Other notable results include fourth in the 2007 Vuelta a Espana, and 14th in the Giro d'Italia in 2002, a year after he turned pro, where he wore the leader's jersey for a day.
Alejandro Valverde
Age: 28
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Caisse d'Epargne
Put himself among the favourites with victory in the Dauphine Libere, seen as a good form gauge three weeks before the Tour de France. Also won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic earlier in the season. Failed to complete the Tour in 2005 and 2006 before finishing sixth last year. If he can keep up early in the mountains, he should remain a prospect.
Denis Menchov
Age: 30
Nationality: Russian
Team: Rabobank
Two-time Tour of Spain winner who was named best young rider in the 2003 Tour de France. Finished fifth in this year's Giro d'Italia, meaning he is in good grand tour touch but risks paying for his exertion in another gruelling race. Best Tour de France result was sixth place in 2006.
Contenders for the maillot vert, or green jersey, awarded to the best sprinter in the Tour de France:
Thor Hushovd
Age: 30
Nationality: Norwegian
Team: Credit Agricole
Showed good form at the recent Dauphine Libere. Has been suffering a cold since but should recover in time to put himself in the mix for a second sprint title, having won the green jersey in 2005.
Erik Zabel
Age: 37
Nationality: German
Team: Milram
Will turn 38 while riding his 14th Tour de France. Has won the green jersey six times, from 1996 to 2001. Last year admitted to briefly experimenting with performance-enhancing drug EPO for one week during the mid-1990s, but was not sanctioned.
Robbie McEwen
Age: 36
Nationality: Australian
Team: Silence-Lotto
A fierce competitor with a startling ability to appear from nowhere and win bunch sprints. His tough and uncompromising nature will have to come to the fore more than ever with his team focused on the general classification. Has plenty of experience to call on with ten appearances, 12 stage wins and three green jerseys to his credit, but admits the task will be tough.
The 21 stages for the 2008 edition of the Tour de France, which begins in Brest on July 5 and ends in Paris on July 27:
July 5: stage 1 - Brest - Plumelec, 195 km
July 6: stage 2 - Auray - Saint-Brieuc, 165 km
July 7: stage 3 - Saint-Malo - Nantes, 165 km
July 8: stage 4 - Cholet - Cholet, 29 km (individual time trial)
July 9: stage 5 - Cholet - Chateauroux, 230 km
July 10: stage 6 - Aigurande - Super-Besse, 195 km
July 11: stage 7 - Brioude - Aurillac, 158 km
July 12: stage 8 - Figeac - Toulouse, 174 km
July 13: stage 9 - Toulouse - Bagneres-de-Bigorre, 222 km
July 14: stage 10 - Pau - Hautacam, 154 km
July 15: rest day
July 16: stage 11 - Lannemezan - Foix, 166 km
July 17: stage 12 - Lavelanet - Narbonne, 168 km
July 18: stage 13 - Narbonne - Nimes, 182 km
July 19: stage 14 - Nimes - Digne-les-Bains, 182 km
July 20: stage 15 - Digne-les-Bains - Prato Nevoso (Italy), 216 km
July 21: rest day
July 22: stage 16 - Cuneo - Jausiers, 157 km
July 23: stage 17 - Embrun - L'Alpe-d'Huez, 210 km
July 24: stage 18 - Bourg-d'Oisans - Saint-Etienne, 197 km
July 25: stage 19 - Roanne - Montlucon, 183 km
July 26: stage 20 - Cerilly - Saint-Amand-Montrond, 53 km (individual time trial)
July 27: stage 21 - Etampes - Paris Champs-Elysees, 143 km
