Lance Armstrong, center, leads a group of riders across the finish line in downtown Santa Rosa on Sunday, February 15, 2009. Armstrong finished the stage in fourth place.

Lance, Levi and other notable names on this year's roster

JAMES RAIA
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

LANCE ARMSTRONG

Age: 38

Resides: Austin, Texas; Aspen, Colo.

Team: RadioShack

Notable: Returned to pro road cycling in 2009 following a 3? year retirement and seven straight Tour de France titles ... Made North American return at the TOC, finishing seventh, 1:46 behind Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer ... Began his 2010 season in January at the Tour Down Under in Australia, placing 25th overall ... Will compete at the TOC this year with fewer racing days than expected the result of stomach illness and increased family time ... While preparing for a eighth Tour de France title chance in July competed at altitude and rode in strong support of the victorious Leipheimer at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico in April ... Recently announced girlfriend Anna Hansen is pregnant with the couple's second child and Armstrong's fifth.

TOM BOONEN

Age: 29

Resides: Monaco

Team: Quick Step

Notable: Two-time winner of Paris-Roubaix (2005, 2008) and world road title (2005) and one of the sport's best one-day riders ... Won six Tour de France stages and two Tour of Spain stages ... Won opening TOC stage to Sacramento in 2008, but didn't compete in the race last year via the controversy surrounding his multiple out-of-competition positive drugs tests for cocaine in 2008 and 2009 ... Has four wins this season, but none in Classics ... Placed second in Milan San Remo and fifth in Paris-Roubaix.

THEO BOS

Age: 26

Resides: Hierden, Netherlands

Team: Cervelo

Notable: One of world's most accomplished track riders in history, completing the "triple" with world titles in the sprint, kilo and keirin ... Now transitioned into the pro road peloton ... Immensely quick speed and known for his "explosive" reactions ... Was involved in the notorious incident when he was accused of causing the crash of the eventual winner Daryl Impey by grabbing Impey's left shoulder with his right hand in the waning meters of a 2009 Tour of Turkey stage. Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) determined "Bos's behavior undermined the image, reputation and interests of cycling," and suspended him for a month ... Has had successful 2010 with a handful of sprint stage wins.

FABIAN CANCELLARA

Age: 28

Resides: Ittigen, Switzerland

Team: Saxo-Bank

Notable: The most current dominant one-day rider in cycling and claimed the elusive Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix double this season ... Won 2008 TOC prologue and repeated the win in 2009 ... As race leader and a three-time world time trial titlist, withdrew from 2009 TOC because of illness prior to stage 1 ... Reigning Olympic time trial champion and road race bronze medalist ... Could via for overall TOC title this year.

MARK CAVENDISH

Age: 24

Resides: Manchester, England

Team: HTC-Columbia

Notable: Brash, moody and generally considered the world's best sprinter, had a remarkable two-season reign in 2008 and 2009 ... Won, among many other races, a combined 10 stages of the Tour de France, including six stage wins last year ... Won opening stage of the Tour of Missouri, his 50th pro road title last September ... Won two stages of the 2009 TOC and will return to California instead of riding in the Tour of Italy, where in the past two years, he's claimed five individual stages and was part of a team time trial winning squad ... Recurring dental issues plagued early 2010 season, prompting media criticism for his lack of wins ... Won second stage of the Tour of Romandie and expressed his frustration with an obscene gesture crossing the line ... Was pulled out of the race by his team in the incident aftermath and later publicly apologized.

GEORGE HINCAPIE

Age: 36

Resides: Greenville, S.C.

Team: BMC

Notable: After riding as a key teammate for Lance Armstrong for nearly a decade, has been the elder statesman for two teams, first HTC- Coliumbia, now BMC ... Has three TOC stage wins an assortment of victories around the globe, including three national road titles, overall Tour of Missouri title (2007) and stage wins at established European races Dauphine Libere and Ghent-Wevelgem ... Will ride in the TOC for the fifth time while preparing for his 15th Tour de France participation in July (He has 13 finishes).

JUAN JOSE HAEDO

Age: 29

Resides: Unavailable

Team: Saxo Bank

Notable: With younger brother Sebastian represent the most well-known cyclists (among only a few) in Argentina ... Won two stages (both sprints) in the inaugural TOC in 2006, claimed two stages and the points competition in the 2007 TOC and won a race stage in the 2008 edition ... Has won stages in most major domestic races, but hasn't yet achieved success in larger European stage racing ... Has three wins this season from India to Germany.

CHRIS HORNER

Age: 38

Resides: Bend, Ore.

Team: RadioShack

Notable: Now in his 14th pro season and in the midst of one of best campaigns with top-10 results in three Classics and the overall title at Vuelta al Pais Vasco ... Raced in Europe earlier in this pro career then returned to the U.S. and dominated the domestic circuit for years ... Rode with Astana in 2009 and was hopeful of getting a Tour de France squad selection, but didin't via politics of Kazakhstan- based team ... Signed with RadioShack this season and destined to return to the Tour de France based on his strong efforts to date ... Can win one-day events and stage races, but also a consummate team rider ... Crashed out of four races in 2009.

LEVI LEIPHEIMER

Age: 36

Resides: Santa Rosa

Team: RadioShack

Notable: Usually trains hard through winter months to prepare for the TOC; this year, adjusted his schedule and raced less often to peak in May with TOC's schedule change ... Finished third in the 2007 Tour de France and has one individual stage win and one team stage win in Tour de France ... Has dominated TOC time trials, winning two prologues and three individual time trials in four editions ... won the recent Tour of the Gila for the second straight year while racing wearing Team Mellow Johnny's attire, the apparel sponsored by Lance Armstrong's bike shop and the only way he could compete as a ProTour rider in a national level event.

TONY MARTIN

Age: 25

Resides: Germany

Team: HTC-Columbia

Notable: Named Germany's cyclist of the year in 2009 after strongest season of young career ... won individual time trial stage 3 of the 2009 Criterium International ... Finished second overall in Tour of Switzerland in 2009 and placed third in the individual time trial at the 2009 world championships ... Held the best young rider's jersey for nearly two weeks at 2009 Tour de France ... Has 15 victories in his six-year pro career.

MARK RENSHAW

Age: 27

Resides: New South Wales, Australia

Team: HTC-Columbia

Notable: Another track rider who transitioned into road cycling ... Doesn't win often when he likely could ... Known, instead as cycling's "greatest lead-out" rider, first for Norway's Thor Hushovd on Credit Agricole, now for teammate Mark Cavendish ... Has uncanny ability to get to the front of the race in the waning half-mile and then allow the team's designated sprinter to move to the front ... Finished second in the final stage of the 2009 Tour de France ... Won opening stage of 2008 Tour Down Under ... Often said to greatly resemble Prince Harry.

MICHAEL ROGERS

Age: 30

Resides: Varese, Italy

Team: HTC-Columbia

Notable: Once was among world's best time trialists with three straight world titles beginning in 2003 ... Finished second overall in 2008 Tour of Missouri after missing the Tour de France the same year while recovering from Epstein Barr virus ... More than a decade after turning pro having one of his best seasons in 2010, winning Vuelta a Andalucia, placing second overall in Criterium International and third at Montepaschi Strade Bianche ... Finished third overall in TOC in 2009 and then seventh overall in the Tour of Italy.

ANDY SCHLECK

Age: 24

Resides: Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg

Team: Saxo-Bank

Notable: After turning pro at age 19, now arguably the most accomplished young pro in the peloton ... Won best young rider competitions in the 2007 Tour of Italy and 2008 Tour de France ... Last year, finished second overall in the Tour de France, 4:11 behind Alberto Contador ... Won 2009 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and this season placed sixth in the same race and ninth in La Fl?he Wallonne ... Finished 32nd overall in the 2009 TOC, while older brother Frank placed 12th overall.

JENS VOIGT

Age: 38

Resides: Berlin, Germany

Team: Saxo Bank

Notable: Among the most enduring and jovial riders in the pro peloton with victories in many prestigious one-day race races as well as stage wins at the Tour of Italy and Tour de France, where he also wore the race leader's yellow jersey ... Won stage of the TOC in 2007 en route to finishing second overall ... Finished fourth overall in 2009 TOC ... Known for his long, sustained breakaways, suffered multiple injuries last July after his bike suddenly crumbled in stage 16 of the Tour de France ... Broke the orbital bone under one eye, had gashes on his right side that required stitches, suffered a concussion and had titanium plate inserted into his palate. Two months later, Voigt was back, cracking jokes in Tour of Missouri post-stage press conferences.

DAVE ZABRISKIE

Age: 31

Resides: Salt Lake City

Team: Garmin-Transitions

Notable: Once noted only as a time trial specialist, Zabriskie claimed his first pro stage race last September at Tour of Missouri ... Only American to win stages in cycling's Grand Tours (Tour de France, Tour of Italy, Tour of Spain) ... Five-time national time trial titlist, including 2009 ... Finished second overall at the inaugural TOC in 2006 and again in 2009 when he was 36 seconds behind Levi Leipheimer ... Led the 2005 Tour de France for the first four days after beating Lance Armstrong in the opening time trial by two seconds ... Often known as the zaniest cyclist in the peloton via his penchant for singing and odd comedy routines ... Has a line of anti-chafing products called DZNUTS sold online via zany video promotions.

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