The Tour de France is a three-week race that's won by the smallest cumulative time. Easy enough, the fastest guy wins, right? Well, it's not that simple.

Cycling is much more confusing than meets the eye. It's incredibly tactical and it's often won in the trenches. The Tour de France is a race of teams, but only one rider wins.

For Armstrong to win the Tour de France, his eight teammates must sacrifice all their personal *****ions to work for Armstrong. Some riders can climb, but they can't time trial. Others can win sprints but aren't rugged enough to last for more than 2,000 miles of a major stage race.

Within Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team, each rider has their own special duties. Each morning the team has a meeting to discuss the stage and decide who will do what that day.

Some are assigned to ride next to Armstrong to keep him shielded from the wind. Others will drive a hard pace to tire out their opponents. If it's steep, others will tow Armstrong up the steepest mountains to set up the Texan for one of his trademark attacks.

In flat stages, riders are told to be vigilant and to chase down breakaways to cover the move of dangerous opponents. When there's an Armstrong teammate in the break, the team won't have to chase as hard. If the break stays away, the team has a chance to win the stage.

One thing is sure, they sacrifice all for Armstrong.

"Our objective is to win the Tour de France with Lance. My personal objectives are secondary. I am not frustrated in this position. I know what I have to do," said Heras, a strong climber who won the 2000 Tour of Spain. "My work is the easiest of anyone on the team. I have to help Lance in the steep mountains. The hardest job is the rollers who have to work for 200 km. That's hard. What I do only lasts a few kilometers."

That's where Armstrong comes in. He has the mentality of a winner and the physique to go with the attitude.

"Armstrong's strength gives all of us confidence to win," said Jose Luis Rubiera, one of Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service teammates. "Lance lifts all of us. We know that Lance can win. That makes a big difference. I've been on teams where you work hard all day, then the leader doesn't feel good or doesn't want to suffer. Lance never does that. He always wants to win. He pays us back by winning."

Armstrong said his imminent victory was made easier by what he called his best team ever.

"The team made it easier for me this year. I'd like to have a team this strong every year. I can sleep at night knowing that I have the best team in the race," Armstrong said. "The team is better than ever. It's more complete, more consistent, much stronger."

Armstrong may get all the adulation, the fat contracts and his picture in the paper. He returns the favor, and then some.

Cycling tradition dictates that the team captain donates his first-place prize money -- about $340,000 for winning the Tour -- to be divided among the team. Even the drivers, massage therapists and mechanics get a share.

Last year, Armstrong fattened the pot by throwing in another $250,000 of his own money. That keeps everybody working just a little bit harder.


Andrew Hood is a freelance writer from Colorado who spends a lot of time chasing cyclists across Europe. This is his fifth Tour de France for ESPN.com