Tour de France 101: Americans to watch in 2011

Seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong isn't riding, but there are plenty of other fast Americans.

3. Levi Leipheimer, RadioShack

Laurent Rebours/AP/ File
Levi Leipheimer strains as he crosses the finish line during the prologue of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 8.9 km (5.5 miles) in the port city of Rotterdam, Netherlands on July 3, 2010.

Perhaps Lance Armstrong's best-known lieutenant, Levi Leipheimer has had a fine individual career.

His best Tour de France performance to date came in 2007, when he finished third overall. He won June’s Tour of Switzerland and finished runner-up to RadioShack teammate Chris Horner in the Tour of California.

He and his wife, ex-racer Odessa Gunn, live in Santa Rosa, Calif., with a bevy of critters (they're both animal lovers). You can follow his musings on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye out for a documentary about him – due to come out next year.

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