This year's Tour de France is a last hurrah for Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong has been the most influential — as well as polarizing — cyclist the United States has ever produced.

His dynamic personality has won him legions of fans as well as numerous detractors. His skill and strength on the bicycle also have guided him to an all-time-best seven victories at the Tour de France.

Now 38 years old and in his second season back in the saddle after a three-year retirement, Armstrong is as much a threat to win again as any cyclist in the peloton.

"If I know anything about Lance, it's that when he puts his mind on something," said Park City's Marty Jemison, "he is almost unstoppable."

If there's something else Jemison — a former pro cyclist who spent three years racing with Armstrong as his teammate — knows, it's that Armstrong is at his best when he feels challenged or disrespected.

"I think he is absolutely planning on going out with a bang," Jemison said of Armstrong, who announced a few days ago that this would be his last Tour de France. "He obviously wants to win."

Jemison is in Europe now, guiding a group of bicycle tourists through his Jemison Cycling Tours company. He'll follow the route of the Tour de France ahead of the racers on his bike, but also be a keen observer of the race itself.

Having started and completed a pair of Tour de France races, Jemison knows how challenging and demanding the next three weeks will be for the racers. With more than 2,000 miles of riding, only the strongest will survive.

Utah products David Zabriskie and Levi Leipheimer will again line up with their teams and shoot for stage wins. Zabriskie, riding for the Garmin-Transitions team, is a former Yellow Jersey winner and one of the world's top time trialists. With Saturday's prologue in Holland, the Olympus High grad will throw every bit of energy he has into the short 8.9-kilometer course in Rotterdam.

Leipheimer, also one of the top cyclists in the world when it comes to races against the clock, will have the same goal.

"I think Levi, for sure, has a chance to win in the time trials and so does Zabriskie," Jemison said. "Those guys are specialists at that and, with fresh legs, they might pull it off."

After a couple of days designed for mass finishes with the sprinters in the spotlight, things get serious. Throwing in some old-school cobbles on Stage 3, the Tour de France will create some drama and possibly spit a contender out the back if he loses a significant chunk of time.