Tyler's tuning up

DenverPost.com | Changing course to Tour triumph

Good profile of Tyler Freaking Hamilton, and his drive to become the third American to win the Tour. Quite a bit of detail about his switch from CSC to Phonak:

"We had a lot of objectives," said Hamilton, the VeloNews' North American rider of the year. "U.S. Postal had one. You can't say either one is wrong. Both definitely get a lot of publicity for their sponsors. But in a selfish sort of way, I want a team built around me like U.S. Postal is built around Lance.

"And Phonak came to me with that opportunity."

Can Hamilton dethrone Armstrong?

...Armstrong faltered some in the Alps and his winning margin closed from 7 minutes, 17 seconds in 2002 to 1:01 last year. He is a year older. He is going through a divorce. Is he vulnerable? Is he vulnerable to Hamilton?

"He's getting older, and he's got a lot going on," Hamilton said of his former U.S. Postal teammate. "It's hard for him. He has a busy lifestyle. He does a lot. But I know the way Lance works, and he'll be ready."