Different Spokes

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Rounding out the new crop is Dave Zabriskie, 25, who this year became only the third American ever to lead the Tour--before a crash ended his run. But promising stars like Zabriskie, who looks so young he ought to have a bell on his cycle, probably won't ever compare with the man who inspired millions of fans to wear yellow Livestrong bracelets. "It's a bit frightening," says Ian MacGregor, the reigning under-23 U.S. road-racing champion, of Armstrong's retirement. "Cyclists know there's more to the sport than Lance Armstrong. I don't know if the American public knows that."

If basketball is still searching for its lost panache seven years after Michael Jordan's retirement, will cycling ever recover from Armstrong's? Paradoxically, new blood could help the sport, assuming the new guys can avoid run-ins with SUVs. "Believe me, I'm a Lance fan, but to be honest, the Tour de France has gotten kind of boring," says former U.S. Postal rider Jonathan Vaughters. "I think it will be much more spectacular with more competition." Don't worry, Generation Lance is climbing. --With reporting by James Graff and Mikael Holter/Paris and Tala Skari/Montpellier

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