For anyone unfamiliar with his abilities, Bradley Wiggins provided the shock of the Tour de France in 2009 by finishing fourth overall: the best ever result for a British rider.
"Why don't you just bugger off and let us get on with our jobs," is what Wiggins speculated the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, may have thought on one particular Alpine stage last year, when Wiggins matched them in the mountains.
Wiggins demonstrated a previously unseen climbing ability in 2009 which put him in contention, along with Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Andy Schleck, for overall victory in the race.
Mark Cavendish often grabs the UK headlines with his spectacular sprints to stage victories but Wiggins added a new and exciting dimension for British followers of the race in 2009: the possibility that one of our own might finish on the podium or even win the entire thing.
Unfortunately 2010 was less successful for Wiggins, as he could only manage 24th place in the general classification. Since then he has worked hard to prepare for the 2011 Tour, opting out of some major races in a bid to improve his climbing.
And some impressive rides in June's Criterium du Dauphine Libere indicate that Wiggins may be back to his very best.
Wiggins was a winner on the track before he set his mind to road racing. Twice a gold medalist in the Team Pursuit (2004 and 2008) he has also won six World Championship titles across the Team Pursuit, Pursuit and the Madison.
At the 2004 Olympics in Greece, he became the first British athlete in 40 years to win three medals at one games but his cycling life began in less auspicious circumstances: on the track at the Herne Hill Velodrome in South East London.
To date Wiggins' career has included spells at Francaise des Jeux, Credit Agricole, Cofidis, Team High Road, Garmin-Slipstream (now Garmin-Transitions) and Team Sky.
Sky's impressive roster for the race includes Edvald Boasson Hagen, Juan Antonio Flecha, Michael Barry, Serge Pauwels, Simon Gerrans and Thomas Lofkvist - along with Wiggins' fellow Brits Geraint Thomas and Steve Cummings.
"It is nice to be recognised for actually achieving something in life as opposed to spending seven weeks in a house on TV with a load of other muppets," Wiggins memorably observed after finishing fourth in the 2007 Tour de France Prologue.
If Team Sky's assault on this year's renewal of the race goes to plan, then cycling fans everywhere will certainly have something to remember Wiggins for.