Omega Pharma-Lotto rider Philippe Gilbert enters the 2011 Tour of the back of some scintillating performances this year and widely backed for stage victories in France.
The Belgian has earned the title of 'Classics King' after a hat-trick of victories in the Ardennes Classics this season - only the second man in history to do so.
Gilbert won the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the space of eight days back in April. The latter was particularly impressive, as he beat the Andy and Frank Schleck to the line in a sprint finish.
Those performances were just the latest on a hot streak stretching back to last autumn, in which he has recorded 13 wins.
Victory in the 2011 Brabantsje Pijl, two stage wins in last autumn's Vuelta a Espana, and a first-place in the Giro di Lombardia - in atrocious weather conditions, it must be added - mean Gilbert goes into the Tour de France at the top of the UCI WorldTour rankings, ahead of yellow jersey rival Alberto Contador.
Born in Remouchamps, just outside Liege, Gilbert turned professional in 2003 and immediately showed great promise, finishing sixth in the 2005 Milan-San Remo and just missing out on victory in the Paris-Tours in the same year.
But his career was put on hold in 2007 after he had a skin cancer lesion removed from his thigh. Despite only a short lay-off after the operation, it understandably took Gilbert time to recover his best form.
His list of achievements has grown exponentially since 2008, and Gilbert is now regarded as one of the best one-day riders in the business.
It remains to be seen whether the Belgian can last the pace over 21 stages of the Tour. This year will be Gilbert's first Tour de France for three years, and while he is one of the favourites to challenge for stage wins in the first week - particularly on Stage 4, which happens to coincide with his 29th birthday - he is likely to find the going tough as the Tour reaches the mountains.
Gilbert has also been widely backed for victory on Stage 1, with the relatively small climb at the end of stage seeming to suit a rider of his power.
He must also contend with Omega Pharma-Lotto team-mate and fellow Belgian Jurgen van den Broeck, who has his own yellow jersey ambitions.
However, if Gilbert can replicate his form of the last 12 months, he could be a dangerman in the peloton this year.
Follow ITV Cycling on Twitter