Chris Horner Takes AToC: Tour de France Next?

To those in the know, Chris Horner has long been considered one of the best riders America has ever produced. He has garnered top ten placings in both stage races and one day classics alike, and this past weekend he added the overall Amgen Tour of California title to his palmares.

Horner has been riding his bike professionally for a very long time, yet in all of those years he has never once been given the chance to ride as a leader for a grand tour. Thanks to his victory in California this year, that is all set to change.

Horner, along with Levi Leipheimer, will be a protected rider for Radioshack in this July's Tour. So focused is he on a podium placing, Horner has decided not to ride this weekend's US Pro Championships in Greenville, so that he can concentrate on re-building his form for France. Providing he comes to the Tour in similar shape as he was in California, Horner should have a legitimate shot at a top 5 placing.

When thoughts shift to his entire career, one can't help but wonder what could have been for Horner had he not decided to join the Francaise des Jeux team in 1997. He had just come off a stellar domestic season in the USA, and was eager to cut his teeth at the next level. Unfortunately though, the atmosphere at FDJ was just not conducive to an American boy used to eating cheeseburgers and listening ot rock music back home. He became alienated within his own team, and by the time his contract was up he had no other takers in Europe for a contract extension.

Horner headed back to the states and picked up where he left off, dominating the scene for the next several seasons. He eventually was able to catch back on with a ProTour team, but by that time he was 33 years old and heading into the final few years of his prime.

Still, Horner made the best of things and has managed to elongate his career arc. At 40 years old he is heading to the end of the line, but he clearly has plenty left in the tank. He'll head to France this year with higher expectations than ever, but he seems ready to lead his team in the world's biggest bike race. In the past few days Horner has stated that he doesn't believe anyone except Alberto Contador can drop him in the high mountains. Come July, he'll get his chance to prove it.