OK, now some picks

POLKA DOTS
STEPHEN: Well, without Jalabert, the door is wide open. Heras would win the thing if he tried, but he’ll conserve energy to help Armstrong win. Botero and Beloki should figure prominently, but so should some of the mountain attackers like Ullrich and Simoni. And of course Virenque and Moreau, because this is the only way the French are winning a jersey. I’ll go with:
1. Virenque
2. Armstrong
3. Beloki
Spoiler: Botchorov

JASON: The King of the Mountains race is absolutely wide open. Botero and Virenque are obvious favorites, but an opportunist who attacks on the first big mountain stage may rack up enough points on the first couple climbs to convince himself to aim for the dots.
Prediction:
1. Santiago Botero (Telekom)
2. Richard Virenque (Quick Step)
3. Lance Armstrong (USPS)
Spoiler: Angel Casero (Bianchi)

STEPHEN: So you advocate the Mario Aerts strategy. Honestly, it's about attacking on the last mountain stage when Lance already has the race wrapped up and will let you go. Which precludes a guy like Botero
winning it that way, because Lance would chase him down. He won't
chase down Virenque.

JASON: As I said, Botero did exactly that last year. The Aerts strategy isn't bad. A rider needs the points early to be in position for the big day late in the race.

STEPHEN: Or be so far back in the GC that Armstrong won’t bother to reel you in if you attack Ventoux.