Lance Armstrong will win the Tour de France for a fourth consecutive time on Sunday.

A look at Armstrong's 'Posties'

Viatcheslav Ekimov: The 2000 Olympic time-trial gold medalist and 1988 team pursuit gold medalist, this 36-year-old Russian quit cycling at the end of last year but discovered he missed the adrenalin rush of competing. Ekimov drives hard at the front of the peloton in the long, hard, flat stages. Armstrong called him "a rock, the strongest rider on the team." Roberto Heras: Armstrong's secret weapon can be fickle. One of cycling's best climbers, Heras was brought on in 2001 to give Armstrong a reliable lieutenant in the hardest, most difficult mountains. Heras, 28, crashed in his first Tour with Armstrong but came on strong this year. Heras carried Armstrong into the yellow jersey when he rode like the wind to La Mongie in the French Pyrenees. George Hincapie: Hincapie is the only member to race on all four of Armstrong's Tour de France victories. Reserved and hard-working, Hincapie, 28, dominates in the spring when he's the Postal team's big gun at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders. Come July, he sacrifices everything to help Armstrong in the long, transition stages and the opening pitches of the climbs. Benoit Joachim: One of the strongest motors on the team, Joachim's job is to power Armstrong through the long transition stages that dominate the opening week of the Tour. The 26-year-old from Luxembourg usually is in his familiar spot on Armstrong's flanks, keeping the wind off. Floyd Landis: A former mountain biker, Landis, 26, impressed Armstrong at the Criterium du Dauphine Libere race in June, which Armstrong later won. The team rookie, he often gets the job of going back to the team car that follows the peloton to fetch water bottles. A strong climber, many say Landis could be groomed to take Armstrong's place on the team when the Texan retires, perhaps in two or three years. Pavel Padrnos: Another big engine for the long, dangerous stages that are often overlooked for the more dramatic mountain stages. Padrnos, 31, who is Czech, was brought on to bring some brawn to the team. Victor Hugo Pena: An outgoing Colombian, Pena has struggled to find his form since joining Postal in 2001. A strong climber, Pena, 27, stepped up this year, particularly in the Alps. Jose Luis Rubiera: Without a doubt, the rider who gives the most to Armstrong. Rubiera has been the biggest success since joining the Postal team in 2001. Excellent in the mountains, Rubiera, 29, is often the last man standing before Armstrong accelerates on the steepest climbs. Rubiera's job is to go as hard as he can for about half a climb, then let Armstrong take over. The problem for the competition is that they have to go as fast as Rubiera, then try to follow Armstrong. -- Andrew Hood

Barring disaster, that is. He could crash, he could get sick. He might even stub his toe.

Since 1999, Armstrong has had a nearly perfect run in cycling's greatest race. Three straight victories is about to become four.

If he arrives Sunday in Paris wearing the maillot jaune, as expected, he'll be one step closer to becoming cycling's greatest racer of his generation. Only four men have won five Tours, and three of those won four in a row.

No rider has dominated the Tour in more dramatic fashion since the great Eddy Merckx.

But to win the Tour de France is no easy feat. It's demanding, arduous and dangerous. With riders hurling themselves down steep, narrow roads, up and over Europe's steepest mountains, bicycle racing is no business for the faint-hearted.

The team on the road
The Tour de France is a three-week race that is won by the smallest cumulative time. Easy enough -- the fastest guy wins, right? Well, it's not that simple.

Cycling is much more confusing than it appears. It's incredibly tactical, and it's often won in the trenches. The Tour de France is a race of teams, but only one rider wins.

For Armstrong to win the Tour de France, his eight teammates must sacrifice all their personal ambitions to work for him. Some riders can climb, but they can't time trial. Others can win sprints but aren't rugged enough to last for more than 2,000 miles of a major stage race.

Within Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team, each rider has his own special duties. Each morning the team has a meeting to discuss the stage and decide who will do what that day.

Some are assigned to ride next to Armstrong to keep him shielded from the wind. Others will drive a hard pace to tire out their opponents. If it's steep, others will tow Armstrong up the steepest mountains to set up the Texan for one of his trademark attacks.

In flat stages, riders are told to be vigilant and to chase down breakaways to cover the move of dangerous opponents. When there's an Armstrong teammate in the break, the team won't have to chase as hard. If the break stays away, the team has a chance to win the stage.

One thing is sure, they sacrifice all for Armstrong.

"Our objective is to win the Tour de France with Lance. My personal objectives are secondary. I am not frustrated in this position. I know what I have to do," said Roberto Heras, a strong climber who won the 2000 Tour of Spain. "My work is the easiest of anyone on the team. I have to help Lance in the steep mountains. The hardest job is the rollers, who have to work for 200 km. That's hard. What I do only lasts a few kilometers."

That's where Armstrong comes in. He has the mentality of a winner and the physique to go with the attitude.

"Armstrong's strength gives all of us confidence to win," said teammate Jose Luis Rubiera. "Lance lifts all of us. We know that Lance can win. That makes a big difference. I've been on teams where you work hard all day, then the leader doesn't feel good or doesn't want to suffer. Lance never does that. He always wants to win. He pays us back by winning."

Armstrong said his imminent victory is a tribute to what he called his best team ever.

"The team made it easier for me this year," Armstrong said. "I'd like to have a team this strong every year. I can sleep at night knowing that I have the best team in the race. The team is better than ever. It's more complete, more consistent, much stronger."

Armstrong may get all the adulation, the fat contracts and his picture in the paper, but he returns the favor, and then some.

Cycling tradition dictates that the team captain donates his first-place prize money -- about $340,000 for winning the Tour -- to be divided among the team. Even the drivers, massage therapists and mechanics get a share.

Last year, Armstrong fattened the pot by throwing in another $250,000 of his own money. That keeps everybody working just a little bit harder.

The team behind the team
And "everybody" ecompasses a lot of people, because it's takes a village to win the Tour de France. There's a 40-person strong entourage traveling with Armstrong to ensure that the wiry 5-foot-9, 170-pound Texan arrives in Paris in winning form.

First and foremost, there are Armstrong's teammates -- eight other riders who hump their bikes all day to keep their boss out of the wind, out of crashes and out of trouble.

Then there's the team behind the team -- the wrenches, the massage therapists, the drivers, the directors and the team managers.

Then there's the team behind Armstrong; his agents, his confidantes and his advisors.

They are the people Armstrong trusts.

"I have great people around me. All I have to do is get on the bike," Armstrong said. "An individual can easily make a silly mistake. When you have a great team, mistakes are harder to make."

Armstrong's confidantes include Chris Carmichael, his longtime coach and trainer, who helps build up Armstrong's strength and fitness. Bill Stapleton, the only agent Armstrong has had, helps negotiate the sponsorship deals that help net him an annual income estimated to be $15 million. Eddy Merckx, cycling's greatest ever racer, has become somewhat of a surrogate father to Armstrong.

Johan Bruyneel, U.S. Postal Service directeur sportif, is in the trenches, working with Armstrong at the races to manage the team throughout the racing season. Bruyneel, a former pro who held the yellow jersey in the 1995 Tour, is a brilliant tactician without whom Armstrong said he never could have won the Tour.

After Armstrong's confidantes, there is a small army of assistants to help Armstrong before, during and after each stage.

This year, Armstrong is traveling with four mechanics and three bus drivers. There are also four soigneurs, or massage therapists, that do everything from rub down the riders at night to hand out the food bags during each stage's feed zone to wait for them at the finish line to wipe the sweat off their faces and give them a cold drink.

The team brings along its own chef to prepare meals, and there's a chiropractor and a team doctor to help with aches and pains.

For the second year in a row, Armstrong has a bodyguard to help protect him from a mishap or something more serious as the huge crowds press down on the popular Texan.

"We thought we should have someone, just to protect us a little bit," Armstrong said. "This event is amazing. They really have no true security. It's completely open and porous. It's very available for anybody. Then there are the journalists on top of that. Those cameramen are so aggressive. But this is my job."

Perhaps the most important people in Armstrong's world are his wife and children. Armstrong's wife, Kristin, has been in and out of the Tour, visiting the team during rest days and time-trial stages. She often brings their children, Luke, and their new-born twins, Isabelle and Grace.

"It's getting harder and harder to leave them," Armstrong said, "and it's unusual for them to all be at a race. So that's special. That's my motivation, to do my job and to do it well for them."

Andrew Hood is a freelance writer from Colorado who spends a lot of time chasing cyclists across Europe. This is his fifth Tour de France for ESPN.com.