You love him or you hate him. Believe his protestations of innocence or scoff with contempt at the UCI, cycling’s global governing body. The impact that Lance Armstrong has had on the sport is beyond doubt – but whether as one of the greatest champions in the history of the Tour de France or its biggest cheat, protected by the UCI for his marketing appeal, will likely remain the subject of many debates for years to come.

Four years after competing in his last Tour de France and winning the competition for a record seventh time, the lanky Texan will make his comeback, aged 37, looking to add another trophy to his collection and become also its oldest winner. Whether he intended it that way or not, Armstrong will without doubt be the big story overshadowing the biggest competition in the sport of cycling.

Some will cheer him on, inspired by the story of his battle against testicular cancer, others will bemoan the fact that the team he chose to compete for, Astana, has a history of doping scandals. Armstrong’s choice is understandable – Astana is run by Johan Bruyneel, the man who was in charge of the US Postal, and later Discovery Channel, the team with which Armstrong won his seven Tours.

Even though it was before Bruyneel’s time, Astana was invited to leave the 2007 Tour when team leader Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping. In its previous incarnation as Astana-Wurth, five of its riders were implicated in a doping scandal in 2006, but were later cleared by Spanish authorities. Astana sat out the 2008 Tour after organisers refused to invite the team because of its involvement in the 2007 doping scandals.

Some observers have argued that Armstrong’s return, for a team with a "reputation" no less, was an unwelcome distraction.

One person who might privately agree is team-mate Alberto Contador, unable to defend the crown he won in 2007 because the team was barred from participating. This year, Contador might find himself asked to play second fiddle to Armstrong, even though the team insists that the duo share team-leader status. Levi Leipheimer and Yaroslav Popovych are well familiar with such requests, having put in their share of work for Armstrong during their stints with the US Postal/Discovery Channel team.

No such distraction for the other favourites – defending champion Carlos Sastre of Cervélo TestTeam, the winner of the 2009 Giro d’Italia Denis Menchov from Rabobank or the runner-up for the past two years, Cadel Evans from Davitamon-Lotto

The 2009 Tour de France starts with a 15.5km individual time trial on the streets of Monaco and Monte-Carlo on July 4. It will conclude 3445km away,  three weeks later, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.