Lance has given other riders on his team a chance to shine, for example Floyd Landis won the Tour Portugal with Lance supporting him.
The team to watch for this year I believe is Liberty Seguros. Yeah I said Heras would make the podium last year, and it didn't actually happen (or come close). However, Liberty is stronger than any Once team and with one of the time trials being up hill, this could be Heras' best chance for a podium finish.
I'm kind of upset about David Millar being kicked out of the tour. I was hoping to see some good competition in the time trials, other than Armstrong and Ullrich. Nozal however might be able to provide that. I'm also excited to see Cipolini finally get invited. How a division one team with the reigning world champion didn't get invited last year is beyond me, but assuming someone doesn't crash him out of the tour, he should provide some good competition for Petachi.