In cycling's weird and unique lexicon there are some strange phrases.

"He was cooked, suffered the bonk and ended up in the broom wagon" for example roughly translates as "he was tired, his blood sugar level dropped and he withdrew from the race."

To the lycra-clad hardmen of the peloton there are few worse insults than being labelled a wheelsucker' - the derogatory term used for a rider who stays behind others' wheels so he can conserve his own efforts.

Australian Cadel Evans, Lance Armstrong's tip to win this year's Tour de France, is still smarting from the allegation made by Alexandre Vinokourov last year that he never attacks.

Evans has a reputation for avoiding controversy and interviews that can border on the taciturn. But call him a wheelsucker and he gets really angry.

"When did Miguel Indurain attack during the Tour? I can only think of one time ever," said Evans. "This talk gets a bit boring after a while. Why should I attack guys who are better climbers than me, what's the point?

"Miguel is my role model. He would blast away in the time trials but keep things cool and steady in the mountains. I started watching the Tour when he was winning, his game plan worked for five years, so it can't be a bad one to follow.

"My job is to win the Tour and to do that I need to work towards my strengths, not my weaknesses. People don't understand what cycling is about - or at least they've never been in contention to win the Tour."

Evans started the season with some impressive performances, although likely rivals Alejandro Valverde and Damiano Cunego performed better in the Ardennes classics.

But his Tour experience - eighth, fourth and second in the last three years - is a major factor, as is the absence of 2007 winner Alberto Contador, his Astana team is banned for a series of drug scandals before he signed for them.

The spectre of doping continues to hang heavy over the peloton as it gathers in Brittany, Contador may not be here but his and Astana's name remains a key talking point.

Last year's race was blighted by a series of positive tests and the withdrawal of then leader Michael Rasmussen, who has since had his racing licence revoked for missing three out-of-competition tests.

Evans hopes this year's renewal will not return down a familiar road of controversy, but wearily acknowledges no-one can guarantee the race will be clean. "As professional cyclists, we are by far the most controlled and tested individuals on the planet from any profession anywhere in the world," he said.

"Whether it is 100% clean, I don't think anyone can guarantee. Some people cheat, unfortunately that is the way of the world, it's human nature and I can't control other people's actions. But everything that science and the law can do is done to us cyclists and sometimes a little bit beyond when it comes to privacy issues and so on.

"What saddens me most is that if cycling has one positive test of 20,000 drug tests, the whole world knows about it. In other sports they can have 50 and no-one knows anything about it."