Well for those of you who are interested.
He did come out of retirement to raise the awareness of cancer, and for the first time ever wanted to win the Giro Italia, he was preparing to enter the race when he had a bad fall and broke his collar bone. His training for the Giro was ruined and he knew it. The suggestion was that now he was training in the race to ready himself for the tour de france. He did a creditable job, and finished 12th overall, helping his team leader Levi Leipheimer into 6th in the process.
So can he win the tour? Probably not. Training in the Giro isnt ideal at all, theres also an upheaval at his team 'astana' who its rumoured are about to fold. That said, i thought he'd be out of the top 20 in the Giro with barely any training, so maybe, given a month of intense climbs he can get ready, who knows.
If you want a bet, put it on Cavendish being allowed to complete the tour and winning the green jersey in Paris. I think he's ready to go the distance, he was withdrawn from the Giro for specialist intensive training in order for him to complete the tour, and i believe he can do it, and if he stays the course hes a shoe in for the green jersey, hes the best sprinter in the world, and can prove it over there. Good luck on ventoux Mark, you're gonna need it.
Basso - Yellow
Cav - Green
Armstrong - 5th