Levi Leipheimer lines up for Sunday’s start of the Dauphiné Libéré as the defending champion with an eye toward the Tour de France. Last year, he came to the important French race to settle the score. Second overall in 2005 when a long breakaway stole away with the leader’s jersey, Leipheimer was determined make the Dauphiné his own. He became the third American to win in seven years with a smashing performance. This year, the 33-year-old enters with Dauphiné with some important results already in the bag (two stages and overall at Tour of California and two stages at Tour de Georgia), meaning he can ride through the mountainous eight-day route with less pressure. Leipheimer always gives his all, but in 2007, he’s intent on peaking during the Tour. Feeling comfortable back at Discovery Channel following his five-year European odyssey at Rabobank and Gerolsteiner, his confidence is higher than ever. VeloNews recently caught up with Leipheimer to gauge his form ahead of the Dauphiné and measure his expectations for the Tour de France - here are excerpts from that interview: VeloNews.com: How would you characterize your overall fitness at this point of the year compared to the past few seasons? Levi Leipheimer: My fitness this year compared to last year when I won the Dauphine is good but not at the same level as last year at this point. I have had a different racing schedule this year and I have already had a lot of success as well. I am coming off of a break and a few weeks of training, but I haven’t had any racing since the Tour of Georgia. However, I’ve done a lot of quality training this year, thanks to Max Testa, and all that hard work could pay off with more success at the Dauphine. The bottom line is that I am relaxed without any pressure. VN.com: Have you made any major changes with preparation or training ahead of the 2007 Tour? LL: This season has worked out well for me since joining the Discovery Channel team. I feel like I am at home with the team and Johan (Bruyneel). I feel like this is the major change for me this year. VN.com: The Dauphiné has brought some nice successes the past two years, what are your goals and expectations coming into the race this year? Will you try to defend the title or make some tests of form ahead of Tour? LL: Well, you never know how things will turn out, but I have a feeling that this year I will be gaining fitness from the Dauphiné and using it more as training. Last year, I had Catalunya as training and I was on top for the Dauphiné. This year I would like to push that schedule back a few weeks.

VN.com: What will you do between the Dauphiné and the start of the Tour? LL: I will rest and recover from the Dauphiné, then continue to train specifically in the mountains and on my TT bike.

VN.com: Will you or have you already previewed key Tour stages? Which ones? LL: We have already previewed all the mountain stages of the Tour. I believe the Pyrénées are harder than the Alps this year, especially the last mountain stage to the Aubisque. I would like to ride Plateau de Beille again as well as the TT just before it. VN.com: How is your confidence compared to previous years? LL: I improve and grow every year, physically and mentally. Max Testa not only gives me superior training, but he is always preaching the importance of being confident, especially in the time trials. I did a lot of work with Trek and Steve Hed in the wind tunnel, changing my position on the bike and, with Max, in my time trial training and it has really shown. I always try to improve and reach higher, and this year my goal is to finish on the podium and win a stage at the Tour. I always do my best.

VN.com: How far do you think you do can in this year’s Tour? LL: For the 2007 Tour, I expect and plan to perform better than I ever have at the Tour. What that means exactly, I don't know. But I think I would be disappointed if I was not top three given my past performances and my experience with this race. I know I am ready to take that next step.

VN.com: Do you believe you’ve reached a new level? LL: I think 2007 has certainly been my best ever start to a season and my training has gone very well, so in that sense, yes, I think I have reached a new level. This sport is all about experience in training and racing. Your body adapts over a long period of time to the miles of training and racing and I feel that this year I am really in tune with what my body needs to perform at its best in terms of training and nutrition. VN.com: Do you race to win or race to get the best out of yourself?

LL: Depending on the race I would say the answer to this question varies. Sometimes I am not looking to win a race but reach a certain fitness goal. You can’t race to win from Feb to October – nobody can. It’s too long a season and there are too many good guys peaking for too many races. I pick and choose when I want to be at my best and if I can win a few races along the way to my peak, then that’s a bonus. For sure I have goals, like wanting to win the Tour of California. I went into that race with one goal -- to win it – and my Discovery teammates backed me up 110 percent. For the Tour, I will go into it with the goal of trying to win, why not, and the team will be there to help.”

VN.com: What especially motivates you this season? LL: I am motivated in 2007 by the fact that I am back on Discovery Channel (formerly USPS) with staff like Johan and Dirk (Demol) and riders like George (Hincapie). It feels like a homecoming and I am very comfortable in this setting. Riding with these guys and for my directors is special. This entire team is special. The directors, mechanics, soigneurs, etc. -- they are very close, like a family, and there is not the tension you see with other teams. Everyone knows their role and works hard to make sure the riders are taken care of so that they can win races. That is the goal. Everything else is left behind. It sounds simple but it’s not so simple to make happen. Johan has created an incredible environment.