The prospect of Bradley Wiggins defending his Tour de France title appears to be fading after Team Sky's principal Dave Brailsford admitted he is still undecided over the team leader position in 2013.
And, with the route possibly favouring his team-mate Chris Froome, Wiggins added to the sense that he will not attempt to repeat last year's victory by saying: "For me it was all about winning the Tour once."
Brailsford, speaking in Paris where the Tour will conclude with a night-time finish on the Champs Elysées on 21 July, told Sky: "We had the first- and second-placed riders in last year's Tour and it puts us in an interesting position for sure going in to next year's planning.
"Bradley is the reigning champion but the whole excitement about today is to see what the course is like and that will dictate our plans for the team next year.
"Once we have established what the course is like then we'll make sure we lay our resources to the best of our ability so that a Team Sky jersey is the best placed to cross the line or win the race overall.
Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour
"It's not about one rider or another but about the team, to put our best team out to try and win the race."
Mark Cavendish won the final stage for a fourth successive occasion in Paris but his spell at Sky lasted just one year and he announced his plans to join Omega Pharma-QuickStep.
Brailsford confirmed the team were solely focused on the yellow jersey, adding: "That's the plan.
Wiggins could target the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour
"Mark did a brilliant job for us but from a sporting perspective it is only fair Mark has a team dedicated to him for sprints. Likewise if you are going to sacrifice that, if you are going to sacrifice the best sprinter in the world, you are going to do that with the view of trying to win the race overall."
Brailsford now expects Team Sky to be the team everyone wants to beat, saying: "Without a doubt. When you set the standard people want to try and knock you off the perch.
"It's a great position to be in and now it is a question of sustaining that."