Oh, the Discovery team will absolutely send a team to the Tour, as Mary mentioned they have to as part of the new Pro Tour set up. I believe as part of the Pro Tour agreement they must participate in all 3 Grand Tours (TdF, Giro and Vuelta), and a variety of other events on the Pro Tour schedule - with or without Lance.

But the fact is, if Lance isn't competing in the Tour, odds are the coverage in the US would be significantly less than if he were competing, which is a shame. IMHO of course.