Tour de France Stage 17 Odds and Betting Preview

PAU, FRANCE - We have already seen three Tour de France stages this year in the gruelling Pyrenees. We have seen Alberto Contador feature right at the head of the market in each of the three stages. Yet we have seen all three stages won by Frenchmen in breakaways. Should Stage 17 be any different? The betting certainly thinks so, as this has been the stage billed to decide the winner of this year`s edition of La Grande Boucle.

The vast majority of punters will think that Stage 17 has `Alberto Contador` written all over it. On the menu are two category one climbs and then the colossal hors-category Col du Tourmalet for dessert. Much of the talk will be about the 2,115 metre-high Tourmalet, but there may already be casualties after the Col de Marie-Blanque, which begins 46.5km into the stage from the start in Pau. The ascent of Marie-Blanque is 10km long, averaging a 7.6 per cent gradient, which could catch out some riders after the rest day.

By the time the peloton reach the Col de Marie-Blanque, it will be fascinating to see whether a breakaway has already been established - and more importantly, who is in it. Will Christophe Moreau try and attack Anthony Charteau for the polka dot jersey? Will Thor Hoshovd win the first intermediate sprint in Bidos? Can Lance Armstrong make another bid for glory? Can Damiano Cunego triumph for once? Et cetera.

For most punters, those questions are just sub-plots to an intriguing Stage 17, which is a match bet between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck in the betting market - the two best riders in the field. Contador is as shorts as evens with William Hill, who give him a 50 per cent chance of winning, but Betfred are sticking their neck out by offering the top-price of 2/1 (bet £10 to win £20 profit) about the Spaniard sauntering up the Col du Tourmalet.

Schleck is quite rightly the second favourite at 9/4 with Paddy Power and Ladbrokes, but cycling bettors may fancy backing an outsider to upstage them, as has been the case for the last three stages in the Pyrenees. Schleck was unlucky to lose 39 seconds to Contador when his chain slipped in Stage 16, but he will be hoping that the cycling gods smile on him as he begins pedalling up the Tourmalet.

The market is made up of only the best climbers in the peloton, and the third favourite to win Stage 17 is Denis Menchov at 14/1 with Stan James, who is now down to 40/1 from a high of 300/1 on Betfair to win the Tour de France this year. Menchov has been keeping a very low profile thus far but bounced right back into contention with a ninth place in Stage 15. If you fancy him to win Stage 17 it would be criminal not to back the Russian to win his first Tour.

Samuel Sánchez, 120/1 to win the Tour, is next in the Stage 17 betting at 20/1 with Ladbrokes. Punters should remember that the bookies are all offering three places on each-way bets.

Then it is a big leap in the market to Stage 12 winner, Joaquim Rodríguez, who is at 40/1 with Irish bookie Paddy Power.

Belgium`s Jurgen Van Den Broeck is a climbing specialist, also at 40/1, but one of the best Stage 17 punts has to be Carlos Sastre at 45/1 on Betfair. Sastre has done brilliantly to help team-mate Thor Hushovd through the Pyrenees, but the time has come to win a stage for the 2008 Tour winner. It may be a good omen for Sastre`s backers that he took Stage 17 in the 2006 and 2008 editions of the great race.

Tour de France Stage 17 betting odds

Tour de France winner betting odds

Tour de France green jersey betting odds

Tour de France King of the Mountains betting odds

Other Tour de France Betting Previews