Tour de France Stage Five Odds

MONTARGIS, FRANCE - Stage Five of the Tour de France is an easy 187.5 km ride between Épernay and Montargis that is tailor-made for an exciting sprint finish. There are two innocuous category four climbs at the beginning of the stage, and the finish is fairly safe, with just one potentially hazardous right-handed bend situated 600 metres from the finish. Bookmakers have it as a two horse race between Mark Cavendish and the in-form Alessandro Petacchi.

Coral have cut Petacchi into odds of 9/4 (bet £40 to win £90 profit) and Cav is available to back at 23/10 with Blue Square. Cycling bettors will be wondering why Cavendish remains short in the market despite his horrendous form, but it has to be said that would normally trade at around the 5/6 mark.

Petacchi rolled back the years yesterday to secure his second stage win of the Tour in impressive fashion, despite being 7/1 with Paddy Power in the morning. Quotes of 9/4 reflect the Italian`s stunning form, rather than his age. There is no reason to suggest why he cannot pull off another stage win today, especially after proving that his Brussels win was not simply because his rivals crashed out.

At the odds, Cavendish is again worth opposing, as nothing seems to be going right for the Manx Missile. Yesterday it looked as if Mark Renshaw sent him off too early, and now Cav is 18/1 to win the Green Jersey with Paddy Power.

Punters looking for bigger odds can try backing Thor Hushovd to prevail in the sprint finish at 9/1 with Sky Bet, who makes each-way appeal. Edvald Boasson Hagen came third yesterday and also looks like a bet at 16/1 with Blue Square.

16/1 Óscar Freire is due a stage win sometime, and the one for money this morning has been Robbie McEwen, who was cut by Bet 365 to 13/1 from 15/1.

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