Kicking myself this evening for putting up a thread on this last night. I had a real sneaky suspiscion that the first day of climbing would see Team Sky attack seriously and that's exactly what happened. They are in the Pyrenees again tomorrow and it would be no surprise to me to see FROOME smash it up on the climbs again. He is the best climber on the Tour with teammate Richie Porte his nearest challenger. In last years Tour there were times when Froome could have ridden right away from Wiggins but his job was to support his team leader which is exactly what he did. Porte will be having to do the same although it wouldn't surprise me at some point if Froome were to allow his teammate a little glory. For tomorrow though FROOME looks worth a punt to win Stage Nine at a tasty 7-1. 20-1 with WILLIAM HILL, definitely worth a punt
Well I thought 7's was a decent early price but BET365 are now going 28-1. That's gotta be worth a little fun bet surely!
Today's race 4 category 1's in it, and that will not be for the faint hearted...!!! I think it will be a day of consolidation for Froome and i would be surprised if they attacked the peleton like they did yesterday. In saying that Team Sky might put a strangle hold on the front of the peleton and basically grind the rest into the dust. Something they did very well last year for Wiggins... I should have noticed your point as well Stick, as Froome looked good in the mountains last year if you remember, and even took on one of the climbs with Wiggins in tow... I think today will be set for a breakaway of a few lesser riders, with the peleton closing in near the end but not doing enough to catch them... Mollema @ 50/1... Kadri @ 80/1... It will make for fascinating watching today, especially with 4 cat 1's to climb... Good luck to you Stick...
Sounds like it was a tough day today for Team Sky and Froome has done brilliantly to retain the yellow jersey. They will be chuffed that its a rest day tomorrow! Stage 10 looks very likely to be set up for a sprint so take your pick from Cav, Sagan and Greipel.
8/15 never looks a good price but when the rider looks a 1/3 shot then he shouldn't be opposed. Germany's TONY MARTIN has won the last two World Time Trial Championships and Stage 10 of this years Tour is a perfectly flat and friendly 33K time trial. MARTIN will win and FROOME will most likely be a couple of seconds behind in second place!
A tactical day in store tomorrow and almost certainly a sprint finish. The usual protagonists will be to the fore and after todays shenanigans you feel compelled that Cavendish will rise to the occasion. Only 11/8 but he is going to want this stage more than any before. Go Cav!
If Cavendish hits the front in the last few hundred metres he wins. That's the way it has been for many years now but today he got caught close home and beaten 1/2 a wheel by KITTEL. Fair and square too. Tomorrow the usual cat and mouse will be played out before a similar sprint finish unfolds. Cavendish will be there as will Greipel. Sagan will be protecting his massive points lead and making sure he finishes the day healthy. The new kid on the block may however hold sway where it matters again and take his third stage victory. The bet; MARCEL KITTEL @ 5/2 to win Stage 13
So if I pick Cav he gets done on the line and if I oppose him he wins. Well done him and you can be sure it wont be his last stage win this year. It's becoming an intrigueing race with Team Sky looking weaker and weaker by the day. With Boassen-Hagen and Kiryienka out they are down to seven, one of them racing with a fracture. Other teams can smell blood and even easy stages like todays can end up proving costly. The 1/4 about Froome looks grossly exaggerated. RadioShack and Belkin have strong teams that could quite easily serve up a victory for the likes of LARS BOOM and JAN BAKELANTS. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of these two on the podium this weekend. At some point Saxo are going to make their move and when it comes Sky may well be found wanting. CONTADOR is going to get his moment at some point and I think it could be sooner rather than later!
How soul destroying must that have been first for Contador and then for Quintano. I thought for a while I was going to be proved right and Saxo were in a perfect position to deliver Contador a stage win but Richie Porte and Froome had other ideas. In all my years of watching different sports it was possibly the most breathtaking performance I have ever seen from a man. He was the human version of Frankel today. Another proud day to be a British sports fan!
