Contador to shed time in GC with TdF Stage 10 win in Pyrenees
Published:Bastille Day in France sees the Tour head into the first really mountainous stage of the race, Stage 10, where the riders will be faced with a quartet of category one climbs before finishing on a really tough slope to La Planche des Belles Filles.
The betting for the stage sees the two main protagonists to claim the Yellow jersey come the end, set to battle it out – in what is seen as a critical stage to win in the General Classification stakes.
Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins before him both took control of the Yellow jersey at this stage of the race in the past two years.
Without either Brit present, double Tour champion Alberto Contador is the 7/4 favourite to take the honours, while second stage winner Vincenzo Nibali is a 5/1 chance.
Frenchman Tony Galopin’s exertions on stage nine may have earned him the Maillot Jaune for now, but with eyes on this key stage in the Pyrenees, both Contador and Nabili were content to conserve their energies.
Contador, Team Tinkoff-Saxo’s main man and Astana’s principle hope, Nabili, finished stage nine side by side in the second of two pelatons behind runaway winner Tony Martin.
This stage however is where many observers – including Ladbrokes – expect El Pistolero to make his move.
Plateau des Belles is after all a stage one of the most revered climbers the sport has known has won here en-route to his first Tour victory in 2007.
Nabili will be hard to shake, but Contador’s pedigree and recent commanding performances when holding the Yellow jersey from beginning to end in the Tour of Basque Country, suggests the 31-year-old is back to his best.
Team Sky’s Richie Porte is certainly worth a few pennies at 12/1 considering his climbing abilities and the spotlight being on the Australian in Froome’s absence.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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