Tour de France: What’s left to play for in the final week
Published:
It seems like only yesterday that the 2016 Tour de France rode off from Mont Saint-Michel, but already the cycle down the Champs-Elysees is in sight. So the question is, who is in line to win this year’s Classifications?
A number of mountain stages across the Alps still remain, but it looks as if most of this year’s leaders already have one arm up the Jersey sleeve.
In the fight for Yellow, Reigning champion Chris Froome has enjoyed a fine Tour, with his all-round ability leaving rivals trailing in his wake.
The Team SKY rider is 1/10 to land a third Tour victory, and holds a lead of 1 minute 47 seconds ahead of the five remaining stages.
Colombian Nairo Quintana has been largely absent, and at 14/1 the 25-year-old will have to really pull it out of the bag if he’s to usurp Froome so late in the day.
However, with plenty of opportunity to claw back some of his 2 minute 59 seconds deficit in the Alps, the team Movistar rider won’t be conceding defeat just yet.
Peter Sagan’s victory on Monday’s Stage 16 saw the Slovakian build an unassailable lead for the Green Jersey, for what will incredibly be his fifth straight year as champion.
Poland’s Rafal Majka is the 1/3 favourite to be crowned King of the Mountains and wear the polka dot jersey, but again, with a number of challenging climbs to come, the TINKOFF rider can’t get carried away.
Should anyone overhaul Majka, the bookies fancy Froome to repeat his 2015 heroics by claiming the red and white jersey at 10/1.
Team Movistar hold a 6 minute 29 seconds advantage over Team SKY in the Team battle, with the current leaders 1/4 and the likes of Froome and Geraint Thomas 9/2 to turn the fight around in the closing stages.
And then there’s the Young Riders Classification, which has been dominated by Britain’s 24-year-old Adam Yates.
The Orica-BikeExchange rider has led the White Jersey fight since Stage 7, and is in the hunt for a podium in the General Classification too, having been 50/1 pre-Tour.
It’s 1/4 Yates picks up the Youth award, with a 3 minute and 3 seconds advantage over his nearest challenger, Dutch rider Louis Meintjes.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
