Tour de France 2015

The biggest cycling competition in the world is about to start, here are a few facts:

- Starts on Saturday July 4th, ends on Sunday July 26th 2015

- This is the 102th edition of the Tour de France

- 21 stages, total distance of 3,360 kilometres.

- 9 flat stages, 3 hill stages, 7 mountain stages with 5 altitude finishes, 1 individual time-trial stage, 1 team time-trial stage, 2 rest days

In this edition Alberto Contador will try a historic double, aiming to become the first rider since 1998 to win both Giro and Tour in the same year.

Now here are some outright odds at Bet Victor:

Tour Winner

Christopher Froome - 3

Nairo Quintana - 3.25

Alberto Contador - 5

Vincenzo Nibali - 6

Thibaut Pinot - 26

Team Classification

Sky - 4

Movistar - 4

Astana - 5.5

AG2R La Mondiale - 6.5

Tinkoff-Saxo - 7

Points Classification

Peter Sagan - 1.909

Alexander Kristoff - 4

Mark Cavendish - 5

John Degenkolb - 10

Bryan Coquard - 21

King of the Mountains

Nairo Quintana - 5.5

Pierre Rolland - 8.5

Christopher Froome - 10

Alberto Contador - 11

Joaquim Rodriguez - 15

Young Rider Classification

Nairo Quintana - 1.5

Thibaut Pinot - 5.5

Romain Bardet - 9

Simon Yates - 19

Wilco Kelderman - 26

Good luck and enjoy the Tour!

Thanks for this topic Johnny :-bd I'm exited and so inpatient to see the biggest cycling race in the world to get started. The expectations are huge and I hope we will see a  fierce battle between 3 or 4 riders for the general standings. I'm not  agree with the bookies who gives Contador a smaller chances than Quintana but will see. Anyway have to be a great tour and I hope that  we wont see again last years falls  from Froome and Contador.

I'm not  agree with the bookies who gives Contador a smaller chances than Quintana but will see.

Contador is a better rider than any of the other contenders, but the big unknown is his condition after three hard weeks at the Giro d'Italia. I'm quite curious to see in what kind of shape he is.

Stage one coming up today, it's more of a prologue than an actual stage. It will be an individual time trial on a 14km route inside the Dutch city of Utrecht, flat as a pancake.

I think Tom Dumoulin has a good chance today, he is Dutch and will be determined to go full gas in order to clinch a win on his home roads. Tony Martin is surely the best time-trialist out there but this stage might be a bit too short for him.

Here are the odds for the stage win at BetVictor:

Tony Martin - 1.909

Tom Dumoulin - 4

Fabian Cancellara - 9

Adriano Malori - 17

Alex Dowsett - 21

Rohan Dennis - 23

Michal Kwiatkowski - 26

Matthias Brandle - 34

Good luck!

Quite a surprise in stage 1, Rohan Dennis was the fastest and will be the first to wear the yellow jersey in this year's edition of the Tour de France. Here is today's top 10:

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:14:56

2 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step +0:00:05

3 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing +0:00:06

4 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin +0:00:08

5 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +0:00:15

6 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team +0:00:23

7 Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling +0:00:23

8 Adriano Malori (Ita) Movistar Team +0:00:29

9 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +0:00:30

10 Stephen Cummings (GBr) MTN - Qhubeka +0:00:32

Among the big overall classification contenders Vincenzo Nibali was the fastest today, he gained 7 seconds on Chris Froome, 15 on Alberto Contador and 18 on Nairo Quintana.

Sunday's stage is a flat one, so in theory it should favour a mass sprint at the finish and a battle between the world's strongest sprinters. However, the peloton will travel close to the sea during the final kilometers of the stage and there's a high probability of strong winds there, so surprises and unexpected attacks might happen.

Here are the odds for stage two at BetVictor:

Mark Cavendish - 2

Andre Greipel - 6

Alexander Kristoff - 6

Nacer Bouhanni - 13

Peter Sagan - 13

Arnaud Demare - 17

John Degenkolb - 17

Bryan Coquard - 26

George Bennett - 29

 

Among the big overall classification contenders Vincenzo Nibali was the fastest today, he gained 7 seconds on Chris Froome, 15 on Alberto Contador and 18 on Nairo Quintana.

It was interesting time trial and I'm surprised that Quintana was only 11 seconds behind Froome. In fact Pineau and Van Garderen was the fastest from the top ten contenders, but quite short stage and all of them in around 20 seconds.

I'm not  agree with the bookies who gives Contador a smaller chances than Quintana but will see.

 

Contador is a better rider than any of the other contenders, but the big unknown is his condition after three hard weeks at the Giro d'Italia. I'm quite curious to see in what kind of shape he is.

Definitely agree Johny, Although I like to think that he is no better than Froome ;) The condition will be keen factor for Contador and with so many mountain stages the lost seconds in the first stage are nothing really.

Sunday's stage is a flat one, so in theory it should favour a mass sprint at the finish and a battle between the world's strongest sprinters. However, the peloton will travel close to the sea during the final kilometers of the stage and there's a high probability of strong winds there, so surprises and unexpected attacks might happen.

 

Yes it could be quite tricky stage because of the wind, the top riders have to be up front in the peloton or they risking to loose time. Hope we will see some action.  :z

Tricky stage today, as expected. Andre Greipel won the stage, taking advantage of an error from Mark Cavendish who launched the sprint way too early.

But the big news is that Chris Froome and Alberto Contador gained significant advantages over their overall classification rivals, both Antonio Nibali and Nairo Quintana were caught behind after a crash and due to the strong wind they were unable to get back into the group with the Tinkoff and Sky riders. The yellow jersey was also caught behind, so Fabian Cancellara is the new overall race leader.

Stage 2 classification

1. GREIPEL André (LOTTO-SOUDAL) 03h 29' 03''

2. SAGAN Peter (TINKOFF-SAXO) + 00' 00''

3. CANCELLARA Fabian (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 00' 00''

4. CAVENDISH Mark (ETIXX-QUICK STEP) + 00' 00''

5. OSS Daniel (BMC RACING TEAM) + 00' 00''

Overall classification after Stage 2

1. CANCELLARA Fabian 03h 44' 01''

2. MARTIN Tony + 00' 03''

3. DUMOULIN Tom + 00' 06''

4. SAGAN Peter 03h 44' 34'' + 00' 33''

5. THOMAS Geraint + 00' 35''

6. OSS Daniel + 00' 42''

7. URAN URAN Rigoberto + 00' 42''

8. VAN GARDEREN Tejay + 00' 44''

9. VAN AVERMAET Greg + 00' 48''

10. FROOME Christopher + 00' 48''

14. ESPCONTADOR Alberto + 01' 00''

28. GESINK Robert + 01' 59''

30. MOLLEMA Bauke + 02' 03''

31. PINOT Thibaut + 02' 07''

33. NIBALI Vincenzo + 02' 09''

41. PÉRAUD Jean-Christophe + 02' 25''

44. QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander 03h 46' 28'' + 02' 27''

55. TALANSKY Andrew + 02' 41''

71. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin + 02' 52''

170. ROLLAND Pierre + 06' 48''

Very interesting indeed, Nibali, Quintana and Pinot ,all are the biggest losers from today. I think there was falling that separate the group but the wind was also a big  factor. Van Garderen and Uran was also in the first group, so well done to them. Also 4 seconds between Froome and Contador at the finish which is more important of psychological point of view really. We just couldn't ask for more interesting start of the tour. :-bd

I think there was falling that separate the group but the wind was also a big  factor.

Yes, Adam Hansen fell and that incident split the group, then with the wind it was impossible for those behind to get back since those at the front went full gas in order to make the gap as big as possible.

I don't watch cycling often but this is very exciting even for me. My favorites didn't had great start but never mind... :)

Stage 3 will surely be highly entertaining as it features two short but brutally tough climbs in the final kilometres. The finish will be at the top of Mur de Huy, a climb which is just 1.3 km long but has an average gradient of 9.6%. We will see attacks, probably even from the likes of Nibali or Quintana, who lost time to their rivals on Sunday.

Here are the odds for Stage 3 at BetVictor:

Alejandro Valverde 2/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 11/2

Daniel Martin 7/1

Michael Albasini 16/1

Peter Sagan 20/1

Michal Kwiatkowski 25/1

Julian Arredondo 33/1

Simon Gerrans 33/1

Simon Yates 33/1

Bauke Mollema 40/1

Vincenzo Nibali 40/1

Good luck!

Stage 3 will surely be highly entertaining as it features two short but brutally tough climbs in the final kilometres. The finish will be at the top of Mur de Huy, a climb which is just 1.3 km long but has an average gradient of 9.6%. We will see attacks, probably even from the likes of Nibali or Quintana, who lost time to their rivals on Sunday.

Probably we'll see some sparks between the favourites, It's appropriate finish for Valverde and Purito but I saw that the odds for Nibali are quite decent 40/1 !! Definitely worth a try if you are brave or crazy enough. 8p

Hectic stage today, the race was neutralized for a while after a terrible mass crash in the peloton (video HERE). That crash also involved Fabian Cancellara, who lost the yellow jersey because of it and might even retire from the race if he doesn't recover before tomorrow's stage.

Joaquim "Purito" Rodriguez took the stage win, he was by far the strongest on the Mur de Huy while Valverde was not even close. Among the overall classification contenders Chris Froome was the most impressive, he gained a few seconds on Nibali, Quintana and Contador and also clinched the yellow jersey. Tejay Van Garderen also did a solid job to finish alongside Nibali and Quintana.

Stage 3 results

1 Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP) Team Katusha 3:26:54

2 Christopher Froome (GBR) Team Sky +0:00

3 Alexis Vuillermoz (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +00:04

4 Daniel Martin (IRL) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +0:05

5 Tony Gallopin (FRA) Lotto Soudal +0:08

6 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +0:11

7 Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana Pro Team +0:11

8 Simon Yates (GBR) Orica GreenEdge +0:11

9 Nairo Quintana (COL) Movistar Team +0:11

10 Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek Factory Racing +0:11

Overall Classification after Stage 3

1 Christopher Froome (GBR) Team Sky 7:11:37

2 Tony Martin (GER) Etixx - Quick-Step +0:01

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +0:13

4 Tony Gallopin (FRA) Lotto Soudal +0:26

5 Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing Team +0:28

6 Peter Sagan (SVK) Tinkoff-Saxo +0:31

7 Rigoberto Uran (COL) Etixx - Quick-Step +0:34

8 Alberto Contador (ESP) Tinkoff-Saxo +0:36

9 Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky +1:03

10 Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Etixx - Quick-Step +1:04

Hectic stage today, the race was neutralized for a while after a terrible mass crash in the peloton (video HERE). That crash also involved Fabian Cancellara, who lost the yellow jersey because of it and might even retire from the race if he doesn't recover before tomorrow's stage.

 

Joaquim "Purito" Rodriguez took the stage win, he was by far the strongest on the Mur de Huy while Valverde was not even close. Among the overall classification contenders Chris Froome was the most impressive, he gained a few seconds on Nibali, Quintana and Contador and also clinched the yellow jersey. Tejay Van Garderen also did a solid job to finish alongside Nibali and Quintana.

 

I've had never seen a race to be neutralized so far because of a crash. Chris Froome was awesome and take advantage on all his opponents. Very similar to the last years Nibali ride when he dominated from the very early stages  on the tour. A little too early for Sky to defend the Yellow Jersey from now on but Froome looks great and my only wish is Chris to avoid any crashes.

I've had never seen a race to be neutralized so far because of a crash.

Yeah, it was quite strange. It seems there were no ambulances left behind the peloton as all of them were involved in dealing with the riders that were injured in the crash. So they decided to wait until they were able to provide decent medical assistance in case of another crash. I think it was a wise decision.

Stage 4 coming up today, it will surely be one to remember. The riders will have to face 223.5km, so a rather long route, but the biggest problem will be the seven cobblestone sections. Riding through those will be extremely difficult, more so since most of them are slightly uphill.

We should see some changes in the general classification today...

Here are the odds for the stage win at BetVictor:

John Degenkolb 7/2

Alexander Kristoff 6/1

Peter Sagan 6/1

Zdenek Stybar 8/1

Sep Vanmarcke 8/1

Greg Van Avermaet 10/1

Andre Greipel 14/1

Mark Cavendish 16/1

Lars Boom 25/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen 25/1

Good luck!

Tony Martin won stage four, he managed to cling on to the front group on the cobbled sectors and then attacked in the final kilometers with his amazing strength. He also nicked the yellow jersey off the back of Chris Froome.

The big four favourites arrived together, Nibali tried to attack at some point but Froome, Contador and Quintana managed to remain at his wheel. The top part of the general classification will most likely stay unchanged until Sunday's team time-trial.

Stage 4 results

1 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step 5:28:58

2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin +00:03

3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka

6 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

7 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha

8 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal

9 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step

10 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar

Overall classification after stage 4

1 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step 12:40:26

2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky +00:12

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +00:25

4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +00:38

5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:39

6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team +00:40

7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +00:46

8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:48

9 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +01:15

10 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:16

11 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +01:19

12 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +01:44

13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +01:50

14 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +01:51

15 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo +02:03

16 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +02:03

17 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +02:08

18 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha +02:12

19 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +02:19

20 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +02:51

Tony Martin won stage four, he managed to cling on to the front group on the cobbled sectors and then attacked in the final kilometers with his amazing strength. He also nicked the yellow jersey off the back of Chris Froome.

 

The big four favourites arrived together, Nibali tried to attack at some point but Froome, Contador and Quintana managed to remain at his wheel. The top part of the general classification will most likely stay unchanged until Sunday's team time-trial.

 

Well done to Tony Martin, I think he wears the Yellow Jersey for a first time in his career at the tour and deservedly so. It's also a great scenario for Team Sky, they didn't have to throw too much of an effort in the next days during the flat stages.

Well done to Tony Martin, I think he wears the Yellow Jersey for a first time in his career at the tour and deservedly so.

Yes, it's his first ever yellow jersey and he really wanted it right from day one when most people were expecting him to win the prologue. He fully deserves it.

Today's stage 5 is definitely one for the sprinters, flat and fairly long. The teams of the best sprinters will surely keep the race under control and at the finish we'll see a nice battle between the likes of Cavendish, Greipel, Degenkolb and Sagan.

Here are the odds for stage 5 at BetVictor:

Mark Cavendish 13/8

Andre Greipel 3/1

Alexander Kristoff 6/1

Peter Sagan 9/1

Nacer Bouhanni 10/1

John Degenkolb 14/1

Bryan Coquard 28/1

Arnaud Demare 33/1

Sam Bennett 40/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen 66/1

mmm ... Always tricky to bet on people on a bike ...

But then again; we can bet on everything ... So lets start haha

What is a good site to bet ?! Unibet?

mmm ... Always tricky to bet on people on a bike ...

But then again; we can bet on everything ... So lets start haha

What is a good site to bet ?! Unibet?

As you can see I have recommended the odds at BetVictor. And I'd bet on Cavendish today ;)

It seems there will be rain and strong crosswinds today, might be another hectic stage with some surprises concerning the overall classification! ;)

Andre Greipel clinched his second win at this year's edition of the Tour de France, he defeated Sagan and Cavendish at the final sprint. There was wind and rain, the peloton split into two sections but all the big favourites managed to remain in front.

Stage 5 results

1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 4:39:00

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

3 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step

4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha

5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka

6 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

7 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr

8 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar

9 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida

10 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

General classification after stage 5

1 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step 17:19:26

2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky +00:12

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +00:25

4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:33

5 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +00:38

6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team +00:40

7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +00:46

8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:48

9 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +01:15

10 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:16

11 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +01:19

12 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +01:44

13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +01:50

14 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +01:51

15 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo +02:03

16 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +02:03

17 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +02:08

18 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha +02:12

19 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +02:19

20 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +02:51

Nine riders have withdrawn from the race so far:

BOUHANNI Nacer

BAUER Jack

SCHILLINGER Andreas

CANCELLARA Fabian

IMPEY Daryl

GERRANS Simon

KOZONTCHUK Dmitry

DUMOULIN Tom

BONNET William

Stage 6 is another day for the riders that can go very fast in a sprint but the finish is not suited for a regular sprinter, it's for those who can develop high speeds on a hill. There is a 900m long climb with an average gradient of 7% just before the finish, the perfect ground for the likes of Sagan or Valverde.

Here are the odds for stage 6 at BetVictor:

Peter Sagan 7/4

John Degenkolb 5/1

Greg Van Avermaet 9/1

Tony Gallopin 14/1

Alexander Kristoff 14/1

Alejandro Valverde 16/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen 16/1

Mark Cavendish 20/1

Davide Cimolai 20/1

Good luck!

Zdenek Stybar won today's stage, he managed to get a slight advantage on the last climb and then held on to it until the finish line even though the guys behind were not too far back. Peter Sagan claims yet another place on the podium but I'm sure he'd trade all those for just one win.

Stage 6 results

1 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step 4:53:46

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:02

3 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar

4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

6 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal

7 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN - Qhubeka

8 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida

9 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

10 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team

The general classification remains unchanged but Tony Martin, the yellow jersey, might have to pull out of the race as he crashed inside the last kilometer and apparently broke his collarbone or his left shoulder. We'll find out soon enough whether he can continue the Tour or not.

UPDATE

X-rays have confirmed that Tony Martin fractured his left collarbone. The rider is refusing to quit the Tour de France though, he will try to continue despite the fracture and the obvious pain.

UPDATE

 

X-rays have confirmed that Tony Martin fractured his left collarbone. The rider is refusing to quit the Tour de France though, he will try to continue despite the fracture and the obvious pain.

Hope that he will stay in the tour, or at least he will try to do it. I think the crash was by he's own fault and he bring some of the favourites down with him. Hope they  are all fine. Obviously we cant see a day in the tour without some crashes.

 

Hope that he will stay in the tour, or at least he will try to do it.

He will surely try but riding with a fractured collarbone will surely be extremely painful.

Today's stage 7 is a perfect one for the sprinters, 190km long and without any serious hills, should be fast and furious at the finish.

Here are the odds for stage 7 at BetVictor:

Andre Greipel 2/1

Mark Cavendish 11/4

Peter Sagan 4/1

Alexander Kristoff 13/2

John Degenkolb 15/2

Bryan Coquard 25/1

Arnaud Demare 33/1

Edvald Boasson Hagen 33/1

Good luck!

Tony Martin had to pull out of the race after all, he has to undergo surgery for the fractured collarbone. Chris Froome is back in the yellow jersey.

Tony Martin had to pull out of the race after all, he has to undergo surgery for the fractured collarbone. Chris Froome is back in the yellow jersey.

In fact Chris don't wear the yellow for today's stage so it's quite unique situation without leader's jersey. woo

In fact Chris don't wear the yellow for today's stage so it's quite unique situation without leader's jersey. woo

I remember it happened once in 2007, Michael Rasmussen was the leader but he was sent home for a doping violation. Contador was second in the overall classification but didn't wear the yellow jersey in the first day after Rasmussen was sent home.

Mark Cavendish finally grabbed his first win at this year's Tour de France, this time he timed his sprint perfectly to beat Andre Greipel. Peter Sagan collected yet another podium finish.

Stage 7 results

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step 4:27:25

2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal

3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha

6 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr

7 Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN - Qhubeka

8 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka

9 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida

10 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18

Overall classification after stage 7

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 26:40:51

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:11

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +00:13

4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +00:26

5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team +00:28

6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +00:34

7 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:36

8 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step +00:52

9 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +01:03

10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +01:07

Chris Froome is big favurite for the win for me.In my opinion,only Sagan or Contador could be threats for him.

Chris Froome is big favurite for the win for me.In my opinion,only Sagan or Contador could be threats for him.

Sagan? It would be a miracle for him to finish inside the top 20.

Today's stage 8 will be a hilly one, and it will be won by a rider that can go full gas over the last climb, the Mur de Bretagne. The last two km of the stage will be uphill and it will be difficult for the riders as they will have to slow down to take a right hand hairpin turn just before the climb.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

Peter Sagan 7/2

Alejandro Valverde 5/1

Joaquim Rodriguez 6/1

Christopher Froome 10/1

Tony Gallopin 10/1

Daniel Martin 14/1

Alberto Contador 20/1

Simon Yates 20/1

Alexis Vuillermoz 25/1

Greg Van Avermaet 25/1

Nairo Quintana 25/1

John Degenkolb 25/1

Vincenzo Nibali 28/1

Cyril Gautier 33/1

Good luck!

We have a slightly surprising winner at the end of stage 8, it's Alexis Vuillermoz who captured his first ever stage win at the Tour de France. He attacked on the Mur de Bretagne not once, not twice but three times and the third was the decisive one. In other news, defending champion Vincenzo Nibali was unable to keep up the pace and lost another 10 seconds to his overall classification rivals.

Stage 8 results

1 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 4:20:55

2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +00:05

3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +00:10

4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo

5 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal

6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

7 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge

8 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing

10 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team

General classification after stage 8

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 31:01:56

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:11

3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +00:13

4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +0:26

5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team +0:28

6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +00:34

7 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:36

8 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +01:07

9 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:15

10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +01:32

We have a slightly surprising winner at the end of stage 8, it's Alexis Vuillermoz who captured his first ever stage win at the Tour de France. He attacked on the Mur de Bretagne not once, not twice but three times and the third was the decisive one. In other news, defending champion Vincenzo Nibali was unable to keep up the pace and lost another 10 seconds to his overall classification rivals.

It maybe just 10 seconds loss but looks worrying for Nibali, his  climbing  form don't seem to be good enough at the moment. Still all of the mountain stages ahead and I know it's very early but I think we will see a new winner in this years tour.

Stage 9 will surely bring about some changes in the general classification, it's a 28km long team time trial along a lumpy route with an uphill finish. It's important to know that the team's time is taken on it's fifth best rider at the finish, so the riders will have to be well organised in order to get a good result today. Tejay Van Garderen could nick the yellow jersey off Chris Froome if team BMC ride as well as they are supposed to.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

BMC 21/20

Sky 7/2

Movistar 5/1

Astana 7/1

Etixx-Quick Step 16/1

Tinkoff-Saxo 20/1

LottoNL-Jumbo 50/1

IAM Cycling 50/1

Cannondale-Garmin 66/1

BMC won the team time trial, as expected, but Sky were very close to clinching it as they finished just one second behind (actually it was under a second, about 63 hundreds of a second!)

Team Katusha and Joaquim Rodriguez lost a lot of time today, almost two minutes, while Astana defended themselves fairly well.

Stage 9 results

1 BMC Racing 0:32:15

2 Team Sky +00:01

3 Movistar Team +00:04

4 Tinkoff-Saxo +00:28

5 Astana Pro Team +00:35

6 IAM Cycling +00:38

7 Etixx-QuickStep +00:45

8 Lampre-Merida +00:48

9 Team LottoNL-Jumbo +01:14

10 AG2R LA Mondiale +01:24

11 Trek Factory Racing +01:25

12 Team Cannondale-Gramin +01:29

13 Bora-Argon 18 +01:31

14 FDJ +01:33

15 Lotto Soudal +01:36

16 Team Giant-Alpecin +01:37

17 Team Europcar +01:42

18 Bretagne-Seche Environnement +01:46

19 Team Katusha +01:53

20 MTN-Qhubeka +01:56

21 Cofidis, Solutions Credits +02:32

22 Orica-GreenEdge +04:58

General classification after stage 9

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 31:34:12

2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +00:12

3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team +00:27

4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +00:38

5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +01:03

6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:18

7 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +01:50

8 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +01:52

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +01:59

10 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step +01:59

11 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +02:01

12 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo +02:18

13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +02:22

14 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +02:43

15 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +02:52

16 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing +02:56

17 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +03:30

18 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha +03:52

19 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team +04:17

20 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling +04:32

The riders will have a well-deserved rest day on Monday ahead of the big climbs in the Pyrenees.

BMC won the team time trial, as expected, but  Sky were very close to clinching it as they finished just one second behind (actually it was under a second, about 63 hundreds of a second!)

 

Team Katusha and Joaquim Rodriguez lost a lot of time today, almost two minutes, while Astana defended themselves fairly well.

 

The riders will have a well-deserved rest day on Monday ahead of the big climbs in the Pyrenees.

It was a great and so exiting stage today. In the end expected victory for BMC but I think Team Sky could easily won it,  their fifth man Nicolas Roche who really struggles in the last half kilometer and the all team slow down the speed for him to be able to stay with them. Only 1 second loss for Froome against Tejay and increasing difference against all the other opponents for the yellow jersey.

So it was a great stage for Team sky who are not very convincing in the team time trials from some time but pleasantly surprised me this time.

Stage 10 today, the first real mountain test for the general classification contenders. The final climb will be long and tough, 15.3km at 7.4%, there will be no hiding place for those who can't keep the pace. The general classification will be closer to the truth at the end of this stage.

Here are the odds for Stage 10 at BetVictor:

Chris Froome - 2.88

Nairo Quintana - 3.75

Joaquim Rodriguez - 10

Alberto Contador - 11

Thibaut Pinot - 21

Tejay Van Garderen - 26

Vincenzo Nibali - 26

Pierre Rolland - 34

Good luck!

Stage 10 today, the first real mountain test for the general classification contenders. The final climb will be long and tough, 15.3km at 7.4%, there will be no hiding place for those who can't keep the pace. The general classification will be closer to the truth at the end of this stage.

 

Good luck!

I'm so exited Johnny,  the real tour starts today, and there's no easy stage from now on except for the last one. When I've seen this years profile of the mountain stages I was just scared. It will be so tough for everybody.

I'm so exited Johnny,  the real tour starts today, and there's no easy stage from now on except for the last one. When I've seen this years profile of the mountain stages I was just scared. It will be so tough for everybody.

It will be glorious, I can't wait! :)

Oh, and today we might see plenty of attacks from French riders since it's the 14th of July, their national day.

Chris Froome crushed his rivals today, he dropped them one by one on the final climb. The first to get dropped was Nibali, then Rodriguez, then Contador, then Van Garderen and the last was Quintana, who did his best to limit the damage. Team Sky have also proven their superiority, with Richie Porte finishing second and Geraint Thomas sixth.

Stage 10 results

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 4:22:07

2 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky +00:59

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +01:04

4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +01:33

5 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +02:01

6 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +02:01

7 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge +02:04

8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar +02:04

9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +02:22

10 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +02:28

11 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +02:50

General classification after stage 10

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 35:56:09

2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team +02:52

3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +03:09

4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team +04:01

5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky +04:03

6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo +04:04

7 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal +04:33

8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo +04:35

9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin +06:12

10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team +06:57

Chris Froome crushed his rivals today, he dropped them one by one on the final climb. The first to get dropped was Nibali, then Rodriguez, then Contador, then Van Garderen and the last was Quintana, who did his best to limit the damage. Team Sky have also proven their superiority, with Richie Porte finishing second and Geraint Thomas sixth.

 

Team Sky just smashed the opponents today with 3 riders in the top six. Froome was just amazing, so much better than the others that he almost  make this stage  looks boring :)

Although all of the mountain stages to come, this all ready looks like the race for the second place. Froome itself said that he didn't expect so big difference  to the others contenders. I was shocked too.

Stage 11 features two legendary climbs, Aspin and Tourmalet, both long and steep and also with fast descents once the riders have reached the top. It's ideal ground for ambushes, Froome's rivals might take turns in attacking him if they have the legs to do that.

Here are the odds for the stage at BetVictor:

Alejandro Valverde - 7/1

Christopher Froome - 14/1

Joaquim Rodriguez - 14/1

Ryder Hesjedal - 14/1

Pierre Rolland - 16/1

Nairo Quintana - 18/1

Daniel Martin - 18/1

Vincenzo Nibali - 20/1

Julian Arredondo - 20/1

Rafal Majka - 20/1

Alberto Rui Costa - 20/1

Tony Gallopin - 22/1

Alberto Contador - 25/1

Simon Yates - 25/1

Steven Kruijswijk - 28/1

Thomas Voeckler - 28/1

Good luck!

today willl be very interesting. There is possibility for Froome's rivals to  attack him, I think that Froome wont be at the top today.