Cycling - Tour de France 2017

The 2017 edition of the biggest cycling race on the planet kicks off tomorrow in Germany. This year's Tour de France, the 104th edition of the race, will be made up of 21 stages and will have a total distance of 3,540 kilometres.

We'll have:

- 9 flat stages

- 5 hilly stages

- 5 mountain stages including 3 altitude finishes (La Planche des Belles Filles, Peyragudes, Izoard)

- 2 individual time-trials stages

Here's how the outright general classification winner odds are looking before the start of the race (NetBet):

Chris Froome - 2.20

Richie Porte - 3.00

Nairo Quintana - 7.50

Fabio Aru - 12.50

Alberto Contador - 15.00

Romain Bardet - 19.00

Alejandro Valverde - 21.00

Jakob Fuglsang - 22.00

Rafal Majka - 67.00

Geraint Thomas - 67.00

Johan Esteban Chaves - 67.00

Louis Meintjes - 81.00

Thibaut Pinot - 91.00

Stage 1 will be a 14km time-trial in the German city of Dusseldorf, here are the odds for that stage at NetBet:

Tony Martin - 2.45

Primoz Roglic - 3.15

Jos Van Emden - 6.00

Stefan Kung - 8.50

Jonathan Castroviejo - 18.00

Jasha Sutterlin - 22.50

Steve Cummings - 29.00

Michael Matthews - 33.00

Michal Kwiatkowski - 34.00

Vasil Kiryienka - 34.00

Good luck and enjoy the Tour!

Yes I'm exited about it too Johnny,

I think the natural climbers like Quintana will have the advantage in this tour, the time trials stages are too few, too shoort and too far between...from he other hand Froome not having a great season and looking more vulnerable than ever, so could the Movistar team unites their effort and challenge Sky? I think they could...

Richie Port has been in a good form lately so could he be a contender? I think it's a matter of character  with him, of course Contador wants ..but does he has the legs?

I can't see some of the others winning it but who knows? I hope there will be some new faces in the big game, maybe Aru or the some of the two French guys...Fuglsang won the Deuphine so maybe Astana will have two leaders...the other guy who might influence the race is maybe Chaves...so let's see...

It's quite difficult to predict who will win it this year, Quintana and Froome have very strong teams but Porte seems in excellent shape. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Aru but he will have to do a great job in the mountains because he is quite weak at time-trials.

It was a Sky dominance all the way, 4 riders in top 8, yeah the weather was a factor for the Geraint Thomas win but it was really deserved good luck after all the bad one he had lately and on the Giro particularly.

Froome not in shape - forget about it, I was wrong about him :) obviously Sky are in great shape as a team.

What happened to Valverde is a shame but I think he risked a bit two much and we saw the result, in the end Movistar was one of the teams with not so much of a bad luck in the past years and probably it was their turn, anyway that would affect hugely their team strategy, for sure.

Stage 1 results

1 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:16:04

2 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:00:05

3 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky 0:00:07

4 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:08

5 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:10

6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12

7 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:15

8 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky

9 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:16

10 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

11 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb

Stage 2 takes the riders from Dusseldorf to Liege, 203km of fairly flat terrain but with a few hills in the final 50km. This should be one for the sprinters.

Here are the odds for the stage win at NetBet:

Marcel Kittel - 1.95

Arnaud Demare - 6.00

Dylan Groenewegen - 8.00

Peter Sagan - 8.50

Andre Greipel - 9.50

Mark Cavendish - 10.00

Nacer Bouhanni - 14.50

Alexander Kristoff - 25.00

Daniel McLay - 34.00

Michael Matthews - 52.00

Good luck!

Marcel Kittel was the strongest in the sprint, as expected. Geraint Thomas remains in yellow.

Stage 2 results

1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 4:37:06

2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ

3 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal

4 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

5 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo

6 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida

7 Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates

8 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

9 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

10 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

woo Froome has got an accident today and luckily he wasn't hurt that bad, that's why it's ridiculous thing to say Froome are going to win after day 1, there always could be a fall or mechanical problem which could cost you a time or the whole race.

It was interesting to see the sprinters today and Kittel proved to be in best shape, I thought Demare could do it but obviously the German prevailed, real surprised to see Cavendish fourth though after his absence, I thought he would hardly sprint at all. 

A Grand Tour is a treacherous race, anything can happen on any given day, it's still a very, very long way to Paris.

Kittel is a cut above the rest, he has tremendous power and he will probably win a few more stages. Cavendish could still challenge here and there, he is a superb natural talent and he also has great experience.

Tricky stage today from Verviers to Longwy, it has five categorized climbs (category 3 and 4), not huge climbs but steep enough to take out most of the sprinters. We'll most likely have a fine battle between the punchers in the stage finale, here are the odds at NetBet:

Peter Sagan - 3.15

Michael Matthews - 6.50

Philippe Gilbert - 7.25

Greg Van Avermaet - 8.00

Arnaud Demare - 10.75

Sonny Colbrelli - 15.00

Diego Ulissi - 26.00

Matteo Trentin - 28.00

Edvald Boasson Hagen - 32.00

Michal Kwiatkowski - 32.00

Zdenek Stybar - 32.00

Good luck!

Peter Sagan was amazing today, he had to sprint twice as the first time his right foot slipped out of the pedal but he still managed to beat everybody to the line.

Stage 3 results

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 5:07:19

2 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

3 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors

4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

5 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:02

6 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ

7 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team

8 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky

9 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe

Flat stage today from Mondorf-les-Bains to Vittel, a 207.5km route that should end in a mass sprint. Here are the odds for stage 4 at NetBet:

Marcel Kittel - 1.86

Arnaud Demare - 5.20

Andre Greipel - 7.00

Mark Cavendish - 10.00

Peter Sagan - 11.50

Dylan Groenewegen - 14.50

Nacer Bouhanni - 20.50

Sonny Colbrelli - 32.00

Alexander Kristoff - 33.00

Daniel McLay - 40.00

Good luck!

Crazy sprint today, lots of crashes and we might even have a few riders disqualified, maybe even big names like Sagan or Demare. Anyway, Mark Cavendish seems to have taken the hardest fall, he is in the hospital at the moment and the race might be over for him.

Stage 4 results

1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 4:53:54

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin

4 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal

5 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

6 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie

7 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:07

8 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

9 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:10

10 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal

If you ask me Sagan should be disqualified Johnny, he had done the same thing yesterday I think it was on the inter-medium sprint with Greipel but don't know why everybody pretended  it doesn't happened - maybe because Greipel didn't fall and it's the world champion Peter Sagan - so what???

I know there's a lot of action in the sprints and I'm not going to pretend I like Sagan - just the other way round but he really became dangerous for the others now!

I'm not even sure he would be disqualified even for the stage though. I don't think Demare has done anything wrong, I think it was Bouhanni who was crossing all over the road before the crash.

Mark Cavendish

"I was following Demare and then Sagan came over. I get on well with Peter but I'm not a fan of him putting his elbow in. A crash is a crash, i'd just like to know about the elbow."

There's no Sagan in the official standings Johhny, I guess he's out!

Yeah, it's always difficult to judge what happens in a sprint, things can happen in a split-second at those speeds. What I know is that a rider can't change his trajectory during the last 200 meters of the sprint, if that happens he gets disqualified for the respective stage.

There's no Sagan in the official standings Johhny, I guess he's out!

 

Yes, we'll probably have a press release about this shortly. He has received a penalty of 30 seconds, so he's 115th in the stage classification.

There's no Sagan in the official standings Johhny, I guess he's out!

 

 

Yes, we'll probably have a press release about this shortly.

I'm not seeing him in the stage or general standings,so he could be out for the race!?

Saw his name just now...

15 SAGAN Peter 111 BORA - HANSGROHE 14h 55' 08'' + 00' 43''

So he's Disqualified for the stage I guess plus some time penalty maybe?

No, he just received a time penalty and dropped down in the stage classification accordingly. He'll probably have to pay a fine as well.

No, he just received a time penalty and dropped down in the stage classification accordingly. He'll probably have to pay a fine as well.

You're probably right Johnny but I'm seeing he dropped in the green jersey standings as well, this is  according the official tour site and he had a lot more than 15 points before today so there's might be another sanction too if the table there is right of course.

23 SAGAN Peter 111 BORA - HANSGROHE 15 pts

Yes, I have checked again now and they have announced Sagan is out of the race completely! That's a bit harsh, I've never seen such a punishment for a sprint violation. The only time I have seen a rider dropped out of the Tour (except doping cases) was when punching another rider.

Yes, I have checked again now and they have announced Sagan is out of the race completely! That's a bit harsh, I've never seen such a punishment for a sprint violation. The only time I have seen a rider dropped out of the Tour (except doping cases) was when punching another rider.

OK Johnny, I understand it's a precedent and I also understand your point but for me that was a deliberate action from a Sagan's side not just a fight for position - not against Cavendish in particular, he doesn't know most probably who has coming from behind  but that was a deliberate movement of his elbow even after the initial contact which was clear to see at the slow-mo and like I said already he did the same thing yesterday to Greipel but nobody noticed!?or spoked  about it then... maybe because Greipel doesn't felt down and he wasn't hurt at all.

Deliberate or not Sagan looked way too aggressive in both cases and of course you can't be sure  but you can almost feel it's a deliberate action from his side and I think that's what judges decided if he's out of the race now.

But yeah It would stay as a controversial decision in the end, I'm not saying my point is the whole truth but that's what I felt when saw the accident...here's an interesting video analysis of Eurosport's expert Brian Smith (down the page)

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2017/tour-de-france-2017-peter-sagan-disqualified-from-tour-de-france-after-mark-cavendish-crash_sto6241327/story.shtml

It's not deliberate, it's instinctive. At that speed, when you feel another rider so close you react to defend yourself. Sagan is not a mean sprinter, I've seen Cavendish do things that are a lot worse than what Sagan did today.

Here's what Jens Voigt‏ said on Twitter:

Alrighty, you folks want my opinion?

Take your time and watch the replay in slowmotion. Then forget about Peter and Cav. Focus on Demarre. He is the first to change trajectoire

So when we start punish people- maybe consider him first. His move almost chrashed Bouhanni, he is trying to save himself and moves Sagan.

Then Sagan moves over to the right and there is no space for nobody left. Its either " be safe and break and loose or maybe win or crash.

But we'll never see a jury disqualify a French rider at the Tour de France, especially the reigning national champion who has just won a stage :)

It's not deliberate, it's instinctive. At that speed, when you feel another rider so close you react to defend yourself. Sagan is not a mean sprinter, I've seen Cavendish do things that are a lot worse than what Sagan did today.

Yeah I know Cavendish has a bad history and reputation himself, he had done a lot of stupid things over the years and that's why is maybe even ironic what happened to him today...and about Sagan..I've probably been too harsh toward him because I've had never liked the guy anyway but I think he knows what he has done today and goes straight after finish to the Dimension Data bus to apologise to Cavendish... you'd rarely do that straight after an accident...the guy even looked guilty :) but maybe I'm wrong....certainly it wasn't an easy decision for the race judges...whatever they came with, it would it have a lot of critics...but for me it's the right call...Sagan should know he's not favoured by any means despite he's huge for the sport right now...I think the Eurosport  Brian Smith expert explained it great and objective despite he's British too and was upset of what happened to Cavendish.

Here's what Jens Voigt‏ said on Twitter:

 

Alrighty, you folks want my opinion?

Take your time and watch the replay in slowmotion. Then forget about Peter and Cav. Focus on Demarre. He is the first to change trajectoire

So when we start punish people- maybe consider him first. His move almost chrashed Bouhanni, he is trying to save himself and moves Sagan.

Then Sagan moves over to the right and there is no space for nobody left. Its either " be safe and break and loose or maybe win or crash.

 

But we'll never see a jury disqualify a French rider at the Tour de France, especially the reigning national champion who has just won a stage :)

I'm really trying to be objective here Johnny, but I can't agree with Voight's opinion ,I watched it around 10 times  and I didn't saw Demarre doing anything wrong, he made the first move and Sagan tried to stay on his back wheel crossing the road behind him, but Demare doesn't 't make any so sharp turns left or right he was looking for a free room to sprint while  Sagan was surrounded with riders and just looking for the Demarre's back wheel...for me it's obvious who did it wrong...more so Sagan sees where the barriers are and shuts the door to Cavendish with his bike...there's no need of any other action because there's no room for Cavendish between Sagan and the barriers anyway.

I'm not sure but I think the rule is that you can't change the direction twice sharply in the last meters and even if Demarre is in brake of that I think he's not dangerous for the others because he's looking for the free space to sprint while Sagan just following him not paying attention to the rest becomes dangerous for the them.

I know it sounds complicated but it isn't really you just have to be careful especially when you feel there's someone around you..no need to be cyclist to know that...it's elementary logic.

No, the rule is you can't change trajectory during the final 200 meters of a sprint. Demare clearly does that. First he comes from the middle of the road to the barriers, then again to the middle of the road. And also, I don't think Sagan touched Cavendish with that elbow, more likely I think he used the elbow to balance himself on the bike.

Anyway, I wouldn't have kicked him out of the race for this, such things happen in sprints every day.

OK we obviously won't agree on that one Johnny, even so if this is the rule I don't see how Demarre is dangerous for the rest while Sagan just looking to follow him and all of the rest should be aware of that, I think the elbow make it looking worst even if there's not a contact but I'm positive he wouldn't be disqualified if there wasn't that elbow.I think Sagan is perfectly aware of what he's doing in this moment  with the back of his mind even though it's an instinctive and not an intentional reaction.

The Lotto - Soudal sports manager said Sagan did it twice in two days -not me(Greipel incident at the inter medium sprint yesterday ) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DreyyyqZPHA

First big mountain stage of the Tour today, the general classification will surely suffer significant changes at the end of the day. Stage 5 takes the riders from Vittel to La Planche des Belles Filles, 160.5km with a first-category climb right at the end. The final climb is 5.9km long with an average gradient of 8.5%, but it will be very tricky as it features peaks above 10% and also a 20% incline right before the finish line.

Here are the odds for stage 5 at NetBet:

Chris Froome - 4.00

Richie Porte - 4.20

Daniel Martin - 12.50

Fabio Aru - 13.00

Nairo Quintana - 17.00

Jakob Fuglsang - 22.50

Thibaut Pinot - 25.50

Steve Cummings - 25.50

Rafal Majka - 25.50

Romain Bardet - 28.00

Pierre Rolland - 28.00

Louis Meintjes - 32.00

Johan Esteban Chaves - 34.00

Simon Yates - 34.00

Good luck!

Superb victory for Fabio Aru, he was the only one who had enough courage and energy to attack on the final climb and he was rewarded with a fine stage win. Chris Froome takes the yellow jersey off his team-mate's back but who will win the Tour de France is still anybody's guess.

Stage 5 results

1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 3:44:06

2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:16

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:20

4 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team

5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:24

6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:00:26

7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac

8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Trek-Segafredo

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:34

10 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:40

11 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates

12 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe

General classification after stage 5

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 18:38:59

2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12

3 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:14

4 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:25

5 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:39

6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:00:43

7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:47

8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:52

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:54

10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:01

Stage 6 today from Vesoul to Troyes, 216 km of mostly flat terrain and another opportunity for the sprinters to go for victory. Here are the odds for the stage win at NetBet:

Marcel Kittel - 1.90

Arnaud Demare - 3.55

Andre Greipel - 6.75

Nacer Bouhanni - 11.50

Dylan Groenewegen - 14.50

Alexander Kristoff - 15.00

Michael Matthews - 28.00

Daniel McLay - 32.00

Sonny Colbrelli - 34.00

Mark Renshaw - 49.00

Good luck!

Another powerful sprint from Marcel Kittel earned him the second victory at this year's Tour, he surely is the most in-form sprinter at the moment. The general classification remains unchanged.

Stage 6 results

1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 5:05:34

2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ

3 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal

4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin

5 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

6 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo

7 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

8 Daniel Mclay (GBr) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro

9 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

10 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

Stage 7 from Troyes to Nuits-Saint-Georges is 213.5km long but fairly flat once again, so it will be another chance for the sprinters to battle it out in the final dash for the line. Here are the odds for the stage winner at NetBet:

Marcel Kittel - 1.66

Arnaud Demare - 3.95

Andre Greipel - 6.50

Dylan Groenewegen - 17.00

Alexander Kristoff - 19.00

Nacer Bouhanni - 20.50

Michael Matthews - 41.00

Daniel McLay - 41.00

Edvald Boasson Hagen - 49.00

Sonny Colbrelli - 65.00

Good luck!

Well, I've watched the photo-finish several times and I'm still not sure who won it. They say Kittel did and I guess we have to believe that, but the difference was minimal. Not sure where Demare ended up, he seemed up for it with a few hundred meters to go.

Stage 7 results

1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 5:03:18

2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb

4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin

5 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

6 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo

7 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

8 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

9 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal

10 Daniel Mclay (GBr) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro

UPDATE: They say Kittel won by 3 millimeters over Boasson Hagen! About Demare, they say he didn't get a good sleep last night and didn't have enough power in his legs to compete in today's sprint. 

Yeah I thought it's Boasson Hagen too in real time and from the replays but obviously Kittel was lucky enough to win it, It was strange sprint in the last meters for Demare, I watched him - he even stopped pedalling and lost a place because of that, I think you can't afford to do that if you have any ambitions for the green jersey where any point could  be vital but if he didn't get a good sleep like yo said Johnny it could be somewhat of an excuse for him.

We could make fun of that but I think it's not easy being Frenchman in the Tour de France these days, the whole country expecting a results and I guess the tension influenced Demare sleep last night.

It was strange sprint in the last meters for Demare, I watched him - he even stopped pedalling and lost a place because of that, I think you can't afford to do that if you have any ambitions for the green jersey where any point could  be vital but if he didn't get a good sleep like yo said Johnny it could be somewhat of an excuse for him.

 

I watched an interview on Italian TV with one of his team-mates and he said they spent the night in a not very comfortable hotel, that's why they didn't rest properly.

It was strange sprint in the last meters for Demare, I watched him - he even stopped pedalling and lost a place because of that, I think you can't afford to do that if you have any ambitions for the green jersey where any point could  be vital but if he didn't get a good sleep like yo said Johnny it could be somewhat of an exc use for him.

 

 

I watched an interview on Italian TV with one of his team-mates and he said they spent the night in a not very comfortable hotel, that's why they didn't rest properly.

Yeah this should be an objective reason too, didn't thought of that :)

Stage 8 today from Dole to Station des Rousses, it has three categorized climbs and the last one is the most difficult, 11.7km at 6.4%. However, if the big teams don't push the tempo too high on that climb, then not only the climbers could compete for the stage win.

Here are the odds for stage 8 at NetBet:

Steve Cummings - 10.00

Fabio Felline - 11.00

Diego Ulissi - 14.50

Daniel Martin - 17.00

Tim Wellens - 18.50

Greg Van Avermaet - 20.50

Lilian Calmejane - 23.00

Tiesj Benoot - 23.00

Thibaut Pinot - 25.00

Philippe Gilbert - 25.00

Jan Bakelants - 25.50

Good luck!

Great victory for Lilian Calmejane, his first ever at the Tour de France, he rode in the breakaway and survived muscle cramps in the final kilometers to claim this victory. The whole stage was ran at an insane pace and Team Sky did well to keep everything under control in the main bunch, so no changes in the general classification.

Stage 8 results

1 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 4:30:29

2 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:37

3 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty - Groupe Gobert 0:00:50

4 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team

5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-Scott

6 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team

7 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team

8 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe

9 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac

10 Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro

The toughest stage of this year's Tour de France is coming up today, it will be brutal. The riders will go from Nantua to Chambery, 181.5 km with no less than 7 categorized climbs and three of them being special-category ascents. The last of those climbs, Mont du Chat, features a dangerous descent before the stage finale, so we might see fireworks on the way down as well.

The three special-category climbs:

Km 67.5 - Col de la Biche (Croix de Famban) - 10.5 kilometre-long climb at 9%

Km 91.0 - Grand Colombier  - 8.5 kilometre-long climb at 9.9%

Km 155.5 - Mont du Chat - 8.7 kilometre-long climb at 10.3%

We probably won't know at the end of the day who will win this year's Tour de France but we will surely know who won't have a chance to win it, the general classification will suffer major changes.

Here are the odds for the stage win at NetBet:

Chris Froome - 6.50

Thibaut Pinot - 7.75

Fabio Aru - 8.75

Daniel Martin - 11.00

Richie Porte - 13.00

Romain Bardet - 13.00

Pierre Rolland - 14.50

George Bennett - 19.00

Rafal Majka - 23.00

Simon Yates - 32.00

Johan Esteban Chaves - 34.00

Alberto Contador - 34.00

Jakob Fuglsang - 34.00

Nairo Quintana - 34.00

Good luck!

I wouldn't have imagined that we'd need photo-finish to decide the winner after such a stage! In fact, Warren Barguil was in the breakaway all day, was caught by five other riders on the final descent, and sprinted for the win but was beaten by a few centimeters by Rigoberto Uran. It was a great performance from Uran, he had to race the final kilometers of the stage with a broken rear derailleur.

The stage was brutal and two high-profile riders crashed out: Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte (hope he's ok, the crash looked quite scary). Alberto Contador was dropped on the final climb and is now out of contention for the general classification, while Nairo Quintana lost over a minute.

Stage 9 results

1 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac 5:07:22

2 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

4 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

5 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team

6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team

7 George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:01:15

8 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky

9 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors

10 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team

11    Simon Yates (GBr) Orica

General Classification after stage 9

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 38:26:28

2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:18

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:51

4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:55

5 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:37

6 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:44

7 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:02:02

8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:02:13

9 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky 0:03:06

10 George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:03:53

 

The stage was brutal and two high-profile riders crashed out: Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte (hope he's ok, the crash looked quite scary).

Yeah I'm sorry for those two great riders too, hopefully they would be OK and back to racing soon, Dan Martin was also very unlucky to crash in the Porte incident without any fault by his side, but yeah quite unbelievable for us to have a photo-finish in this epic stage.

By the way, to show just how difficult the stage was, seven riders finished outside the time limit today and their Tour de France is over: Juraj Sagan, Matteo Trentin, Mark Renshaw, Ignatas Konovalovas, Jacopo Guarnieri, Mickael Delage and... Arnaud Demare.

In fact, FDJ lost almost half of their squad by trying to rescue Demare...

  wooDidn't know that half of the FDJ team is out, even Pinot is not in any kind of shape after the Giro and I guess this is a real nightmare for them like this stage was for all the sprinters by the way :) 

I guess Michael Mathews is the favourite amongst the sprinters for the green jersey now, he looked by far the better climber from those who have an appetites for it, in the Sagan absence of course.

I heard that Froome elbowed Aru after he made an attack when Froome had a flat tire at the last climb, don't know how much of this is true though.

I heard that Froome elbowed Aru after he made an attack when Froome had a flat tire at the last climb, don't know how much of this is true though.

I saw an interview with Aru after the race, he says he didn't realize that Froome had a problem when he attacked, then they announced him via radio and he slowed down. Froome did approach him after that and they seemed to have a quick chat to clarify the matter, didn't see any elbowing.

Rest day today, a good moment to have a look at the current outright winner odds at NetBet:

Chris Froome - 1.28

Fabio Aru - 6.25

Romain Bardet - 13.00

Rigoberto Uran - 32.00

Jakob Fuglsang - 34.00

Nairo Quintana - 40.00

Daniel Martin - 49.00

Simon Yates - 101.00

Alberto Contador - 101.00

Mikel Landa - 126.00

Good luck!

Flat stage today from Perigueux to Bergerac, a great chance for Kittel to grab another win. Here are the odds for stage 10 at NetBet:

Marcel Kittel - 1.74

Andre Greipel - 5.40

Alexander Kristoff - 7.25

Michael Matthews - 14.25

Edvald Boasson Hagen - 14.50

Dylan Groenewegen - 15.00

Nacer Bouhanni - 16.50

John Degenkolb - 34.00

Davide Cimolai - 40.00

Daniel McLay - 41.00

Good luck!

Marcel Kittel did it again, he clinched his fourth victory at this year's Tour. This time he made it look easy, there was quite a bit of daylight between him and the rest of the sprinters. No changes in the general classification.

Stage 10 results

1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 4:01:00

2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

3 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo

4 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin

6 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

7 Daniel Mclay (GBr) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro

8 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert

9 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida

10 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data