On Sunday, it was 10/1 Romain Bardet who was agonizingly caught just before the line into Chambery, beaten by Rigoberto Uran even after his gears failed in the final few kilometres. Today is a day for the sprinters, not a mountain in sight as the peloton make their way to Bergerac.
Only two small catergorised climbs feature on tomorrow's route and none should play much of a role in catalysing the race; instead, this should all come down to the final 20km, a long flat run into the town of Bergerac.
The final 5km is where the race will really hot up, long boulevards into the town centre allowing for the sprinters to assemble their leadout trains.
Two 90 degree bends within the final kilometres should throw the bunch sprint into disarray and we may see a few high speed crashes. At 450m to go, the riders will fly though the final corner and engage their sprints. They'll need some team support here, 450m is just too long to launch a race winning sprint.
It'll be the riders with the strongest sprint and most experienced teams that shine tomorrow, a mix of both being the best combination for tomorrow's stage finish. Marcel Kittel is the obvious favourite having already taken two stage wins, he can be found at 4/6 with Bet365.
However, the German rider has often been left to fend for himself so far in this Tour, taking two stage wins without much team support. He's a rider that prefers a strong leadout train in front of him and if his Quickstep team cannot muster the troops around the final few bends, he may just relinquish a third stage win...
An obvious successor would be fellow German sprinter and cycling veteran, Andre Greipel. The man they nickname the Gorilla has won a stage of the Tour de France in all of his participations since 2011, an unbelievable record given the calibre of riders.
Despite his age, he is a rider that cannot be written off. He has a more experienced leadout than Kittel, Marcel Seiberg and Lars Bak two of the best in the business for delivering their men to the finish line. As a result, Greipel can be found at good odds of 5/1 with Paddy Power for tomorrow's stage win.
The two Germans should, theoretically, top the list of favourites for tomorrow's stage, especially given the fact that Demare, Cavendish and Sagan have all now left the race.
But this is cycling, an incredibly hard sport to predict... Quite a few of the second tier sprinters have their foot propped in the open door tomorrow and may just be worthy of an E/W bet. Alexander Kristoff has shadowed throughout this race and could be worth a 10/1 E/W bet with William Hill.
Dylan Groenewegen and Nacer Bouhanni are two other outsiders that will love tomorrow's finish. Both are explosive riders that will leave the final bend with an incredible amount of speed. Groenewegen can be found at 18/1 with BetStars and Bouhanni at 20/1 with Betway, two riders worthy of an E/W.
Whilst the majority of the cycling world will have penciled in tomorrow's stage as an inevitable bunch finish, the breakaway cannot be ruled out! Especially given the 10mph tailwind coming into the town of Bergerac...
Strong break contenders include Oliver Naesen, 300/1 with Bet365, Marcus Burghadt, 500/1 with Paddy Power and Thomas Boudat, 200/1 with Paddy Power. Just a heads up, I had an exclusive interview with the Belgian champion, Oliver Naesen, just last week and he let me into a little secret regarding this second week of the Tour de France...HINT, he's going for a stage win!
The Verdict
A tough one to call given the nature of the finish. I'll be on Greipel at 5/1 E/W for the sprint, and Naesen (300/1) and Burghadt (500/1) to cover any potential breakaway win.
Some H2Hs look particularly promising for this stage as well. I'll be on:
Daniel McLay (Win) VS Davide Cimolai, 4/7
Andre Greipel (Win) VS Marcel Kittel, 11/5
Adrien Petit (Win) VS Andrea Pasqualon, 4/11
(All with Paddy Power)
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Words By: Inside The Peloton