The Italian is well fancied with Oddshecker users to upset odds of 18/1 to defeat the three time champion.
198 riders from 22 nine-man teams have their last day of preparation today for the 104th edition of the Tour de France. The Grand Depart this year takes place in Dusseldorf, the 1st stage of an overall 21, of which they will span four countries.
Team Sky’s Chris Froome is looking to make it his fourth title in five years. The Kenyan born Brit is the big favourite for the event with the bookies and is available at a best price of 6/4 whilst being as short as 6/5 elsewhere. However, whereas last year he accounted for 22.49% of bets in the week leading up, this year he accounts for just 12.2%, showing he goes into the race with some doubts over his head.
The 32-year-old is without a victory this year – he has not even won a single stage in 2017 – and he could only manage fourth place in the Criterium du Dauphine recently, a race he has won each time he has gone on to win the Tour de France.
Perhaps this is why we have seen over double the bets on Froome this week on Italy’s big hope, Fabio Aru. The 2015 Vuelta winner impressed in the Dauphine with his aggressive riding and a win in the Italian Championship last weekend means punters think he is where the value lies. Aru’s odds have shortened through the week whilst he received 25.2% of bets through our site. He was 22/1 when the week began but his odds have been slashed to as short as 12/1. The 26-year-old is still available at 18/1 in a few places.
Last year’s second favourite and second most backed (19.5% of bets) was Nairo Quintana. A big effort in the Giro d’Italia this year means he is not fancied to compete fiercely in this year’s TdF, which is reflected in his odds of 7/1. His share of bets has also decreased by over half from last year, to just 8.6%.
