The 2019 Tour de France betting market is wide open after Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) cracked toward the end of Stage 15. Alaphilippe still retains the yellow jersey and hold a 95-second lead over defending champion Geraint Thomas, but Thibaut Pinot is the new favorite after he moved into fourth overall and only 1:50 off the lead.
The tour has its last rest day before the race heads towards the Alps for five more stages before concluding next Sunday in Paris. Without Chris Froome in the race this year, everyone expected it could be a totally toss up with no legit betting favorite. And less than a week to go, no one has a lock on the race like in previous years.
Credit the tour organizers for reducing the time trial stages and tweaking courses to end with a big climb. As a result ,ten different rides won the first ten open stages.
“This year’s Tour course is ideal for attackers and improvisation,” said Andrew Hood at VeloNews. “The first two weeks were truly engaging, with plenty of opportunities to liven up the race. (Organizers) deserve credit for gradually spicing up the first half of the route. No longer is the race a dull procession of flat sprint stages. The inclusion of short walls and hilly finales gives wings to the attackers.”
STANDINGS THRU STAGE 15:
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 61:00:22
Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) +1:35
Steve Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) +1:47
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) +1:50
Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) +2:02
Thibaut Pinot won Stage 14 and finished in second in Stage 15 behind Simon Yates. The Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ moved into fourth place overall. He’s less than two minutes off the lead.
In overall team rankings, Movistar is leading by 30:45 over Trek-Segafredo. Team Ineos moved into third overall and trailing by 30:54. Groupama-FDJ is fourth but trails by 36:22.
On Deck: Stage 16 Nimes Sprint
Stage 16 features a 177 km flat trail with a speed bump at Cote de St-Jean-du-Pin. Riders will be caught in a bunched sprint on the famous Pont du Gard.
Heading into Stage 16, sprinter Dylan Groenewegen is the favorite to win the next stage at 5/4 odds according to William Hill. Caleb Ewan is 5/2 odds to win in Nimes. Elia Viviani is 7/2 odds to win Stage 16.
TOUR DE FRANCE BETTING:
Thibaut Pinot 1/1
Geraint Thomas 3/1
Julian Alaphilippe 4/1
Egan Bernal 5/1
Steve Kruijswijk 9/1
With six stages remaining, Thibaut Pinot is the favorite to win the Tour de France. According to William Hill betting markets, Pinot is 1/1 odds to win. He is trying to become the first Frenchman to win the Tour de France since 1985.
Defending champ Geraint Thomas looked fatigued in Stage 14, but bounced back with a vengeance in Stage 15 to shave off the time that Alaphilippe padded after Thomas got dropped in Stage 14 at Tourmalet. Thomas is 3/1 odds to win back-to-back titles. His teammate at Ineos, Egan Bernal, is 5/1 to win.
Meanwhile, Alaphilippe still continues to hold the yellow jersey. He finally showed signs of cracking, but it’s been an amazing race for the Frenchman. He’s 4/1 odds to win.
Steve Kruijswijk is lurking in third place, but he’s only 9/1 odds to win.