Giro d’Italia Odds, Picks, and Best Bets for Stage 7 – Oct. 9th

• Stage 7 of the Giro (Friday, October 9) is tailor-made for sprinters
• Friday’s short stage is the reasons the fast men are participating in this year’s Giro
• Which sprinter offer the most betting value?

Most stages of grand tour’s have some nuance. Something about the daily route leaves room for strategy or tactics. That is not the case on Friday. Stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia is flat and short and pure sprinters are licking their chops.

Not surprisingly sprinters battled it out on Thursday too. However, Arnaud Demare’s victory came after riders surged following a category three climb not far from the finish. Demare has dominated sprints thus far, while Peter Sagan has continued to disappoint.

Though Stage 7 should be formful, who should you bet on? Let’s look at the top candidates.

Giro d’Italia Stage 7 Odds

Odds as of Oct. 8.

The overall race to Madrid was unchanged on Thursday and should not be impacted on Friday either. João Almeida holds a 43-second edge over Pello Bilbao. Wilco Kelderman is five seconds behind Bilbao. Harm Vanhoucke (59 seconds), Vincenzo Nibali (61 seconds), and Domenico Pozzovivo (65 seconds) are in the mix.

With almost no elevation gain during the 143-kilometre trek from Matera to Brindisi, Stage 7 will be a straightforward day for the sprinters barring strong winds. A similar route in 2017 saw Caleb Ewan win a tight finish over Sam Bennett and Fernando Gaviria.

Who is the speed of the speed this year?

The Favorite

Démare has played the role of Bennett from the Tour de France in this year’s Giro, or maybe exceeded it. He has been the best sprinter during the opening week and it isn’t close. Demare is constantly in the mix, has two stage victories, and it would be hard to suggest anyone else is going as well as him.

Démare is having an excellent year. His strong work in the Giro is a continuation of outstanding form. He won the Tour de Wallonie, French National Road Race Championship, Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and Milano–Torino.

Top Contenders

This sort of stage is the reason Elia Viviani is riding the Giro. He has made his career on one-day races and classics. He has also won stages on each grand tour and took the points classification at the Giro in 2018.

Viviani won a gold medal in 2016 for his work in the Omnium at the Olympics. He beat Mark Cavendish, among others.

Fernando Gaviria came into prominence when he beat Cavendish in the 2015 Tour de San Luis. A pure sprinter, Gaviria has won five Giro stages.

In 2017 he was the points champ at the Giro. Gaviria won the Giro della Toscana this year.

We’ve been down this road with Peter Sagan many times before. He is an incredibly decorated sprinter but once again failed to get to the wire first on Thursday, on a course that was set up to his liking. He probably is better with a small obstacle and not a pure sprint, but he is always viable.

Sagan hasn’t won a stage of a race in 2020, but he has been close many times and at least on Friday isn’t the chalk and therefore the price is worth pondering.

Alvaro José Hodeg is competing in his first grand tour. The 24-year-old Columbian won the points title last year at the Adriatico Ionica Race.

Hodeg does not have huge name recognition yet but he was made for a pure sprint like this. He has won several one day events including the Handzame Classic and Münsterland Giro.

Longshot

Andrea Vendrame doesn’t get to the line first a lot, but he frequently is in the mix.

Riding in his third Giro, the 26-year-old Italian is seeking his first stage victory. He has won the Giro del Belvedere and Tro-Bro Léon. He finished fourth this year at the Italian National Road Race Championships.