Tour de France Odds, Picks, and Best Bets for Stage 9 – Sep. 6th
- Stage 9 of the Tour de France is a second straight difficult trek into the Pyrenees
- With a rest day on Monday, top general classification contenders and climbers should be going all-out to gain time
- Who should you wager on when looking ahead to Stage 9 of the Tour de France? Check below for our picks
The 2020 Tour de France has been full of drama and unlikely stage winners thus far. The opening week wraps up on Sunday with a second consecutive difficult day in the mountains before Monday’s rest day.
Saturday saw the breakaway steal another stage, after something similar took place on Thursday. It wasn’t exactly what the experts thought was most likely, but uncertainty can be very profitable, because longshots are always viable.
Riders begin Sunday in Pau, the city that has hosted the Tour de France more than any other. The 73rd visit begins what isn’t the most difficult stage we have ever seen in the Pyrenees, and those who can descend quickly will be in great shape. It feels tailor made for Julian Alaphilippe, but taking a short price this year has not been a strong strategy.
2020 Tour de France Stage 9 Odds
| Rider | Odds at DraftKings |
|---|---|
| Julian Alaphilippe | +400 |
| Tadej Pogacar | +900 |
| Primoz Roglic | +1200 |
| Alexey Lutsenko | +1600 |
| Lennard Kamna | +2200 |
| Rudy Molard | +2200 |
| Daniel Felipe Martinez | +2500 |
| Maximilian Schachmann | +2500 |
| Davide Formolo | +2800 |
| Hugh Carthy | +2800 |
| Marc Hirschi | +2800 |
Odds as of Sep. 5th.
The second day in the Pyrenees, a 154-kilometre journey from Pau to Laruns begins with a mild category four climb, in the middle of the route riders encounter a category one and cat three challenge. A long descent is followed by a category three test with around 40 kilometres left. The last major hurdle before the rest day is a category one opportunity to the top of Col de Marie Blanque. The finish line is on a false flat uphill.
After a stage that had little effect on the overall standings, but was surprising nonetheless, Adam Yates continues to wear the Yellow Jersey, three seconds ahead of race favorite Primoz Roglic, with Guillaume Martin nine seconds behind Yates in third.
It seemed like GC riders would have an advantage on Saturday, but the breakaway was quick from the get go, and while it eventually whittled down, Nans Peters held on to win by 47 seconds over Toms Skujins and Carlos Verona. The only major news of the day was Tadej Pogacar gaining 38 seconds, which was important since he lost more than a minute on Friday. He is currently in ninth place, 48 seconds behind Yates.
The Favorite
Alaphilippe made one major error on this year’s tour, but aside from that he has looked every bit the legitimate GC contender he was built up to be before the race began.
He is a pretty strong betting favorite for this stage because last year he won on a course that looked awfully similar to this one.
Alaphilippe is regarded as the best descender in the field. He is a former polka dot jersey winner, awarded to the best climber each year. He has five career stage victories including one this year. If things transpire in a formful way, he will be difficult to beat Sunday.
Contenders
Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic do not need to win this stage, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. They are among the top GC contenders and when you decide to make the decisive move in a three-week race is always a matter of strategy and stamina. The stage before a rest day is not a bad opportunity to see how much time you can gain on your top competition.
Pogacar was either a victim of circumstances, a rider falling in front of him, or a tad tardy following the crowd, and lost ground on Friday. He gained some of that back on Saturday. He is a very skillful rider and no doubt would like to be back where he started, near the leader, during the rest day.
Roglic is the race favorite and the big money is earned in cycling during mountain stages. He already has bagged one mountain stage and though certainly doesn’t need to win on Sunday in order to eventually stand at the top of the podium, he could assert his dominance beginning now.
Because Roglic appears to have the best team, to a large degree they will dictate when to make the huge move. Since Team Jumbo–Visma is new to being the favorite, it is unclear when they want to go for it and then try to defend the rest of the way. Some strategy suggests take the lead when you have the opportunity, but others prefer to wait and have to defend for fewer days.
Longshot
Marc Hirschi has the right pedigree and this could be a good opportunity.
He finished just behind Alaphilippe in stage two and the price is right on Sunday.
Dave Friedman has covered professional and college sports for two decades. From ESPN to the Associated Press, Regional Sports Networks, Metro Networks, and many local outlets, he has written about and broadcast major and minor events throughout the country.
