The race for the Yellow Jersey will all but be decided today on the slopes of the Col d’Izoard.
Today marks the final day of the Tour where the climbers will get to show us their stuff as they depart from Briançon for the mighty Col d’Izoard.
Although the climb has featured prominently throughout the history of the Tour, 2017 – remarkably so – sees the first time that we’ll finish a stage at the summit.
To Win Stage
Chris Froome 11/4 | Rigoberto Uran 9/2 | Romain Bardet 6/1 | Mikel Landa 9/1 | Warren Barguil 9/1
Chris Froome 11/4 | Rigoberto Uran 9/2 | Romain Bardet 6/1 | Mikel Landa 9/1 | Warren Barguil 9/1
The Contenders
Chris Froome
The Brit survived repeated and sustained attacks from Romain Bardet on the final three kilometres of the Col du Galibier to maintain his 27-second time gap over the Frenchman and Rigoberto Uran. He looks as strong as ever and has clearly put last week’s wobble on stage 12 behind him.
Romain Bardet
It’s do or die time for the plucky little Frenchman. He needs a bit of luck today as well as a massive performance if he is to keep his slim hopes of winning the Tour alive – especially with an intermediate time trial still to come before we reach Paris.
Rigoberto Uran
The Columbian has very much captured the hearts of spectators this year and has become the most popular South American on the tour ahead of Nairo Quintana, who once again faded disappointingly yesterday.
The Stage
The first thing to mention about this stage is that there will be double KotM points available at the summit of the Col d’Izoard which means Warren Barguil will have to be wary of Primož Roglic who is the only rider who can realistically catch the Frenchman.
The first 121 kilometres of the stage look straightforward enough with only a single category three climb – the Côte des Demoiselles Coiffées – which comes in at 3.9 kilometres at 5.2%. Things will start to get interesting as we hit the slopes of the category one Col de Vars (9.3 kilometres at 7.5%).
Once we summit the Col de Vars it’ll be a quick descent into the beautiful commune of Guillestre before the field hit the foot of the Col d’Izoard. The climb comes in at 14.1 kilometres at an average gradient of 7.3%.
Bear in mind that the first half of the climb is pretty straightforward before the gradient kicks massively in the second half. The final seven kilometres of today’s stage will determine this year’s general classification – expect Froome to be attacked mercilessly by Uran and Bardet in the sternest test of his Yellow Jersey credentials for a few years now.
Verdict: Romain Bardet to finish ahead of Chris Froome (match-ups) at 5/4
It’s not beyond the realm of possibility for the little Frenchman to open up a small gap on the Yellow Jersey, especially on the steepest parts of the climb near the summit. He won on a similar finish on stage 12 where he left Froome for dead – don’t count against it happening again today.
Value Bet: Warren Barguil 9/1
Barguil is too far down the GC to really pose a threat to Sky and AG2R and would love nothing more than to seal his KotM title on the Col d’Izoard. 9/1 looks an excellent price here for someone who won’t necessarily be chased down by Bardet and Froome.
