The Green Jersey is awarded to the sprinter who achieves the most points during the three week Tour de France and once again Cavendish will be the odds on favourite to pick up the jersey in 2012. They key for Cavendish will be to pick up his usual amount of stage wins on the flat whilst also managing to stay in the race when the peleton goes through the mountains of the Alp. and the Pyrenees. Ladbrokes are convinced Cavendish can pick up the Green Jersey in 2012 and they make him a 5/6 shot to repeat his feat from last season and confirm his status as the worlds best sprinter.

A week after the Tour De France finishes in July, Cavendish will head to London with the aim of winning the first gold Medal of the 2012 London Olympics. The Road Race will circle around London and with its reasonably flat nature it lends itself to a sprint finish on the Mall. The British Team will be working with the sole aim of getting Cavendish to the sprint in the best possible shape and with that in mind Ladbrokes make him the 9/4 favourite to claim the Olympic Road Race Gold Medal. The Tour and the Olympics are particularly close together so Cavendish will need to hope he avoids injury in France if he is to any chance of claiming an Olympic Gold Medal but if any sprinter can do the Green Jersey/Gold Medal double then it is the current Sports Personality Of The Year.

Mark Cavendish Tour De France and Olympic Betting 2012

• 5/6 – Cavendish to win the Green Jersey at the Tour de France
• 9/4 – Cavendish to win the 2012 Olympic Road Race Gold Medal

All markets supplied by Ladbrokes.com

The world Championship in cycling is one of the highest honours within the sport outside of the Tour de France with the vast majority of cyclists placing the Championships ahead of the Olympics in terms of prestige which puts into perspective the achievement of Cavendish, it is also worth noting that he already has the Green Jersey from the Tour de France in the bag in 2011 and that with the Rainbow Jersey make him an outstanding SPOTY candidate. The bookmakers were quick to react after his World Championship win and Ladbrokes now rate him as the 4/1 second favourite to follow AP McCoy and win the Sports Personality Of The Year in December.

The favourite remains Darren Clarke who of course won the open Championship at Sandwich back in July, at the time he looked a sure thing in the Sports Personality Betting but while he remains the favourite there have been a number of strong challengers to emerge over the last couple of months. Along with Cavendish another man to put in a late bid this year is Mo Farah who was the brilliant winner of the 5000 metres in the Athletics World Championships recently, he is the first British man to win a long distance Gold Medal at world level and is available at 5/1 with Ladbrokes to win the prestigious award. As well as the big three mentioned there are also the likes of US Open Champion Rory McIlroy and 400m Hurdle World Champion Dai Greene to consider in what looks the hottest list in recent memory which is sure to attract plenty of interest.

Sports Personality Of the Year Betting 2011 with Ladbrokes

• Evens – Darren Clarke
• 4/1 – Mark Cavendish
• 5/1 – Mo Farah
• 5/1 – Rory McIlroy
• 25/1 – Alastair Cook
• 33/1 – Wayne Rooney
• 40/1 – Tom Daley
• 40/1 – Dai Greene
• Bar

All markets supplied by Ladbrokes.com

The betting is now in full flow as the riders get ready to hit the gruelling mountains on Thursday 14^th July. Last year’s runner up Andy Schleck has replaced the pre-tour favourite and three time winner, Alberto Contador, at the head of the Outright Betting, and now has odds of 11/10 with Paddy Power to win his first Tour de France. Contador has suffered a couple of minor crashes and has also complained of a niggling knee injury. However, he is widely recognised as the best climber in the pack and with the tour due to head into the mountains the Spaniard is likely to come into his own and start reducing the time gap between himself and his rivals. Paddy Power have the 28-year-old available at 11/4 to finish as the King of the Mountains.

At 4/1 to win the Tour de France, the Australian Cadel Evans looks a very good bet. The 34-year-old has had a fantastic tour so far and looks to be going from strength to strength. He is currently sitting in third place overall and will determined to continue eclipsing his major rivals as the tour progresses.

Sprinting sensation Mark Cavendish has already two Stages to his name, and came close to making that three on Tuesday but he was just edged out on the line by his former team mate Andre Greipel. The Manxman is the odds-on 8/12 favourite to win Stage 11 (Blage-les-Mines – Lavaur) today and thus edge closer to catching the green jersey leader Philippe Gilbert. Cavendish has odds of 5/4 to win the Points Classification battle, behind the 11/10 favourite Gilbert.

Stage 11 (Blage-les-Mines – Lavaur) – Wednesday 13th July

• 8/12 – M Cavendish
• 13/2 – A Greipel
• 9/1 – T Farrar
• 16/1 – A Petacchi
• 22/1 – R Feillu
• 25/1 – E Boasson Hagen
• 25/1 – D Galimzyanov
• 25/1 – J J Rojas
• 33/1 – T Hushovd

Outright Winner Betting

• 11/10 – A Schleck
• 7/4 – A Contador
• 4/1 – C Evans
• 22/1 – F Schleck
• 25/1 – I Basso
• 50/1 – A Kloden
• 66/1 – S Sanchez
• 100/1 – T Voeckler
• 125/1 – R Gesink
• 150/1 – P Velits
• 150/1 -  L Sanchez

King of the Mountains Odds

• 11/4 – A Contador
• 4/1 – A Schleck
• 6/1 – T Voeckler
• 12/1 – D Moncoutie
• 14/1 – D Cunego
• 14/1 – F Schleck
• 14/1 – S Sanchez
• 18/1 – R Gesink
• 18/1 – C Evans

All odds supplied by Paddy Power

It will come as no surprise to anyone with even only a limited knowledge of cycling to learn that the three-time champion, Alberto Contador, is the major odds-on favourite, with Bet 365 pricing the defending champion at short odds of 7/10 to win what would be his third-straight title. The Spaniard is the best climber in the world and also a nifty time trialist, thus giving him a huge advantage. However, the 28-year-old has been plagued by a long on-going doping investigation, having tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in the 2010 Tour de France, which could prove to be a nasty distraction.

Contador’s main challenge comes from Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck, who has finished runner up in the past two years, and is priced at 9/1 with Bet 365 to go one step better this year. Schleck is one of the best climbers on the tour but unfortunately he is not much of a time trialist, which could be a key factor preventing him from toping the podium.

With Contador such a huge favourite, it may be best to focus on the ‘Tour De France 2011 Odds without Alberto Contador market’ (see odds below). Ivan Basso and Cadel Evans have a wealth of experience and know what it takes to finish on the podium. The racers are 9/1 and 15/1 respectively to win the tour without Contador. After finishing sixth last year the young Dutchman, Robert Gesink, is definitely in with a shout as is the 40/1 the American long shot Chris Horner. Horner finished in 10th place in 2010 and has had a fantastic year to 2011, winning the Tour of California ahead of Schleck.

As usual the main British hope is Bradley Wiggins. After an array of excellent performances in France two years ago he came away with an excellent 4th place overall, although he did struggle last year, finishing in a disappointing 24th place finish. Bet 365 offers odds of 14/1 on Wiggins to win the race without Contador, which is well worth a punt.  Elsewhere Mark Cavendish starts as big 7/5 favourite for the green jersey.

Tour De France 2011 Outright Odds:

• 7/10 – Alberto Contador
• 33/20 – Andy Schleck
• 25/1 – Ivan Basso
• 25/1 – Bradley Wiggins
• 25/1 – Cadel Evans
• 28/1 – Robert Gesink
• 33/1 – Samuel Sanchez
• 50/1 – Frank Schleck
• 50/1 – Jurgen Van Den Broeck
• 80/1 – Janez Brajkovic
• 80/1 – Christopher Horner
• 80/1 – Levy Leipheimer
• 80/1 – Andreas Kloden

Tour De France 2011 Odds without Alberto Contador:

• 4/7 – Andy Schleck
• 9/1 – Ivan Basso
• 13/1 – Robert Gesink
• 14/1 – Bradley Wiggins
• 15/1 – Cadel Evans
• 16/1 – Samuel Sanchez
• 18/1 – Frank Schleck
• 22/1 – Jurgen Van Den Broeck
• 33/1 – Levy Leipheimer
• 40/1 – Andreas Kloden

King of the Mountains Odds:

• 3/1 – Alberto Contador
• 11/2 – David Moncoutié
• 11/2 – Andy Schleck
• 7/1 – Anthony Charteau
• 9/1 – Damiano Cunego
• 11/1 – Thomas Voeckler

Tour De France 2011 – Points Classification Odds:

• 7/5 – Mark Cavendish
• 7/2 – Alessandro Petacchi
• 7/1 – Phillipe Gilbert
• 8/1 – Thor Hushovd
• 9/1 – Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil
• 11/1 – Edvald Boasson Hagen
• 16/1 – Tyler Farrar
• 22/1 – Andre Greipel
• 33/1 – Ben Swift
• 33/1 – Mathew Goss

All odds supplied by Bet365

Contador is with a new team this season and his new Saxo Bank team mates will be doing everything they can to support their team leader who will hoping to hold off a strong challenge from a number of riders in the peloton. One rider who may offer a little bit of value to punters is Italian Vincenzo Nibali who after winning the Vuelta a Espana last season will come to his home tour full of confidence. Nibali rides for the Liquigas Italian team who will be going all out to support their team leader and Nibali can be backed at a nice looking 9/2 with VC Bet to claim the overall Pink Jersey at the end of the Giro this month.

As well as the top two in the betting there are one or two other contenders that punters might want to consider and they include the big Russian Denis Menchov who himself is a former Giro winner having picked up the overall classification in 2009. Menchov will be hoping that Contador is not at his best for the race with the Tour De France fast approaching and with that Menchov can be backed at 12/1 with VC Bet to claim the overall leaders jersey at the end of the month. Much of the outcome of the 2011 Giro will depend on the form and fitness of hot favourite Alberto Contador, if he arrives at 100% fitness and focus then he will be tough to beat but any cracks in his armour and it should be a classic race.

Outright Giro d’Italia Betting with Victor Chandler

• 7/10 – Alberto Contador
• 9/2 – Vincenzo Nibali
• 5/1 – Michele Scarponi
• 12/1 – Denis Menchov
• 12/1 – Joaquin Rodriguez
• 20/1 – Roman Kreuziger
• 40/1 – Domenico Pozzovivo
• 50/1 – Tiago Machado
• 50/1 – Jose Rujano
• 66/1 – Danilo de Luca

Others On Request

All markets supplied by Victor Chandler.com

Tour de France best UK rider

The following odds are for the best among the following riders which are all from the UK for the 3rd stage of the Tour de France.

• Evens – Jeremy Hunt
• 6/4 – David Millar
• 5/2 – Mark Cavendish
• 20/1 – Bradley Wiggins
• 40/1 – Geraint Thomas
• 100/1 – Steve Cummings
• 200/1 – Nicolas Roche
• 1000/1 – Daniel Lloyd

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2009 Tour de France Outright Winner (Top 10)

• Alberto Contador – Evens
• Lance Armstrong – 11/2
• Andy Schleck – 6/1
• Cadel Evans – 15/2
• Denis Menchov – 14/1
• Carlos Sastre – 14/1
• Levi Leipheimer – 25/1
• Roman Kreuziger – 33/1
• Frank Schleck - 28/1
• M Rogers – 40/1

Controversy has followed the Tour de France with drug taking being rife in the sport as such Paddy Power if the American rider Lance Armstrong is banned during the tour for a failed drug test, then they will refund all losing outright bets on him.

There are several other jerseys up for grabs in the race maillot vert (green jersey) is awarded to the rider that attains the most sprint points and there is the maillot blanc (white jersey) is for the best rider under 25 on January 1 that year, then their is the maillot a pois rouges (Red Polka dots on a white jersey) which is awarded to the King of the Mountain, the rider that who is first to top designated hills and mountains.

White Jersey Odds

• A Schleck – 4/9
• R Gesink – 4/1
• Andy Schleck – 4/9
• Roman Kreuziger – 9/2
• D Martin – 14/1
• T Martin – 14/1
• Levi Leipheimer – 16/1
• C A Sorensen – 33/1
• R Faria da Costa - 40/1
• R Uran – 66/1

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Tour de France Crashes