Tour De France Stage 3 predictions, betting tips, odds and free bets (July 4, 2016)

Monday, 04 July 2016 09:34
Written by David Bet

Stage 3 is the longest stage of the race thus far with a 223.5km course from Granville to Angers. This article contains our Tour De France Stage 3 betting preview, highest odds, predictions on Winner and Head to Head, bookie offers & no deposit bonuses!

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TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 3 BETTING PREVIEW

It is a similarly flat affair to Stage 1, but the race turns south and heads - in a straight line - for the Pyrenees. The most likely scenario is that an early breakaway will gain time and be held by the sprinters’ teams, then reeled in just before the finish. From the 100km mark the roads are flatter almost until the finish line. But the final km is not totally flat. It appears to rise 2.5% on average for that kilometre, although going off of the profile above the second part looks steeper with the first 500m being more shallow.

We gave Mark Cavendish little chance in stage 1 as he had been beaten in the British road race championship sprint the previous Sunday. But "Cannon Ball" surprised his rivals with a powerful sprint. Anyway, today's final km could be too tough for his legs.

Marcel Kittel will be hoping to go better than his 2nd on the opening stage. Actually, in stage 1 he spent too much time in the wind to hold Cavendish off but he proved to be the fastest man. An uphill sprint is not perfect for him but he has won much harder sprints in the past. Maybe, he is not at his best form at the moment.

Andre Greipel won a very similar finish at the Giro earlier in the year and has better climbing ability compared to Kittel. He loves this kind of uphill sprint which suits his compatriot less.

Peter Sagan has a very good chance of going back to back on Monday. He finished 2nd on stage 1, beating the more heavily fancied German sprint duo, adn the finale looks to be ver ysuited again for his skills.

Another who could go well is Dylan Groenewegen. The Dutchman proved at the Ster ZLM Toer that he has the speed to take on Kittel and Greipel and his confidence is high after his recent string of successes. He was very unlucky in the first sprint, taken out by Morkov's crash, but we expect him to be a real contender today.

Dark horses?

Edward Theuns was a nice fifth in stage 1 where he again showed his great ability to position himself.

Alexander Kristoff, Bryan Coquard and Daniel McLay could be good for a place on the podium.