Tour de France stage nine predictions and cycling betting tips: Battle for the yellow jersey set to resume

Where to watch stage nine of the Tour de France

Eurosport 1 & ITV4, 12.35pm Sunday

Best bet

Felix Gall to win stage nine
1pt each-way 25-1 bet365

Tour de France predictions

Mark Cavendish's bid for a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win is over after the Manxman crashed out of this year’s race on Saturday.

Riding his final Tour before retirement at the end of the season, Cavendish hit the deck with around 60km remaining of stage eight and was taken away in an ambulance with an apparent collarbone injury.

Cavendish will remain tied with cycling legend Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour stage victories unless he reverses his decision to retire.

Stage eight was won by former world champion Mads Pedersen.

The first week of the 110th Tour de France ends on Sunday with a first visit in 35 years to the Puy de Dome – and given the action on the road to date, another titanic tussle between yellow-jersey rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar could be in the offing.

Defending champion Vingegaard struck first in the pair’s latest battle, gaining 64 seconds on Pogacar with a devastating attack on the Col de Marie Blanque on stage five.

The Dane, and his Jumbo-Visma team, went in for the kill on Thursday but a much-improved Pogacar was not for budging so easily and turned the tables on Vingegaard on the day’s final climb, clawing back 28 seconds to move within 25 seconds of Vingegaard in the general classification.

If the pair are within striking distance of the stage win when hitting the slopes of the Puy de Dome then they will likely battle it out to be first across the line.

But there should be scope for a breakaway to make it to the finish for the first time in this year’s race given the time gaps already created. 

If that does turn out to tbe the case watch out for Austrian Felix Gall. He was extremely active on stage five and won a mountainous stage at the recent Tour de Suisse. 

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