Tour de France 2019: Stage nine preview, betting, prediction & free tip

Eurosport 1 & ITV4, 11.25am

Thomas De Gendt of Belgium produced a gritty ride to land a 33-1 success on stage eight of the Tour de France, but third place was enough for Julian Alaphilippe to reclaim the yellow jersey from Giulio Ciccone.

De Gendt held off his breakaway partner Thibaut Pinot to win the stage by six seconds, but Alaphilippe recorded the same time as his fellow Frenchman and leads Ciccone by 23 seconds overall.

Alaphilippe is 22-1 to win the race having been a 150-1 shot at the outset. Favourite Geraint Thomas survived a fall to lose only 26 seconds to Alaphilippe but is fifth overall, one minute and 12 seconds behind.

Before the Tour, Sunday's stage nine looked made for home hope Romain Bardet as French riders traditionally target the stage win on Bastille Day and it ends in his home town of Brioude.

However, Bardet has been relatively quiet in the Tour, finishing no higher than 16th and blaming a leg injury for some lacklustre efforts. He was 28th on Saturday's similarly hilly stage and has been dismissed as a rank outsider on a day when a variety of types could fancy their chances.

A breakaway can't be ruled out, the Classics riders will be up for the challenge and there are even scenarios where the sprinters would have a shot.

As such, all-rounder Peter Sagan looks a sensible choice of favourite by the bookmakers.

The 12km downhill run to the finish line after the final categorised climb of the day looks to be key, though, and it might be the right time to pick a star descender.

Alaphilippe could be in the mix again, although his overall position makes it less likely he will take any downhill risks, and Bahrain Merida's Matej Mohoric makes each-way appeal.

The Slovenian suffered a heavy fall on stage one but if he has fully recovered from that he could go well, having won stages in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana on similar routes.

Mohoric was out the back on Saturday, hopefully saving himself for a stage that looks an ideal target for him.

Recommendation
M Mohoric
1pt each-way 28-1 bet365, RedZone

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