Tour de France stage 17 betting preview, free tips & TV details

TV: ITV4, Eurosport 1 & S4C from 11.40am Wednesday

As expected stage 16 around Nimes ended in a bunch sprint with Caleb Ewan gaining his second stage victory of this year's Tour when finishing ahead of Elia Viviani and Dylan Groenewegen.

On a day of little action, perhaps unsurprising given the constant 36C heat, a small breakaway featuring domestiques was given little rope as the sprinters' teams patrolled the race.

The stage didn't pass without incident with Geraint Thomas tumbling early on. Injuries are probably superficial but when challenging for the title any rider can do without any minor mishap.

However, Thomas fared better than Astana's Jacob Fuglsang, who crashed 25km from home and retired from the Tour. At the outset, the Dane had been one of the market-leaders.

The 200km Stage 17 route from Pont du Gard to Gap, which again will take place in stifling hot temperatures, looks tailor-made for a breakaway – as was the case in 2015 – with the GC teams more concerned with the upcoming Alps and the parcour too tough for the sprinters' teams.

The 5km category-three Col de Sentinelle, with a summit just 8.5km from the stage finish in Gap, provides an ideal launchpad for anyone with stage ambitions.

The stage is probably one that current leader Julian Alaphilippe earmarked at the start as a potential win as it looks to suit an attacking one-day rider. But surely not even Alaphillippe can risk attacking when he has three days in the mountains to come.

There will be lots of riders who will fancy their chance, so expect the early stages to be active until the right breakaway has formed. Therefore, this is the sort of stage where it is probably best to play when the final selection has been made.

However, anyone wanting an early dabble may want to look to the Astana team to once again be given some rope given that their leader is now absent.

They won two lumpy transitional stages last year with Omar Fraile and Magnus Cort Nielsen. Both are interesting riders and preference is for Cort Nielsen, who has been in better form this season having won a similar type stage in Paris-Nice.

Michael Matthews won two transitional stages in 2017 and will be the one to beat if he can get into the breakaway, while Mitchelton-Scott will be hoping for a further success this time with Matteo Trentin, who gained a Tour de France stage win in 2013 on a similar stage.

However, the other bet is Greg van Avermaet. He and his CCC team have been quiet but this is a perfect stage for the Olympic champion who at his best has the power to distance his rivals on the final climb.

Recommendations
G van Avermaet
1pt 20-1 bet365
M Cort Nielsen
0.5pt 40-1 bet365

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