Tour de France stage seven predictions and cycling betting tips: Cavendish could roll back the years

Where to watch stage seven of the Tour De France 

Eurosport 1 & ITV4, 12.10pm Thursday

Best bet

Mark Cavendish
1pt each-way 14-1 bet365

Tour de France stage seven predictions

They thought it was over. It isn’t now. 

Having grovelled in the wake of Jonas Vingegaard on Wednesday to lose over a minute, Tadej Pogacar hit back in a sensational Pyrenean duel with the Dane on Thursday.

The big two went clear on the final climb to Cauterets and, having survived a prolonged attempt to break him, Pogacar rose from the canvas and attacked with three kilometres to go, taking a stunning victory by 24 seconds plus a four-second bonus.

Vingegaard inherited the yellow jersey from Jai Hindley but now knows he must overcome a huge problem in the shape of Pogacar, who trails him by just 25 seconds, if he is to win a second successive Tour.

Vingegaard just edges favouritism but there is little in it and with three stages to go before they even reach the first rest day cycling fans will be eagerly looking forward to an epic battle all the way to Paris.

The riders do not have to confront the high mountains again until the race hits the Alps next Friday, although there is a vicious end to Sunday’s stage at Puy de Dome.

On Friday the Tour returns to Bordeaux after a 13-year absence. It is almost unheard of for the city to host anything other than a sprint finish, and with the field feeling their exertions in the Pyrenees it is likely we will get another this afternoon.

Jasper Philipsen is two-from-two in bunch finishes this week and, assisted by a highly effective leadout unit, he is a hot favourite to make it a hat-trick.

Whether he is quite as superior to the other fastmen as the market implies is open to debate. He survived a long stewards inquiry to win stage three and then only just repelled Caleb Ewan the following day after a string of late crashes had thinned down the list of potential winners.

The last time the Tour arrived in Bordeaux Mark Cavendish took the honours and there is a more than sentimental case to be made for him repeating the feat 13 years later.

The Manx legend has finished fifth and sixth in the two sprint stages and has shown enough this year to suggest he can go close again today even at the age of 38.

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