Who Bet on Vincenzo Nibali to Win the Tour de France?
Vincenzo Nibali Wins 101st Tour de France
by Rio Sinclair
Nibali took the lead early in this edition of the Tour de France and for 18 consecutive days, nobody got even close of overtaking him. He showed extreme resilience throughout the most difficult stages of the competition and with three rounds left in the race it became obvious that only an accident could stop him in his tracks. This was Vincenzo’s race to lose and he didn’t falter, keeping up the tempo after the solo win at Hautacam.
This explains why bookmakers had no hesitations in offering ridiculously low odds for the Italian to win the tour with three stages before the end. While football dominates the markets most of the time, on certain occasions throughout the year, other sports spend more time in the spotlight. For example – at http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-gb you can bet on various sports including winter sports, team sports and perennial favourites like horseracing and football.
While it was fairly obvious that Nibali would win the competition, in the final stages everyone was anxiously waiting to see how the top placed Frenchman would fare in the remaining rounds. Much to their credit, both Jean-Christophe Péraud and Thibaut Pinot met and exceeded expectations, as they finished second and third. Local fans had plenty of reasons to celebrate and just as many to be optimistic about what future editions of the Tour de France would bring.
Jean-Christophe Péraud proved to be a real fighter as he found his way back in the pack after suffering a frightening accident with a bit over 40 km before the finish line. What matters is that at the end of the day, he finished on the podium, ahead of countryman Thibaut Pinot.
In less than a month, German fans rejoiced twice, as seven stages were won by compatriots while Marcel Kittel was simply amazing in the final sprint, to outshine Alexander Kristoff on the Champs-Elysées. Winning the 21st stage of the Tour de France meant a great deal for Marcel and this victory marked his fourth triumph this year.
Peter Sagan won the green jersey once again and improved his previous record, as a result of finishing in the ninth place. Overall, this was a spectacular edition of the Tour de France and the perfect moment for veteran Jens Voigt to retire. At 43 years old, the German cyclist also won the final intermediate sprint, to wrap up a glorious career.
