Details

Published on Thursday, 17 August 2017 23:00

Vuelta - Other Markets 

A selection of other random bets

Lot's of other markets to think about as usual with the Grand Tours, not as many as at the Tour de France, but still plenty to get stuck in to. Let's have a look at some that caught my eye

Top 10 Finish

David de la Cruz - 5/4 with Corals

I've outlined his credentials in my GC preview, I think DDLC is going to have a great race and the 5/4 on him to finish in the top 10 is a must bet as far as I'm concerned, I think he could be top 6 or better even. 4pts win.

Steven Kruijswijk - 11/10 - various

I've also outlined how well I think Kruijswijk might go in this race and I think he'll get better as the race goes on and could do very well on the long, hard climbs. He will also do ok in the TT, and as I have backed him e/w to win at 40/1 it makes sense to have something on him at 11/10 to finish in the top 10 too. 3pts win.  

Miguel Angel Lopez - 11/10 - various

Another who I expect to go well and is a very good time triallist, he could haul himself in to the top ten with a combination of solid climbing, some audacious attacking and a good TT. 2pts win

Woet Poels - 11/10 - various

I think Poels will go very well in this race too and may well be the last man standing for Froome on the tough stages. If Froome goes as well in this race as he's expected to, Poels should be finishing in the top 10 on a lot of stages, and we know Sky are capable of placing two riders high up in races as a result of their tactics of keeping their top lieutentant protected until the last moment, and he's not the type to pull over and stop, but will ride to the finish. And he can TT too. 3pts win.

Over/Under Stage Wins 

Alberto Contador - under 0.5 wins - 4/6 with Bet365. There you have it.. no fairytale ending for Contador as far as I'm concerned, he won't beat the stronger GC guys in a GC finish and he won't beat sharper, nippier younger guys if he contests a stage finish with a breakaway group. He has not won a road stage race since the Volta ao Algarve in February 2016 and I can't see him breaking that run in a race as hard as the Vuelta, especially given how he rode in the TDF. 3pts win.

Alexander Geniez to win a stage - 2/1 with 365 - The little Frenchman is a great climber, good at getting in breaks and good tactically to take wins from break situations. Winner of a stage in the Vuelta last year and winner of two races this year so far, he lasted only 4 days of the Giro so will be looking to make up for lost opportunities here I think. 2pts win. 

Rein Taaramae - under 0.5 wins - 1/5 with 365 - free money, Taaramae will not be winning any stages. He hasn't won in over a year, he'll be working for Zakarin and he is off to Cofidis next season, low motivation to push himself, the deal is already done. - 5pts win  

Warren Barguil to win a stage - 5/6 with 365 - the way he rode at the Tour and the way he finished the race really strongly suggests that Barguil still has a lot in the legs. I think he will target specific stages here like he did in the Tour and could well land one of the many mountainous stages on the route. 3pts win 

Carlos Betancur - under 0.5 wins - 4/9 with 365. Another enigma, Betancur teases and makes it look like he could be back to his best only to flop and disappear again just as quick. He hasn't won a race since the Vuelta Asturias almost 16 months ago except for the jokey Hammer Series event when he looks very impressive. He was ok in the Tour, finishing an ok 18th place, but he never looked like winning a stage. And I think it could be the same here. 4.5pts win  

Magnus Cort Neilsen to win a stage - evens with 365. I think Cort Neilsen is capable of taking a stage win amongst these sprinters, he can get in breaks, he can win from sprints, I think he has 5 or 6 stages at least where he could have opportunities to land this for us. 2.5pts win. 

KOM Matchbets

Kruijswijk to beat Majka - 2pts at 5/4 with 365.. I think Kruijswijk will feature more than Majka on the key mountain stages and I fancy him to do well overall, so this is worth an interest.  

Roson to beat Anton and Fraile to beat Atapuma - 3pts on the double at 11/10 with 365

Points Classification Matchbets

Degenkolb to beat Cort Nielsen, Froome to beat Contador and Alaphilippe to beat Dani Moreno - 3pts on the treble at 6/4 with 365 - this looks pretty solid to me