Tour de France Tips: Two vans can drive to gravel glory at 9/2 and 17/1 on Stage 9

• Mathieu van der Poel (5.79/2) is obvious choice

• Wout van Aert (18.017/1) is inconsistent but capable

• Tadej Pogacar (28.027/1) would want it harder

• Use Betfair's Safer Gambling during the 2024 Tour de France

What's the stage like?

Controversial. 199km, featuring 14 sectors of white gravel roads that total 32km in length. Add to this four categorised climbs - and plenty more undulations as well - and you have a stage that General Classification teams will hate, but viewers will love. It's certainly different, and difference means unpredictability. This is for the one-day specialists, and those that have a gravel racing or cyclocross background will come out to play. Should a bunch survive to the finish, they face a flat, but complicated run-in to the line, meaning misjudgements are likely.

Riders will be looking forward to their rest day tomorrow.

Who are the favourites?

It's easy to think that riders who have shown form at Strade Bianche - the ultimate one-day gravel race - are the ones to beat here. And previous winners of the Italian Classic certainly provide the market leaders here.

Mathieu van der Poel (5.79/2) is the rightful favourite. Although quiet so far in this Tour - simply performing his lead-out duties for Jasper Philipsen (10.09/1) - he was near unbeatable in the Spring Classic season, and if retaining anywhere near the form he showed in Paris-Roubaix, he would win this, and Philipsen will presumably play the supporting role.

Who are the most likely outsiders?

Other Strade Bianche winners - Tom Pidcock (50.049/1), Tadej Pogacar (28.027/1), and Wout van Aert (18.017/1) - are obvious choices. The stage is not as hard as the Italian Classic, though, being 16km shorter and considerably flatter. That likely disadvantages Pidcock and Pogacar.

Van Aert, however, should relish the course, and whilst his form in this Tour has been hard to fathom - imperious on Stage 1, out of sight on Stage 8 - he is the only rider who can genuinely claim to be a match for van der Poel on days like this, and his odds have plenty of juice in them.

Others worth noting are Maxim Van Gils (40.039/1), Romain Gregoire (100.099/1), and Davide Formolo (400.0399/1), but expect them to be prominent rather than stage winners.

How will it affect the overall markets?

When the route of the 2024 Tour was announced last year, this stage had a negative reaction from some of the team bosses with precious General Classification cargo on board their teams, and with good reason: expect there to be some Yellow Jersey hopefuls who have their Tour bids ended through some calamity not of their own making.

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