Rolland good odds for another mountain moment

Pierre Rolland could be the solution to the puzzle that is the 11th stage of the Tour de France, the toughest day in the Alps this year for the ever-diminishing peloton.

Stage 11 is even harder than Stage 10 so, logically, the cyclists on which to concentrate as the Tour de France goes up another gear are the 25 ironmen who either finished in front of General Classification leader Bradley Wiggins or alongside him on the ride into Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.

It is probably safe to rule out the first five home on the 10th stage - Thomas Voeckler, Michele Scarponi, Jens Voigt, Luis-Leon Sanchez and Dries Devenyns - as they inflicted great pain of their bodies by coming home more than two minutes ahead of the riders classified sixth to ninth.

Also, the Tour de France is about more than stage victories for the Sky team so do not bet on either Chris Froome or Wiggins being the first cyclists into La Toussuire.

That leaves 19 riders on which to focus and, given that, there seems to be a decent case for backing Rolland at around the 12-1 mark since he would be one of the Stage 11 favourites if you conducted a quick survey of the peloton.

Rolland was the best young cyclist in last year`s Tour de France, riding into Paris wearing the white jersey and in 10th position after a memorable race in which he won the most famous of all mountain stages, Alpe d`Huez.

A rockstar in the opinion of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, Rolland is up to 20th in this year`s General Classification after placing eighth on yesterday`s stage, a performance that signalled better things to come as the Tour de France gets tougher.

Nine minutes and 28 seconds adrift of Wiggins in the General Classification and more than seven minutes away from a podium position, Rolland does not constitute a serious threat to the medal contenders at the head of the race.

That means that Wiggins, Froome, Cadel Evans and Vincenzo Nibali are likely to let him escape on the hilly roads between Albertville, host city of the 1992 Winter Olympic Games, and La Toussuire on today`s relatively short stage.

Evans and Nibali are, unsurprisingly, among the 11th stage favourites but Rolland makes more appeal at double figures than the Australian and the Italian do at single figures.

Also among the Stage 11 market leaders is Jurgen Van Den Broeck, who crossed the line at the conclusion of the difficult 10th stage in the same group as Rolland.

It is hard to understand why most bookmakers are betting shorter prices about Van Den Broeck than Rolland. Not only is the Belgian less likely to be allowed to escape because of his General Classification standing but also he does not have anything like as impressive a record of winning stages.

If Rolland is not the Stage 11 cyclist for you then alternatives include Thibaut Pinot and Andreas Kloden.

Pinot is 18th in the General Classification, won the eighth stage that comprised seven categorised climbs and, also, was second on the ride into La Toussuire that completed the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine event that Wiggins won by 86 seconds.

Kloden is 14th in the General Classification having finished the 2004 Tour de France and the 2006 Tour de France second behind Armstrong and Oscar Pereiro respectively. The German was one of the first five riders home when the Tour de France last visited La Toussuire six years ago.

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13/07/2012     © Frixo 2024