Is Richie Porte the man to beat at Tour de France 2017?

IT is that time of year when sports fans around the world turn their collective gaze to continental Europe for the greatest road race of them all.

The 2017 Tour de France kicks off on Saturday, July 1 in the German city of Dusseldorf, where Richie Porte will start as one of the hot favourites in the general classification.

Online bookmaker Sportsbet.com.au has the Australian slated at +180 to take home the yellow jersey.

Porte is riding some impressive form, having won the Tour de Romandie – always a good omen for the big one – and finished second overall in a tough race at the Criterium du Dauphine.

Yet the Tasmania native believes good fortune could be the key to bettering his fifth-place effort at Le Tour 2016, when a costly puncture on stage two ruined his chances of a podium finish.

“I think I need to avoid the bad luck I had last year,” Porte said in a recent interview with CyclingTips.

“I’ve done everything in my control to get to the startline in as good a condition as possible. So I think I’m just excited more than anything.

“I don’t really look into that [what needs to happen and what to avoid].

“With cycling there’s so many variables aren’t there, that it just doesn’t really … there’s not much point in losing sleep over what can and can’t happen.”

The only man ahead of Porte in the outright betting is defending champion Chris Froome – a +150 chance to win his fourth Tour de France in five years.

The Kenyan-born Brit has not enjoyed an especially fruitful 2017 to date, but his chief rival for the yellow jersey is expecting a strong response.

“I mean he’s won it three times so he knows how to do it,” Porte said.

“Yeah he hasn’t been as dominant as in past years. But I think it was always his plan to be good for the Tour and the Vuelta [a España].

“So I don’t think you can read too much into it.

“I also don’t think [Sky’s] going to take as strong a team to the Tour this year as they had last year.”

Nairo Quintana rounds out the single-figure prospects at +700, ahead of former winner Alberto Contador (+1600) and the Astana double act of Fabio Aru (also +1600) and Jakob Fuglsang (+2000).

According to Porte, none of them can be written off.

“Quintana, we’ll see how he’s come out of the Giro [d’Italia],” he said.

“And then there’s Astana. Jakob [Fuglsang]’s obviously flying and Aru is going really well too.

“And Contador — I mean, it could be his last Tour.

“So there’s so many guys — you can’t watch just one guy.”

2017 Tour de France outright winner tips

Richie Porte – +180 at Sportsbet

It is impossible to ignore Porte’s form in 2017. The field at the Dauphine certainly didn’t, which is why they worked so hard to isolate him in the mountain stages. The Aussie is an excellent all-round rider and a strong climber who showed all the tools required last year, so there is no reason he cannot deliver the goods this time around.

Chris Froome – +150 at Sportsbet

Beware the wounded warrior. Froome may have failed to reach his brilliant best this year, but you simply cannot dismiss a guy who has won this race four times since 2013. The bookies know that, which is why he is paying considerably shorter than Sportsbet’s +150 odds at other Tour de France betting sites.

Jakob Fuglsang – +2000 at Sportsbet

While many rate Aru as Astana’s top chance in the outright betting, it is his partner in crime who looms as the one to watch out for at Le Tour 2017. Some bookmakers have brought the 32-year-old Dane in as short as +900 after he stormed past Porte to take out the overall classification at the Dauphine, so those looking beyond the top two should jump on the +2000 quote while it lasts.

Green jersey betting

Peter Sagan in the points classification – -166.67 at William Hill

The green jersey is awarded to the top sprinter at Tour de France. Sagan has won it every since 2012 and is the short-priced favourite again. Who would dare bet against him making it six in a row and matching Erik Zabel’s all-time tally?

King of the Mountains tip

Rafal Majka in the mountains classification – +700 at Sportsbet

Most sports bookies have the polka-dot jersey as a two-horse race, and it is hard to dispute that assessment. Thibaut Pinot (+300) is the universal favourite, but we like the little extra value on Poland’s two-time King of the Mountain.

Stage 1 Tour de France betting

Tony Martin to win the stage – +250 at Sportsbet

Look to the time trial specialists for the 14km opening stage in Dusseldorf. Of the four major names in that particular discipline, Tony Martin’s is the one that stands out in big, bold letters. On mostly flat terrain with plenty of straight road and overwhelming local support, the four-time TT world champion will be very hard to beat.