Kittel wins again in heated sprint at Tour de France 2017

THE sprinters stole the headlines again on Friday morning after Marcel Kittel took out stage six of the 2017 Tour de France.

The German got the hop on green jersey rivals Arnaud Demare and Andre Greipel in what was a fierce and fractious finish into Troyes.

Among those who lost out was Michael Matthews, who crossed in seventh and failed to gain any ground in the points classification.

The Team Sunweb rider was less than impressed with his rivals’ conduct over the closing stretch.

“Everyone is just taking so much risk and for me as a sprinter, as I showed yesterday, I need to start my sprint from the front,” Matthews told reporters.

“I’m not a guy that can headbutt people or elbow people to get into position. I think that’s where I lost a really good position today.

“We just need to be in better position in the big sprints because I’m not really a guy whose going to go crazy in the last few kms and risk my life for top five or top three.

Demare’s second day in green, Kittel’s second win! #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/La4rEDvDmi

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 6, 2017

“I think we really need to work on nailing that leadout and that’s how I’ll get the best results.

“I have the legs to do it, I just need to be in the right position.”

The Australian rider’s comments come only days after five-time green jersey winner Peter Sagan was booted from the race over a nasty incident that left Mark Cavendish with a broken shoulder.

He was not the only man to express concern at the aggressive tactics of his fellow sprinters.

“The level of sprinting is so high here at the Tour, even if two guys are missing it’s still a crazy high level,” said John Degenkolb, one of several riders caught in the Cavendish crash on stage four.

“It was super, super fast.”

Porte happy to hold pace with Froome

Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey on a day when most in the peloton were more concerned about conserving energy than making up time.

The Brit has firmed to -149.25 in the outright betting at CrownBet.com.au, with Fabio Aru (+400) and Richie Porte (+450) his nearest rivals.

On a flat slog of 216km in temperatures reaching 37 degrees celsius, Porte was happy to stay on his bike and keep pace.

“It was a such long day,” he said.

“It was one of those days where you say there’s nothing to gain, but so much to lose.”

The Tasmanian sits fifth in the overall standings, 39 seconds behind Froome.

2017 Tour de France outright betting

-149.25 – Chris Froome

+400 – Fabio Aru

+450 – Richie Porte

+2000 – Daniel Martin

+2500 – Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana

+3300 – Alberto Contador

+5000 – Jakob Fuglsang, Geraint Thomas

+6600 – Simon Yates

+8000 – Rafal Majka

+10000 – Louis Meintjes

More quoted at CrownBet.com.au

Kittel tipped for back-to-back stage wins

Friday will see the Tour head through some illustrious wine country en route to Nuits-Saint-Georges.

The bookies have Kittel (-125) as the clear favourite on an unfamiliar stage that is nonetheless expected to suit the sprinters.

Demare (+300) and Greipel (+550) should be in the mix, while Matthews (+3300) may struggle to keep his podium place in the green jersey fight.

The 26-year-old Canberran admitted this year’s Tour was far from a perfect fit for his punchy style.

“We’ve been chipping away at it, but it’s going to be difficult with so many flat sprints at this Tour de France,” he said.

“Normally there’s more opportunities for the intermediate stages in the Tour, but unfortunately this year there’s not so many.

“It makes it a little bit harder for a rider like me, I guess.”

Stage 7 betting: Troyes/Nuits-Saint-Georges

-125 – Marcel Kittel

+300 – Arnaud Demare

+550 – Andre Greipel

+1400 – Alexander Kristoff

+1600 – Nacer Bouhanni, Dylan Groenewegen

+3300 – Michael Matthews

+5000 – Sonny Colbrelli

+6600 – Evald Boasson Hagen, Daniel McLay

+10000 – John Degenkolb

More quoted at CrownBet.com.au