Defending Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador, came into this competition among the favorites to win the title in the 97th year of this famous old bicycle race and is currently ranked as third in the overall standings.

Last Sunday, Andy Schleck won the eighth stage, which was the hardest so far. After this victory, Schleck has reached his highest level and has earned a place among the strongest candidates to win the Tour, something to consider if you’re a fan of online betting.

For his part, Cadel Evans is wearing the race leader’s yellow jersey and many believe it will not be easy to snatch the lead from the Australian.

This journey was characterized by the failure of Lance Armstrong, who suffered two falls during the 8th stage and lost eleven minutes. Armstrong is ranked No.39 in the overall standings, and after his bad performance, he seems to be out of the fight for the title in his last participation of this French event.

As far as competition goes, Schleck has emerged as the strongest rival of Contador, taking into account that the Luxembourg rider was also a big rival for the Spaniard in last year’s mountainous route.

However, Contador is expected to be able to perform even better. He is expected to show his best level against all his major rivals that he probably will be facing on every corner, such as Evans, Schleck and Levi Leipheimer.

Also, the Spaniard has the support of a great cycling team, which certainly could give him more confidence and optimism against Contador to manage the two weeks remaining of this tour.

Finally, the route of the ninth stage is a distance of 204 kilometers, and is one of the most feared mountain routes between Morzine Avoriaz and St Jean de Maurienne.