Lance Armstrong, currently planning his return to a dominant place in pro cycling, could cost British bookmakers a five figure sum if he manages to win the 2009 Tour de France, probably not the impossible task it seems.
Armstrong confirmed yesterday that he plans to compete at the Tour de France and will for the first time in his career ride the Giro D’Italia.
And a fairytale return to the Tour could end up having “nightmare repercussions” for the betting industry, reports Ladbrokes.
“We began laying Armstrong at 14/1 to win the Tour in early September and his price has contracted as the rumours grew,” says Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison. “It will be interesting to see Astana’s tactics given the presence of Alberto Contador in the team.
“But if they focus on Armstrong and he delivers for an eighth time cycling fans will be queuing from here to Alpe D’Huez to collect their winnings.”
Armstrong is 2/1 favourite for the Giro, ahead of Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego, and 11/2 second favourite for the Tour behind Contador at 6/4.
Here’s the latest odds:
Giro d’Italia 2009
2/1 Lance Armstrong
5/2 Ivan Basso
11/2 Damiano Cunego
7/1 Danilo Di Luca
10/1 Denis Menchov
12/1 Carlos Sastre
12/1 Gilberto Simoni
20/1 Marzio Bruseghin
25/1 Vincenzo Nibali
33/1 Stefano Garzelli
Tour de France 2009
6/4 Alberto Contador
11/2 Lance Arnstrong
8/1 Andy Schlek
10/1 Cadel Evans
12/1 Carlos Sastre
14/1 Ivan Basso
16/1 Denis Menchov
20/1 Levi Leipheimer
33/1 Andreas Kloden
33/1 Christian Vandevelde
40/1 Damiano Cunego
40/1 Roman Kreuziger
40/1 Frank Schleck
40/1 Michael Rogers
40/1 Samuel Sanchez
So, who is your money on?
