Africa's Kim le Court Pienaar stuns Tour Femmes
Local sporting fans will be cheering on Kim le Court Pienaar as the Tour de France Femmes heads for an Alpine finish on Sunday.
Odds on Le Court Pienaar to be a surprise winner of the world's premier road race have been slashed after the Mauritian-born, South African-schooled rider became the first female cyclist from Africa to don the fabled yellow jersey this week.
She won Stage 2 and was in yellow on three of the first six stages of the nine-day trek. By Friday morning, she had tightened down to 7.50 second favourite to win overall and a R6.00 chance to take Stage 7.
The bookmakers still had Dutch woman Demi Vollering at 1.44 – mainly because she is the best climber in the field and the final three stages are all mountainous. Vollering was in fourth place in the general classification on Friday.
Le Court Pienaar's impact on the race – and the wagering – can be gauged by the fact that defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who was once a short-priced second favourite has drifted out to 10.00 – even though she's still in third place in the general classification.
Margins in women's cycling are narrower than in the men's game – as anyone watching the Tour de France Femmes on TV would have gathered. This means minor incidents can have a big effect on standings.
The uncertainties were highlighted when Vollering crashed badly on Stage 3, managing to limp to the finishing line. Two concussion tests saw the 2023 Tour winner declared fit to continue and she gingerly completed Stage 4.
If one looks beyond Le Court Pienaar, Vollering and Niewiadoma – and a much-expected replay of the latter two's epic duel last year – potential winners include Sarah Gigante (8.00), Pauline Ferrand Prevot (9.00) and Puck Pieterse (100.00).
Betway is offering a wide variety of bets on Tour Femmes, including stage wins, mountains classification, teams and riders to win a stage and head-to-head battles between evenly matched riders.
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