It was a Tour that had everything and will go down as one of the most exciting in years but despite a couple of good wins along the way Brent Graham would far rather be a bookie than a punter in Le Tour.

 The “Race of Truth” will decide who wins this year’s Tour de France and the riders face a 42.5km test which starts and finishes in Grenoble. Cadel Evans is the favourite to wear Yellow into Paris despite trailing Andy Schleck by 57 seconds.

 Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday is dominated by three uncategorised climbs which make up approximately 60km of this 200km ultimate endurance test. Fireworks amongst the leading GC contenders can be expected as the riders climb to heights often associated with Neil Armstrong never mind Lance.

 Stage 16 is pretty tame when compared to what lies ahead this week but with a downhill finish on the back of a Cat 2 climb we could see some action en route to the finish in Gap.

 Stage 14 of Tour de France 2011 will see the riders spend their final day in the Pyrenees on a 165.5 km route from Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille. With five categorised climbs and a summit finish on the out of category Plateau de Beille. This could be one of the defining stages of the tour with all the big guns expected to battle it out.

  Stage 12 of Tour de France 2011 on Bastille Day is the first of three stages in the Pyrenees and a day when the remaining GC contenders come to the party. It's an absolute beast of a stage which will make for gripping viewing and the tactics of the Schleck brothers, Alberto Contador and perhaps Cadel Evans will play a major part in the outcome.

 After a much needed rest day for the riders, Stage 10 of the 2011 Tour de France is a rolling 161km stretch from Aurillac to Carmaux. Although the route is far from flat, there are no huge climbs and the finish certainly suits the sprinters

 The riders leave the flat roads and head through the Massif Central where they will tackle a 190km route from Aigurande to Super-Besse Sancy where we will likely see the Yellow Jersey changing hands.

 Stage 6 is long and lumpy and is probably the breakaways best chance of succeeding to date. There are enough teams motivated to keep things together though to likely ensure that the 226km drag between Dinan and Lisieux ends in a sprint of sorts.

 The sprinters are set to take a back seat in stage 4 when the tour heads from Lorient to the steep finish at Mûr-de-Bretagne. The stage is 172km long and birthday boy and stage 1 winner Gilbert dominates the betting.

 In our final pre Tour de France article we take a look at the King of the Mountains market and suggest an 18/1, a 33/1 and an 11/10 play.

 The Tour de France gets going on Saturday 2 July and the betting suggests that Alberto Contador will defend his title and do the Giro/Tour double as well.