The 98th Tour de France gets underway on Saturday 2nd July, as the best cyclists in the world embark on the most prestigious event in cycling and one of the most gruelling physical and mental challenges in sport. The 2011 tour will see 198 racers cover over 3,400km in 21 stages across 23 days. It is always a popular betting market and provides a range of opportunities for punters, ranging from the Outright Winner to King of the Mountains market.

It will come as no surprise to anyone with even only a limited knowledge of cycling to learn that the three-time champion, Alberto Contador, is the major odds-on favourite, with Bet 365 pricing the defending champion at short odds of 7/10 to win what would be his third-straight title. The Spaniard is the best climber in the world and also a nifty time trialist, thus giving him a huge advantage. However, the 28-year-old has been plagued by a long on-going doping investigation, having tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol in the 2010 Tour de France, which could prove to be a nasty distraction.

Contadors main challenge comes from Luxembourgs Andy Schleck, who has finished runner up in the past two years, and is priced at 9/1 with Bet 365 to go one step better this year. Schleck is one of the best climbers on the tour but unfortunately he is not much of a time trialist, which could be a key factor preventing him from toping the podium.

With Contador such a huge favourite, it may be best to focus on the Tour De France 2011 Odds without Alberto Contador market (see odds below). Ivan Basso and Cadel Evans have a wealth of experience and know what it takes to finish on the podium. The racers are 9/1 and 15/1 respectively to win the tour without Contador. After finishing sixth last year the young Dutchman, Robert Gesink, is definitely in with a shout as is the 40/1 the American! long sh ot Chris Horner. Horner finished in 10th place in 2010 and has had a fantastic year to 2011, winning the Tour of California ahead of Schleck.

As usual the main British hope is Bradley Wiggins. After an array of excellent performances in France two years ago he came away with an excellent 4th place overall, although he did struggle last year, finishing in a disappointing 24th place finish. Bet 365 offers odds of 14/1 on Wiggins to win the race without Contador, which is well worth a punt. Elsewhere Mark Cavendish starts as big 7/5 favourite for the green jersey.

Tour De France 2011 Outright Odds:

• 7/10 Alberto Contador
• 33/20 Andy Schleck
• 25/1 Ivan Basso
• 25/1 Bradley Wiggins
• 25/1 Cadel Evans
• 28/1 Robert Gesink
• 33/1 Samuel Sanchez
• 50/1 Frank Schleck
• 50/1 Jurgen Van Den Broeck
• 80/1 Janez Brajkovic
• 80/1 Christopher Horner
• 80/1 Levy Leipheimer
• 80/1 Andreas Kloden

Tour De France 2011 Odds without Alberto Contador:

• 4/7 Andy Schleck
• 9/1 Ivan Basso
• 13/1 Robert Gesink
• 14/1 Bradley Wiggins
• 15/1 Cadel Evans
• 16/1 Samuel Sanchez
• 18/1 Frank Schleck
• 22/1 Jurgen Van Den Broeck
• 33/1 Levy Leipheimer
• 40/1 Andreas Kloden

King of the Mountains Odds:

• 3/1 Alberto Contador
• 11/2 David Moncouti
• 11/2 Andy Schleck
• 7/1 Anthony Charteau
• 9/1 Damiano Cunego
• 11/1 Thomas Voeckler

Tour De France 2011 Points Classification Odds:

• 7/5 Mark Cavendish
• 7/2 Alessandro Petacchi
• 7/1 Phillipe Gilbert
• 8/1 Thor Hushovd
• 9/1 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil
• 11/1 Edvald Boasson Hagen
• 16/1 Tyler Farrar
• 22/1 Andre Greipel
• 33/1 Ben Swift
• 33/1 Mathew Goss

All odds supplied by Bet365

The role of James Bond is perhaps the most famous in the world of film, and the speculation about who the next actor will be to play 007 continues to build pace amid rumours that Daniel Craig will bow out after the next movie is released in 2012. Craig has been lucky enough to fill the role of James bond for the last two movies while he has signed on to star in a third which is about to go in production, it could be his last adventure as 007 though and Paddy Power have a lively market open on who they believe will step into the breach and take on the iconic role.

The name of Sam Worthington has been linked with James Bond for some time now and the Australian born Avatar actor is priced as the 5/2 favourite with Paddy Power to replace Daniel Craig and be announced as the next James Bond. Worthington is certainly an actor on the rise at the moment with his turn in Avatar winning rave reviews and he could have the ideal look for a modern and edgy Bond which is reflected in his price. His closest challenger for the role according to the betting is Tom Hardy who is a young actor on the rise, he was part of a massive smash recently when he starred in Inception and is English making him a front runner for the high profile role. His relative inexperience in a leading role may harm his chances but again he could have the ideal look making his price of 4/1 with Paddy Power a nice looking bet.

Punters wanting to take a bit more of a gamble on picking Daniel Craigs successor may want to take a closer look at Michael Fassbender who made his name recently in Inglorious Basterds, he is another up and coming star and although he is not English he did grown up in Northern Ireland which would stand him in good stead. Fa! ssbender may not be a household name just yet but his odds look attractive at 14/1 with Paddy Power, he looks to have the ideal profile for a potential Bond with his look and age seemingly ideal. Whoever takes over the role from Daniel Craig will have big boots to fill, Craig has proven a big success as 007 despite some initial doubts from the traditionalists and the powers that be will be hoping that can repeat that trick with their next selection.

Next James Bond Actor Betting with Paddy Power

• 5/2 Sam Worthington
• 4/1 Tom Hardy
• 8/1 Christian Bale
• 10/1 Will Smith
• 10/1 Gerard Butler
• 10/1 Clive Owen
• 12/1 Alex OLoughlin
• 12/1 Dougray Scott
• 14/1 Michael Fassbender
• 14/1 Orlando Bloom
• 14/1 Idris Elba
• 16/1 Henry Cavill
• Bar

Betting market supplied by Paddy Power.com

There are thousands of American soccer fans whod like to see the back of national team manager Bob Bradley as soon as possible. The teams star player Landon Donovan might even be one of them as he refused to back his coach publicly after losing to Mexico 4-2 in the Gold Cup Final after holding a 2-0 lead. Its no wonder that Donovan didnt back his coach after he was left on the bench in some of Americas most important games only to save their skin when coming on as a substitute.

Donovan basically told the press that hes not concerned if fans want to see the 53-year-old Bradley removed as manager. However, some players, such as goalkeeper Tim Howard, backed Bradley to the hilt and said he shouldnt be blamed for the loss to Mexico.

Donovan was left on the bench when the USA kicked off their semi-final match against Panama and he questioned Bradleys decision to the press. Donovan came on in the second half and set up the winning goal. Leaving your teams best player on the bench is all too common in soccer and Bradley is playing with fire by doing so. He would have been crucified in the press and by fans if he didnt start Donovan against Mexico and thats likely why he started the game.

The problem with Bradleys American squad at the moment is they arent playing consistent football. Theyre an exciting bunch to watch, but are quite unpredictable. Theyll need to get their act together though once World Cup 2014 qualifying starts next summer. This means Donovan and Bradley will have to be on the same page if theyre to succeed.

Donovan is seen as a team leader by the players and they think highly of his opinion. If push comes to shove between him and the coach, there will be a division in the dressing room, especially with Bradleys son Michael on the squad.

Theres no shame in losing to Mexico! , but fa ns are worried that the rest of the CONCACAF teams are getting stronger while the Americans are slipping. They point to a lost to Panama in the group stage of the Gold Cup as a perfect example of this. This could cause some huge problems in world Cup qualifying as there are only three guaranteed places up for grabs in CONCACAF with the fourth-place team having to play off against one of the South American nations.

Some fans feel Bradley will struggle in qualifying matches because he tries to protect leads instead of adding to them. This defensive approach is seen as negative and usually backfires more often than not. If Bradley is on a short leash, there are several qualified candidates to take over his job as WCBetting.com has been informed. These include Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake), Carlo Ancelotti (former Chelsea manager), Bruce Arena, (former U.S. national team manager), Marcello Lippi (Former Italian national manager), Marco Van Basten (former Holland manager) Guus Hiddink (current manager of Turkey), and Jurgen Klinsman (former manager of Germany).

*matches in all competitions

Tre Fiorilast 5 matches:

Tre Fiorilast 3 away matches:

Vallettalast 5 matches:

Vallettalast 3 away matches:

Champions League preliminaries for the 2011-2012 begin this Tuesday with San Marino champions Tre Fiori welcoming Maltas top team Valletta.

Its hard to believe that any of these teams will make it the preliminaries let alone get near the final qualifying stages. San Marinos Tre Fiori is theunderdoghere and its statistic bares little relevance here as its domestic league is ! composed of amateurs.

They managed to place 1st in the complicated model of the San Marino league winning Group B in the regular season and no less than 6 playoff rounds.

Valletta is a clear favorite for this match and of course the qualification as Maltas championship is no doubt superior to theiradversaries.

They managed to win both the Regular Season and the Championship Group comfortably to enter in this early stage of the Champions League.

My pick: Valletta to win ( over 2.5 goals )