The sportsbook Tour de France betting odds from stage to stage continually increase in favor of Spanish rider Alberto Contador. Contador, the 2007 Tour de France winner and the pre-race favorite, has got a chokehold on the Tour de France and should be in line to win it again.

Stage 17 came and went on Wednesday and although Contador didn’t win, he placed second and ending up increasing his overall lead over second place.

Frank Schleck won Stage 17 as both he and his brother, Andy, look to be Contador’s biggest competitors down the stretch of the race.

Lance Armstrong had been in second place entering Stage 17 but after hearing him speak of essentially conceding the rage to Contador, a lot of people were expecting him to fade back in the coming stages. If you were a betting man, you’d be right.

Armstrong dropped from second place all the way down to fourth as he lost more than two minutes time off of Contador’s pace. He wasn’t the only one who dropped back, though, as British sensation, Bradley Wiggins, dropped to sixth place (from third) and is 4:53 off the pace.

The Schleck brothers might be a little bit of a concern for Contador as both have climbed to both second and third in the standings. Both Schleck brothers mounted an attack on Contador in Stage 17 and he had to hold them off to finish in second place. Frank Schleck is now 2:26 behind Contador and his brother Andy is 3:25 off the pace.

Team Astana, which includes both Contador and Armstrong, seemed a little more focused on pushing Wiggins a bit further back than the Schleck brothers for now. Now that they’ve accomplished that, they might put more focus on the Schlecks in the coming stages.

Contador is still the betting pick as he has looked strong the entire way throughout. He still holds on to the Yellow Jersey.