Contador Favorite to Win Tour de France

Spaniard Alberto Contador holds a comfortable lead over the rest of the pack and in the odds as the 2010 Tour de France heads into its final week.

The two-time winner, who leads Luxembourg's Andy Schleck by eight seconds, is 1 2/11 favorite at William Hill. Schleck is 7/2.

With a two minute gap between Contador and third-placed rider Samuel Sanchez, also of Spain, the competition is essentially a two-horse race between Contador and Schleck.

However, the odds for some of the other classifications are proving to be a little more interesting.

In the race for the King of the Mountains, Schleck and Contador play second and third fiddle to Frenchman Anthony Charteau, who leads the classification comfortably with two more mountain stages to race and is paying 4/7 odds. Schleck is 5/1 and Contador 8/1.

In the points classification, which generally is won by the best sprinter, Italy's Alessandro Petacchi holds a narrow two-point lead over Norwegian Thor Hushovd, but a stronger lead in the odds - 1/2 to Hushovd's 13/8. Brit Mark Cavendish is the other contender at 8/1.

The Tour de France ends July 25 with the 102km ride from Longjumeau to Paris.