Niki Sorenson of the Saxo Bank team won Stage 12 of the Tour de France.  He was a late addition to a six-man breakaway that went for it 64 kilometers from the finish.  The pack was whittled down to two: Sorenson and French rider Sylvain Calzati.  Soon, Calzati was swallowed up by the five chasers and Sorenson managed to capture first place.  It was a welcome win for the Danish rider after seven previous participations and ten years as a professional cyclist.

Cadel Evans and Michael Rogers suffered more set backs as they were involved in a crash with Levi Leipheimer just three kilometers from the finish line.  Both of the Australian riders escaped serious injury with Leipheimer taking the worst that the crash had to offer.  He left with several contusions and abrasions.  Despite having a flat tire during the stage, Armstrong managed to hold onto his spot in third place.  He’s still two seconds behind his Astana teammate Alberto Contador and Rinaldo Nocentini is still holding onto that yellow jersey.

Stage 13 finally brings a change of pace for those of you out there waiting for the challenge of the mountain stages.  It will be a 200-kilometer run from Vittel to Colmar.  There will be five categorized climbs during this stage as the riders head into the Vosges mountains.  They’re not huge climbs, but enough to add a bit of difficulty to the ride.  Originally set to be another stage in which riders would go without radio contact, the UCI has lifted the ban on earpieces for Stage 13.  The riders will be able to communicate via radio with their team managers.  Don’t expect this stage to shake up the overall leaders too much.  Also, watch out for the sprinters in the final kilometers as it is a flat race across the line.

Stage 14 will be pretty similar to 13.  There are only two category climbs.  The sprinters should break for the finish line in this stage as it is the last time that they’ll be able to collect points toward the green jersey.  Stage 15 will start to get into the hard stuff.  The course enters Switzerland and sees its first Alpine mountain finish.  This is when the likes of Contador and Armstrong will turn up the heat to make their move for the yellow jersey.  Expect Nocentini to be handing it over around this time.

BetUS is currently offering the following odds on Stage 13:

To Win Stage 13
David Moncoutie: +700
Franco Pellizotti: +900
Cadel Evans: +1100
Alberto Contado: +1100
Lance Armstrong: +1600

Stage 13 Matchups
Lance Armstrong: +150
Aberto Contador: -200

Frank Schleck: +140
Andreas Kloden: -180

Christian Vandevelde: -140
Vicenzo Nibali: Ev

Cadel Evans: -150
Andy Schleck: +110

Rinaldo Nocentini: Ev
Alexandre Botcharov: -140

Keep checking BetUS over the weekend for all of the odds over Stages 14 and 15.