Wee Fiver has asked me to take the stabilisers off his bike.

He announced earlier this week that he's going to tackle the Tour de France. I have done the dutiful parent thing, of course. I've bought him a cycle helmet, cleats, all-in-one, a DIY blood-boosting kit and a consultancy with Dr Eufemiano Fuentes.

It was a struggle to find the Allen key for the stabilisers – apparently using equipment to aid your progress in the race is against the rules. Who'd have thought it, eh? So I endeavoured to saw them off in time for today's race. Yes, it's certainly all go in the Morgan household as Tour fever strikes. Wee Fiver has taken to the cycling thing like a monkey to a unicycle. He's been up and down the garden 12 times already without the stabilisers or, in Tour de France terms, a similar amount of time in the saddle without artificial help as Lance Armstrong had prior to 1999.

TOUR DE FRANCE

The bookies have both the general classification and the Green jersey markets priced as two-rider races. It's hard to argue against that assessment – they are bookmakers after all, they spend their lives pricing up markets, thus they are good at it. There is enough reason to believe that Alberto Contador might just be a shade overpriced, though. He won't be a popular winner – least of all in the UK – should he unseat Chris Froome's bid to follow Bradley Wiggins in securing a second successive yellow jersey for Britain and Team Sky. Yes, the Spaniard has not exactly lit up the early part of the season but he has the savoir faire to win this race and, traditionally at least, riders have tended to pace themselves ahead of an all-out assault on the Tour. At 11/4, I fancy a piece of Contador, not least because Froome, who is a worthy favourite, has little room for error given how skinny his price is. In the points classification, I'm also inclined to steer clear of Mark Cavendish. He will win his fair share of sprints but his principal rival for the maillot vert, Peter Sagan, has the edge in the mountains and is defending his title from last year. Sagan is the safe pick but it tends to be a race for following that general rule of thumb.

BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Last year's race marked a watershed for the Tenner Bet in that it brought a winner in the shape of Mark Webber who transformed, literally, the fortunes of the column. Hanging over the precipice, like an inebriated stag peering into the toilet bowl, yours truly was rescued from humiliation by Mark Webber's scintillating win at Silverstone and prompted a series of big-priced winners that meant a respectable end to the season. Oddschecker have the Australian listed at a best-priced 10/1 with several bookmakers to repeat the trick this year. It is not a race for favourites as last year's result demonstrated with just two winners in the last decade. Kimi Raikkonen was one of those favourites and while he has drifted off the championship pace since winning the first grand prix of the season in Melbourne, there is evidence to suggest that his car has been made more competitive during the recent break. At 8/1 with betvictor he is worth an each-way but make sure you use the aforementioned bookies since they are the only company paying a quarter of the odds on the place.

SEASON'S TOTAL

The bet on Andy Murray to win the men's singles is looking rosier by the day. However, Milos Raonic's chances of recording the fastest serve are already over following his surprise exit earlier this week. Total: £97.77