The Tour de France is well-known, and if you reside in Europe, you probably already know about the several additional live cycling betting options. Other cycling competitions and betting opportunities, however, may be unknown or foreign to many, say, Americans but also others who are not likely cycling fanatics.
Whether you are a seasoned bettor or a novice, we will guide you by providing information on:
- top cycling competitions;
- favored cycling wagers;
- betting tactics for cycling.
3 Different Cycling Competitions to Bet On
Although cycling is a sport that is more popular in Europe, its betting possibilities going beyond that should not be disregarded.
With various cycling competitions to watch, including one-day races, the time trial, staged events, ultra-marathons, and grand tours, you will have plenty of chances to place a variety of bets.
Does it seem difficult? Do not worry; the top three cycling events are covered below. Read on for information on the most common live cycling betting options as well as some helpful hints to put you up on that right path to placing profitable wagers.
Road World Champs
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI, the organization that controls and regulates international cycling competitions) oversees the Road World Championships.
Three different events are available at this yearly cycling road race: road races, individual time trials, and relays with mixed teams. The 2022 UCI Road World Championships will be held in New South Wales, Australia (September 18-25).
One-day Races
There are many cycling one-day races, but for the live cycling betting fans, we will highlight the top five Monuments races.
- The Milan-San Remo race, which is held in Italy and is renowned for its lengthy course, Since the Milan-San Remo excludes the brutal climbs and cobblestone routes of other Monuments races, this race is frequently won by a pack sprint.
- One of the trickiest Monument races is the Tour of Flanders, which is hosted in Belgium and features many cobblestones and short, sharp slopes.
- Paris-Roubaix — As its name says, this race is contested in France. Hell of the North is another name for the Paris-Roubaix, and it is a fitting one. There are a lot of parts of uneven, cobbled roads in this difficult event. Through relentless beating from the surface, only the strongest and most resilient bikers succeed.
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège — The eldest of the Monuments, was first run in 1892. This race is well-liked by Grand Tour cyclists since it winds thru the takeoffs of the Ardennes.
- Il Lombardia — The only race staged in the autumn, the Il Lombardia takes cyclists around picturesque Lake Como and the Alps’ foothills, requiring longer ascents.
The UCI’s World Tour race season includes all five of these competitions. Live betting on such events promises to be difficult and exciting because they attract the biggest teams and best riders.
Track Cycling
Another well-liked cycling event with lots of betting options is track cycling. Cycling on specially constructed banked tracks is precisely what it sounds like – bike racing.
With a wealth of sprint and endurance races, the Track Cycling World Championships provide a wide range of live cycling betting choices, including individual pursuit, team pursuit, keirin, sprint, and omnium.
Which Competitions Are Ideal for Live Cycling Betting?
The Grand Tours are without a doubt the most well-known and well-attended races in the sport of cycling. Cycling teams compete in Grand Tour races, which are held annually. Individual races, which span the country, can take up to a month.
With contests like mountain stage, general winner, and sprint king there are many ways to wager, like on individual race stages or the overall winner. To give you the information you need to place wise wagers on these important races, let’s examine every one of the three Grand Tour events.
Tour de France
Of all the Grand Tour competitions, the Tour de France is without a doubt the most well-known. It consists of 21 stages with various terrains and distances. Due to Lance Armstrong’s outstanding results in this race, which was already well-known in Europe, it has gained popularity in the United States as well. So it should not come as a surprise that the most popular event for live cycling betting is the Tour de France, which is typically conducted in July.
The Tour de France might make for an interesting betting choice because of its popularity and unexpected results. For instance, American cyclist Greg LeMond entered the Tour de France again in 1989 to compete against Laurent Fignon, a two-time champion, following a nearly catastrophic hunting accident. Fignon started the final day of the race with a 50-second lead after trading yellow jerseys on four occasions during the race, but LeMond ultimately prevailed. His winning margin of 8 seconds is still the narrowest triumph in Tour de France history.
Giro d’Italia
A second of the three Grand Tour competitions, the Giro d’Italia takes place in May just prior to the Tour de France. This significant 21-stage competition is a 3-week tour of Italy for the bicycle. The Giro d’Italia is a fantastic race to wager on, similar to the Tour de France, albeit more laid back.
The 2010 Giro saw the Australian team of Richie Porte, Matthew Lloyd, and Cadel Evans win the mountains, points, and yellow jerseys, thus unexpected results are certain to occur in this race. Evans finished the race as the first Australian cyclist to triumph on a Giro stage.
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España Grand Tour race takes place in Spain every year in August or September, following the completion of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. This three-week race is regarded by many as being the simplest of the three Grand Tour events. The online bettor still has several opportunities to wager on their preferred riders every day during this race.
The 2020 race was somewhat different from the clear, expected favorites of the 2019 Vuelta. Nobody could have predicted with confidence that Primož Roglič would win until the final 24 hours before the end of the race.
4 Different Live Bet Types on Cycling
The variety of bets that may be placed when wagering on live cycling is similar to that of other sports betting.
In addition to wagering on the overall victor, additional bets are common methods to keep live cycling betting entertaining and engaging, including a king of the mountains, young rider, and rider to win the most stages.
The four most popular cycling wagers are shown below.
Absolute (Outright) Winner
The most frequent wagers in all sports are probably those on the outright winner. Cycling competitions can be either team or individual competitions, therefore outright winner bets can be placed on either. You simply choose who you believe will prevail in the race when placing an individual wager. These competitions could be one- or multi-day affairs.
Tadej Pogačar to clinch the 2021 Tour de France is an illustration of an individual wager. If you prefer team betting, you would pick the team you believe would have the overall best performance. A team live cycling bet would be Team Australia to triumph in the World Championship road race.
Top 3, Top 10 Finish
Regarding this type of wagering, golf and cycling have something in common. These types of wagers are on who you believe will place in the top 3 or top 10 finishers rather than on who might just complete the finish line first.
You can put this kind of wager with lesser odds if you are not certain that your favorite rider will take first place but believe he might place in the top 3. The odds will be considerably lower for top 10 wagers, but the same is true.
Top 3 or 10 completion bets may be the best way to get started if you are a novice to live cycling betting.
Betting on Stages
Stage betting enables you to wager on a rider depending on his results at various levels because the stages of various races might be fairly diverse.
You might prefer a cyclist who excels in mountainous terrain and pick him to win the Tour de France’s 150.8km stage 8.
Cycling Futures
Futures bets, which are simply wagers on future events, are common in many sports, including NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL. Although laying a cycling futures wager is not strictly a live cycling betting choice, it is a popular one, therefore we felt it was important to mention it here.
A Tour de France futures wager might resemble this:
- You take a glance at the list of competitors knowing that the favorites are posted first.
- You make a wager on the person you believe will triumph in this 21-stage contest based upon the list, your comprehension, and a little intuition.
- You have months to put your wager.
Because there are many cyclists to choose from, futures bets have better odds but are also riskier. Futures wagers might result in significant returns if your hunch is correct.
Tips (and Tricks) for Live Betting on Cycling
Regardless of your level of experience betting on cycling, the following advice and tactics may be useful as you make your upcoming bets:
- Understanding the various race types can help you place more informed bets. In this article, we’ve given you some useful information to get you started.
- Understanding the races and their stages can help you place profitable bets because each race has a unique set of elements.
- Do your homework on the teams if you plan to wager on them in the Giro d’Italia or other Grand Tour events. Find out how they perform together. The presence of a well-known cyclist on a team does not guarantee success for that team.
- Analyze the individuals. Notwithstanding what we just said in the earlier point, learning everything you can about each racer can be beneficial, especially if you intend to place stage bets.
Where Can I Place a Cycling Bet?
You can place bets on a wide range of betting sites as Internet cycling betting becomes popular. Setting significant criteria for your pick is essential whilst using online sites since selecting the best sportsbook is essential to having a great experience.
Tour de France bookmakers are simple and enjoyable solutions for live cycling betting that provides you with alternatives and puts you in control if you want to completely enjoy this pastime.
