2020 Giro d’Italia Betting Preview, Odds and Pink Jersey Winner

On Saturday, October 3^rd, the 103^rd edition of the Giro d’Italia gets underway as the sport’s second Grand Tour begins in Monreale, Sicily.

Like the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia is a three week stage race that ultimately ends up becoming a war of attrition for the riders. This year’s Giro features three time trials and numerous grueling mountain stages with the 3^rd week set up to ensure that only the strongest cyclists will survive.

The Giro was originally supposed to be held in May, but like the rest of the cycling season, this Grand Tour had to be rescheduled due to the pandemic. As of this writing, some teams are still putting together their official squads with just a few days until the start of the race.

Giro d’Italia betting sites have released odds for the overall race winner (pink jersey). Let’s take a look at these odds, identify potential value, and claim the “Maglia Rosa” with our predictions.

There are mountains. And then there are mountains. LIVE starting Saturday: Giro d’Italia broadcast details, Start List, Full route details with Profiles, Maps, Timetables and more https://t.co/UAOTy1UhaK pic.twitter.com/JTDytYbyaZ

— Pete Geyer (@cyclingfans) September 27, 2020

Best Giro D’Italia Betting Sites

Below we have included our list of the best sites for betting on the Giro d’Italia. These sites have the best odds and provide the safest online betting experience for the 2020 Giro d’Italia.

• MyBookie
• Bovada Sports
• BetNow
• SportsBetting.ag
• BetOnline Sports

Giro d’Italia Course Preview

The 103^rd edition of the Giro d’Italia has the following course over its 21 stages:

Giro d’Italia Classifications

Like the other two Grand Tours (Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana), the Giro d’Italia features the following individual classifications which are represented by the corresponding jerseys:

Giro d’Italia jerseys: Pink, purple, blue and white explained https://t.co/IwAgDUjwQB pic.twitter.com/GVjIvY6UiZ

— The Cycle Collective (@cyclecollective) September 25, 2020

General Classification – Pink Jersey

The first Giro took place in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1931 that the pink jersey started to be awarded to the race leader and overall winner. Eddie Merckx, Alfredo Binda, and Fausto Coppi hold the record for the most pink jersey wins with five apiece.

The following is a list of the last five winners of the GC:

• 2019 – Richard Carapaz
• 2018 – Chris Froome
• 2017 – Tom Dumoulin
• 2016 – Vincenzo Nibali
• 2015 – Alberto Contador

Points Classification – Purple Jersey

Like the green jersey in the Tour de France, the Giro also has a points classification which is often thought of as the jersey for the sprinters. Yet, in the Giro where there are far more mountain stages than flat stages, this competition can go to anyone who can sprint and climb.

This classification didn’t officially start until 1966 and was first won by Gianni Motta. Since then, Francesco Moser and Giuseppe Saronni have the most all-time purple jersey wins at four apiece.

The following is a list of the last five purple jersey winners:

• 2019 – Pascal Ackermann
• 2018 – Elia Viviani
• 2017 – Fernando Gaviria
• 2016 – Giacomo Nizzolo
• 2015 – Giacomo Nizzolo

Mountains Classification – Blue Jersey

Organizers first started awarding this competition in 1933. That year, it was won of the Giro’s all-time greats in Alfredo Binda. At first, this classification was represented by a green jersey. However, in 2012, the jersey color was changed to blue.

Gino Bartali holds the record for the most blue jersey wins with seven. The following is a list of the last five winners of this classification:

• 2019 – Giulio Ciccone
• 2018 – Chris Froome
• 2017 – Mikel Landa
• 2016 – Mikel Nieve
• 2015 – Giovanni Visconti

Best Young Rider – White Jersey

In 1976, race organizers added a fourth jersey competition to the event as they introduced the white jersey for the best young rider under the age of 25. This classification wasn’t held from 1995 to 2006, but was brought back in 2007 and remains one of the four primary jersey classifications.

The last five winners of this competition were:

• 2019 – Miguel Angel Lopez
• 2018 – Miguel Angel Lopez
• 2017 – Bob Jungels
• 2016 –Bob Jungels
• 2015 – Fabio Aru

Giro d’Italia Betting Odds

The following cycling betting odds are courtesy of BetOnline:

• Geraint Thomas (+100)
• Simon Yates (+300)
• Jakob Fuglsang (+550)
• Steven Kruijwijk (+750)
• Vincenzo Nibali (+800)
• Alexander Vlasov (+1200)
• Rafal Majka (+2500)
• Miguel Angel Lopez (+3300)
• Ivan Ramiro Sosa (+4000)
• Wilco Kelderman (+4000)
• Joao Almeida (+6600)
• Laurens De Plus(+6600)
• Marc Soler (+6600)

Favorites to Win the Giro

As of this writing, the following cyclists are considered the odds on favorites to win the 2020 Giro d’Italia:

Geraint Thomas (+100)

The big controversy in cycling last month was that Team Ineos left Geraint Thomas off of their Tour de France squad. He was the 2018 TDF winner and a veteran of that grueling Grand Tour. As we all saw, Ineos’ hope of Egan Bernal repeating as the TDF winner was crushed in the Alps.

Now, Team Ineos will turn their attention back to Thomas as he is set to lead the squad in Italy over the next three weeks.

Instead of racing in the Tour de France, Thomas competed in the Tirreno-Adriatico where he finished 2^nd overall in the GC and 2^nd in the points classification. Thomas then went on to finish 4^th at the World Championships time trial.

This will be Thomas’ 4^th appearance in the Giro. His best result came in 2012 when he finished 80^th overall. His last appearance was in 2017 and Thomas didn’t finish the race. He has also never won a stage in this Grand Tour.

That can all change this year as Thomas is the betting favorite to win the 2020 Giro d’Italia.

Simon Yates (+300)

As mentioned, Thomas finished 2^nd at the Tirreno-Adriatico as Simon Yates ended up winning the eight stage race. He also finished 2^nd in the mountains classification. Prior to that event, Yates finished 3^rd in the Tour de Pologne.

Simon Yates leads Mitchelton-Scott at the Giro d’Italia

Briton in good form for GC battle after Tirreno-Adriatico victoryhttps://t.co/G1066xOkst pic.twitter.com/sBRGe50jhb

— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) September 28, 2020

As the leader of Team Mitchelton-Scott, Yates was scheduled to race the Giro instead of the Tour de France as the team leaders thought this year’s Giro course was better suited for Simon.

He’s competed in two previous Giro d’Italia races before, with an 8^th place result in 2019 as his highest mark. Unlike Geraint Thomas, Yates has won a stage in this event.

With a strong team by his side, Yates could be a serious threat to win this three week race. He’s won the Vuelta a Espana in 2018 and has proven that he’s one of the sport’s top Grand Tour riders.

Jakob Fuglsang (+550)

This will be Jakob Fuglsang’s first Grand Tour race of 2020, but the 15^th of his career. He’s competed in just one Giro before, which came back in 2016. He’s spent most of his Grand Tour career competing in the Tour de France.

Fuglsang has had a strong season since the sport returned from hiatus. He finished 2^nd at the Tour de Pologne, won Il Lombardia, and finished 5^th in the road race for the World Championships last weekend.

He enters this year’s Giro as the team leader for Astana and does have some firepower alongside him especially with Miguel Angel Lopez.

Can Fuglsang win his first Grand Tour by conquering the field and the mountains in this year’s Giro d’Italia?

Steven Kruijwijk (+750)

Steven Kruijwijk was supposed to race in the Tour de France to support Primoz Roglic for the overall win, but he crashed in the Criterium du Dauphine right before the Tour and was unable to compete.

Now, Kruijwijk will be the unquestioned team leader for Jumbo-Visma as he competes in his 6^th Giro d’Italia race. Kruijwijk’s best performance came in 2016 when he finished 4^th. His best Grand Tour result came in the 2019 Tour de France when he finished 3^rd overall.

Kruijwijk looked strong in the Criterium and could’ve been a real help to Roglic in the TDF. The crash derailed his trajectory for 2020. However, all reports indicated that Kruijwijk looks fully recovered and ready to compete for his first ever Grand Tour victory.

Vincenzo Nibali (+800)

Nicknamed “The Shark,” Vincenzo Nibali is looking to win the 3^rd Giro d’Italia of his illustrious career. At 35 years of age, this is probably his best chance to claim the pink jersey before the sun begins to set on his days as a realistic GC contender.

Nibali is one of the only active cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours in his career. He won the Giro in 2013 and 2016, the Tour de France in 2014, and the Vuelta a Espana in 2010.

As for his Giro career, Nibali has won seven stages in this Grand Tour and finished on the podium four other times. He’s yet to win any other jersey in this race. Last year, Nibali finished 2^nd in the Giro roughly 65 seconds behind the winner Richard Carapaz.

The entire Trek-Segafredo squad is built around helping Nibali win this Grand Tour. There’s no aspirations for stage wins or jersey wins other than whatever it takes for Nibali to win his third Giro d’Italia.

Nibali intentionally skipped the Tour de France this year to prepare for the Giro. He finished 15^th in the World Championships road race, 19^th at Tireno-Adriatico, 6^th at Il Lombardia, and 4^th at Paris Nice.

Best Giro d’Italia Betting Value

As mentioned, Miguel Angel Lopez (+3300) is on Team Astana, but will most likely be called upon to help Fuglsang in his quest to win the pink jersey. However, as we’ve seen many times before, if a team’s leader struggles in any way then the super domestique could take over.

Lopez had a strong showing at this year’s Tour de France as he finished 6^th overall and 5^th in the KOTM. He won the TDF’s hardest stage (stage 17) and showed that he’s one of the best climbers in the sport.

This year’s Giro will be the 3^rd appearance for Lopez in Italy’s biggest bike race. Last year, he finished 7^th overall and in 2018 Lopez finished 3^rd. He’s also won the white jersey two years running.

The big news surrounding Lopez heading into this Grand Tour was the announcement that he will be leaving Team Astana at the end of the season. The team wasn’t able to afford to keep Lopez due to budget cuts. The Giro will be his last race with Astana. Can he go out on a high note?

Longshot to Win the Giro

Marc Soler (+6600) is my longshot pick. However, there is some uncertainty as to whether or not he will compete in this race. Soler was originally scheduled to be the leader of Movistar for the Giro, but after competing in this year’s Tour de France, Soler might not ride in the Giro after all.

If he does compete, you have to like Soler’s chances to finish high in this race. Where he helped leaders Valverde and Enric Mas in the TDF, Soler would be the one getting all of the help in the Giro d’Italia.

Who Will Win the 2020 Giro d’Italia?

After seeing the odds at cycling betting sites, I’m still picking Thomas to win.


This year’s Giro is perfectly suited for Thomas. There are three time trials and, of the top contenders for the pink jersey, Thomas is the best of them all at the TT.

Geraint Thomas says Tour de France exclusion has given him ‘a new lease of life’ https://t.co/O3CjELsSrH pic.twitter.com/wJc6LOtYKt

— The Cycle Collective (@cyclecollective) September 24, 2020

Geraint finished 4^th in the time trial for the World Championships losing out to the fastest sprinters in the sport. He also finished 4^th in the time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico where Thomas showed that he’s back on form. That’s bad news for the peloton in this year’s Giro.

With his form looking strong the last few weeks, and the extra motivation due to being left off the Tour de France squad, I expect a very focused Thomas who should be able to put enough time ahead of the field in the time trials while hanging with the best climbers in the mountains.

I like Simon Yates to challenge Thomas for the win, but Geraint should outduel Yates in the time trials. Keep in mind, Yates just beat out Thomas at the Tirreno-Adriatico a little over a week ago. This is going to be a classic showdown between two teams and two top GC contenders.

This Grand Tour may not be as loaded as the Tour de France was, but it will definitely be just as dramatic and as picturesque as we spend three weeks riding through some of Italy’s most beautiful landscapes.