2021 Giro d’Italia Betting: Pink Jersey Winner

On Sunday, May 8^th, the 104^th edition of the Giro d’Italia gets underway with the start of the three week long race in Turin, Italy. This is the first of cycling’s three Grand Tours of the 2021 season and it will cover roughly 3,479 km over 21 stages and finish on May 30^th in Milan.

The race almost exclusively takes place in Italy, but this year the route will dip into Slovenia on Stage 15 and into Switzerland on Stage 20.

The first week of the Giro starts with a time trial and features a few hilly stages before one day in the mountains. The second week increases in difficulty with numerous hilly stages that could provide plenty of fireworks.

The third and final week is where the race will be decided with numerous mountain stages before finishing with another time trial.

In total, there are eight mountain stages, five flat sprint stages, two time trials, and six hilly days. Throw in a few days of gravel racing, potentially unpleasant weather, along with plenty of opportunities for sprinters, and this year’s Giro will provide fans with exciting racing action.

2021 Giro d’Italia Route

The Pink Jersey

The pink jersey was first added to the Giro d’Italia in 1931 to represent the overall race leader and general classification winner.

The color of pink was chosen and implemented by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the magazine that created the Giro, because that’s the color of paper that the magazine printed on.

Giro d’Italia betting sites have released their odds on who they think will win the pink jersey. We’ll take a closer look at these odds and make our prediction below.

🚴‍♂Here are the promising young riders that will be battling each other for the Maglia Bianca at the 2021 #Giro d’Italia!💪Who do you think will be the favourite? ➡ Follow the live race on our site to find out who will win the best young rider’s jersey! pic.twitter.com/Zk9ZKEmt2H

— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 3, 2021

Past Giro d’Italia Winners

Luigi Ganna won the inaugural Giro d’Italia in 1909. Since then, three riders hold the record for most all-time Giro wins with five apiece: Alfredo Binda, Fausto Coppi, and Eddy Merckx.

Tao Geoghegan Hart won this race in 2020, but will not be back to defend his title. The following is a list of winners dating back to 2005:

• 2020 – Tao Geoghegan-Hart
• 2019 – Richard Carapaz
• 2018 – Chris Froome
• 2017 – Tom Dumoulin
• 2016 – Vincenzo Nibali
• 2015 – Alberto Contador
• 2014 – Nairo Quintana
• 2013 – Vincenzo Nibali
• 2012 – Ryder Hesjedal
• 2011 – Michele Scarponi
• 2010 – Ivan Basso
• 2009 – Denis Menchov
• 2008 – Alberto Contador
• 2007 – Danilo Di Luca
• 2006 – Ivan Basso
• 2005 – Paolo Savoldelli

Giro d’Italia Pink Jersey Betting Odds

The following odds to win the pink jersey are courtesy of BetOnline:

• Egan Bernal (+280)
• Simon Yates (+325)
• Remco Evenepoel (+350)
• Emanuel Buchmann (+1200)
• Alexander Vlasov (+1400)
• Hugh Carthy (+1400)
• Mikel Landa (+1600)
• Pavel Sivakov (+1600)
• Joao Almeida (+1800)
• Jai Hindley (+2200)
• Daniel Martinez(+3300)
• Pello Bilbao (+3300)
• George Bennett (+4000)
• Marc Soler (+4000)
• Romain Bardet (+4000)
• Vincenzo Nibali (+4000)
• Dan Martin (+5000)
• Bauke Mollema(+6600)

Giro d’Italia Pink Jersey Betting Favorites

The following cyclists are considered the odds on favorite to win the Giro:

Egan Bernal

• Win (+280)
• Podium (-125)
• Top 10 (-305)

The health of Egan Bernal is one of the top stories heading into the Giro. Making things even more concerning is that Team Ineos named Pavel Sivakov as the joint leader.

Bernal has been dealing with a back injury for the last year or so. When healthy, the 24 year old is one of the best GC riders in the sport today. Unfortunately, he hasn’t really been fully healthy.

Egan Bernal admits Giro d’Italia ambitions depend on possible back painhttps://t.co/7uEXS1YpuF pic.twitter.com/YnO6YQnj2m

— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) May 5, 2021

Egan has had some decent performances in 2021 so far with a 3^rd at the Tour de la Provence, 3^rd at Strade Bianche, and 4^th at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Tirreno was his last race which came roughly six weeks ago. Yet, Bernal has cautioned fans and pundits that his chances of winning will depend on his back.

Ineos has arguably the strongest team in the race. If Bernal is healthy, then he will easily be a Top 10 rider, on the Podium, and possibly even win the race. However, as of now, that’s a big “if” for Bernal’s first ever appearance in the Giro.

Simon Yates

• Win (+325)
• Podium (-120)
• Top 10 (-225)

Yates will lead Team BikeExchange in the Giro. And, while they aren’t on the same level as Ineos, Yates could end up being the man to beat in this Grand Tour.

The 28 year old British rider has competed in three stage races this year with a 10^th at Tirreno-Adriatico, 9^th at the Volta a Catalunya, and winning the Tour of the Alps two weeks ago.

Yates recently beat other Giro GC contenders at the Tour of the Alps like Vlasov, Carthy, Sivakov, Quintana and Martin.

This will be Yates’ 4^th appearance in the Giro d’Italia. He finished 21^st in 2018, 8^th in 2019 and a DNF last year. Yet, he has won three stages in the Giro. In fact, in 2018, he was leading the Giro before cracking in the final few stages and falling out of the Top 20.

In my opinion, Yates is the man to beat for the 2021 Giro.

Remco Evenepoel

• Win (+350)
• Podium (+175)
• Top 10 (-170)

The 21 year old Belgian rider is considered one of the race favorites, yet there are more question marks surrounding Evenepoel than Bernal.

The leader of Deceuninck-Quick Step hasn’t raced since last August and he didn’t finish that event which was the Il Lombardia. This will also be his first Grand Tour appearance which further adds to my hesitation on betting on Remco.

I think there are other GC contenders with a better chance of winning this Grand Tour than Evenepoel. He’s too risky. If you are set on betting on Remco, then wait until after the first rest day to see how he’s racing.

Emanuel Buchmann

• Win (+1200)
• Podium (+275)
• Top 10 (-225)

The 28 year old German comes in as Borah’s best chance for a GC win, but not as their top star as that mantle belongs to Peter Sagan. And, Sagan will have plenty of opportunities for stage wins this year.

As for Buchmann, he has a decent shot of finishing in the Top 10 and battling for a Podium spot despite his average results on the season so far.

Just before heading to Turin to take on the Giro d’Italia, Emanuel Buchmann has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Bora-Hansgrohe until the end of 2024

‘I’m happy that we’ll be able to make it to at least 10 years together’https://t.co/KcucKyf3M9 pic.twitter.com/UDOQ2jOvdT

— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) May 4, 2021

Buchmann finished 12^th in the UAE Tour, 40^th at Strade Bianche and 13^th in the Basque Country race. His best stage result was 4^th on Stage 3 of the UAE Tour.

This will be his first ever appearance in the Giro. However, Buchmann has seven Grand Tour appearance in his career with five coming in the Tour de France where he finished 4^th in 2019.

Alexander Vlasov

• Win (+1400)
• Podium (+250)
• Top 10 (-300)

Alexander Vlasov is set to make his second appearance in the Giro and third overall Grand Tour start. His first Giro appearance came last year and didn’t go well as he didn’t finish the race.

However, the 25 year old Russian looks to be in good form for the 2021 season and could be a real threat for the Podium.

He finished 10^th in the Tour de la Provence, 2^nd at Paris-Nice, and 3^rd at the Tour of the Alps. His best result came on Stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps where he finished 2^nd.

Vlasov will lead Team Astana and they’ve surrounded him with plenty of talent. I like his chances of cracking the Podium for the Giro and definitely being in the Top 10.

Giro d’Italia Pink Jersey Betting Value

Hugh Carthy

• Win (+1400)
• Podium (+300)
• Top 10 (-250)

This will be Carthy’s 8^th Grand Tour appearance and his 4^th in the Giro. His best result for the Giro was in 2019 when he finished 11^th.

Last year, Carthy finished on the podium in the Vuelta and there were high expectations heading into the 2021 season.

Hugh started off sluggish with an 8^th in the Volta a Catalunya and 12^th in the Tour of Basque Country. However, his form improved a few weeks ago when he finished 5^th in the Tour of the Alps.

Carthy has showed that he can climb with the best. He will lead EF Education – Nippo and has a solid supporting cast for the Giro. Yet, Carthy’s time trials are a concern and could hurt his chances for a Podium in the Giro.

His Top 10 odds of -250 seem like a great place to start when it comes to wagering on the 26 year old Brit. He’s a lock to finish in the Top 10 as long as he doesn’t crash. If he’s in the form that we saw from him in the Vuelta last year then he could contend for a Podium in Italy.

Pavel Sivakov

• Win (+1600)
• Podium (+400)
• Top 10 (-140)

As mentioned, Sivakov was declared the joint leader with Egan Bernal for Team Ineos in the Giro d’Italia. This will be his fourth appearance in a Grand Tour and his 2^nd for the Giro with his best result being 9^th place in the 2019 Giro.

This year, Sivakov has shown improvement in his form and seams to be peaking just in time for the Giro. He was 16^th in the Tour des Alpes Maritimes, 67^th in Strade Bianche, 19^th in the Tirreno-Adriatico, and then 6^th in the Tour of the Alps two weeks ago.

His best result of the season came on Stage 2 of the Tour of the Alps where he finished 2^nd behind Simon Yates who would go on to win the stage race.

If Bernal falters in any way, Sivakov will be ready to take over as the sole leader. However, we might not know what will happen with Ineos until after the first seven to 10 stages.

Joao Almeida

• Win (+1800)
• Podium (+400)
• Top 10 (-200)

It’s a bit surprising that Almeida isn’t the leader for Deceuninck-QuickStep and Evenepoel is. I’ve already laid out my concerns for Remco, so let’s state our case for Almeida.

This will be his second Giro appearance. He finished 4^th in last year’s Grand Tour, narrowly missing out on the podium.

Building off that success, Almeida has had a solid 2021 season so far.

Almeida: My Giro d’Italia rivals will look at me differently this timehttps://t.co/6I5xlGDlUZ

— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) May 5, 2021

He started off the year by finishing 3^rd in UAE Tour, 6^th in the Tirreno-Adriatico, and 7^th in the Volta a Catalunya. However, he didn’t fare as well in one day races like Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Nevertheless, the 22 year old rider from Portugal was Top 3 in the white jersey (best young rider) for all three of those stage races.

Not only does he have a good shot at finishing high in the white jersey competition for the Giro, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Almeida ends up taking over as the leader for DQ on the road by the third week of the Grand Tour.

He’s also got decent value for a Top 10 finish.

Jai Hindley

• Win (+2200)
• Podium (+450)
• Top 10 (-170)

Hindley enters the Grand Tour as the leader of Team DSM. This will be his 3^rd Giro and 4^th overall Grand Tour appearance.

Hindley was 35^th in the 2019 Tour of Italy and 2^nd in last year’s event. He was just 39 seconds behind Tao Geoghegan Hart last year and really surprised many pundits by his performance.

Unfortunately, 2021 hasn’t been great for Hindley so far. In fact, it’s been downright dreadful. What hopes he had for a solid year has been dampened by disappointing performances.

Hindley finished 18^th at Paris-Nice and then scored two consecutive DNFs for Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Alps.

This is concerning for the 25 year old Australian rider as he heads into a three week long grueling race.

There’s some value with his Top 10 odds offered at online cycling betting sites, but I would avoid taking Hindley to crack the Podium.

Top Longshot to Win the Giro d’Italia

Vincenzo Nibali

• Win (+4000)
• Podium (+1200)
• Top 10 (+225)

Many fans and critics want to dismiss the 36 year old Italian, but he is a two-time Giro winner and rises to the occasion when the race is in his home country.

Nibali finished 7^th in last year’s Giro and 2^nd in the 2019 Giro. Additionally, he’s won nine stages in this race and is still capable of recapturing his past form.

Stronger than the storm, than the snow, than the wind, and of the cold of the Dolomites. On that May 25, just one day before the triumph, we wrote another page in the history of this incredible sport, together ➡ https://t.co/c2MNTKfvbP @vincenzonibali #Giro pic.twitter.com/HImLMkBIDl

— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 5, 2021

With that said, there are some concerns which is why he’s a longshot. Nibali broke his wrist last month and is trying to participate in this grueling three week event.

Additionally, his 2021 season wasn’t going well even before his injury. Yet, a 9^th at Tirreno-Adriatico in mid-March did provide some optimism for Nibali.

If he can stay healthy, avoid crashes, and prove to have good form in the mountains, a Top 10 result would be very doable. He’s finished 7^th or better in seven of his nine Giro appearances. His +225 odds to finish in the Top 10 are very appealing.

Who Wins the 2021 Giro d’Italia?

This year’s battle for the General Classification, pink jersey, is going to be very compelling due to the number of talented riders in the 2021 Giro d’Italia.

We have clear favorites like Bernal and Yates, and potential contenders like Almeida, Landa, Carthy, Vlasov, Sivakov, Buchmann, Bennett and Hindley. We also have the excitement of newcomer Evenepoel and the nostalgia of veteran Nibali.

As you can see, the GC battle will be intense and go all the way up to the very last rider on Stage 21’s time trial.

With that said, it’s time to dwindle the peloton down to my Top 5 riders: Bernal, Yates, Almeida, Vlasov, and Carthy. Of those five riders, my Podium will be Bernal, Yates and Vlasov.

If he’s 100% healthy, Egan Bernal is the best rider in this field. Unfortunately, that’s too big of an “if” for me especially when we have other highly talented riders like Yates and Vlasov looking strong this season.

As much as I want to pick Bernal to win, I am going to take Simon Yates to capture his first Giro d’Italia victory. He pulled away from the field in the Tour of the Alps and looks like his legs are in great form.

Even with a healthy Bernal, Yates is still a legitimate threat to win the race. Without a healthy Bernal, Yates could end up staking his claim to the title when the race heads to the mountains in Week 3.

Wagering on Bernal, Yates and Vlasov to finish on the Podium are also solid plays as they have good value.