The Super Bowl of cycling makes its “Grand Depart” on Saturday, August 29th, as the Tour de France gets underway for three weeks of grueling, gripping and majestic racing.
This year, with sports betting becoming increasingly popular throughout the United States and the world, the 2020 Tour de France has more betting options than ever before.
With that in mind, it can be somewhat daunting for cycling bettors to narrow down the peloton of wagers in order to make some money.
Like a “super domestique,” we’ve got you covered. Check out our 5 best Tour de France wagers to place your money on.
💚Green jersey contender 💚
🇧🇪 @WoutvanAert, green jersey winner at the 2019 and 2020 #Dauphiné races and winner in Albi on the #TDF2019!
💚Favori maillot vert 💚
🇧🇪 @WoutvanAert double maillot vert du #Dauphiné, et vainqueur à Albi sur le #TDF2019 !#TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/tRBzrEYVQO
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) August 26, 2020
Wout Van Aert: Top 3 in Green Jersey Competition
- Odds to Win Green Jersey (+700)
- Top 3 Finish (+125)
The Points Classification was first established in 1953 and originally created for the sprinters. This competition is represented by the green jersey, which has been synonymous with Peter Sagan over the last eight years.
Sagan has won this competition a record seven times and he’s the odds on favorite to win the jersey for an eight time this year. However, Sagan will have some tough competition in the 2020 TDF most notably by Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett and Wout Van Aert.
Van Aert has become one of cycling’s top young stars at just 25 years old. Since the restart of the cycling season, after a postponement due to covid, Wout Van Aert has looked the most impressive out of all UCI cyclists.
He won both Strade Bianche and Milano Sanremo, while finishing 3rd at Milano Torino and winning the green jersey at the Criterium du Dauphine.
This will be his second appearance in the Tour de France as he crashed out of the 2019 TDF. Van Aert is still learning his full potential and I believe he’s going to make a statement in this year’s Tour.
Wout is on the best team (Team Jumbo-Visma) and can compete on both the flat and hilly stages. Although I give Sagan the edge in winning the green jersey this year, Van Aert’s odds of finishing in the Top 3 (+125) offer tremendous value.
The Best Young Rider Will Be Egan Bernal
- Odds to Win White Jersey (-182)
At just 23 years old, Egan Bernal has been handed the keys to the Team Ineos kingdom. The reigning Tour de France champion is the odds on favorite to win the TDF once again, but will have stiff competition from Primoz Roglic.
One classification that Bernal won’t have nearly as difficult of a time winning is the Best Young Rider competition.
Represented by the white jersey, this classification was introduced into the Tour de France in 1975. Bernal destroyed the competition last year when he won this classification by 24 minutes over second place David Gaudu.
This year, I expect Bernal to have more of a challenge as the 21 year old Slovenian Tadej Pogacar will keep within striking distance for most of the Tour. Pogacar will lead UAE Team Emirates in his first ever Tour de France.
With that said, Bernal is picked by many to win the Tour de France whereas Pogacar is picked to finish anywhere from 3rd to 10th. Since the white jersey classification is based on overall time, Bernal should pull away from Pogacar in the final week to win this competition for the 2nd straight year.
Romain Bardet Finishes in Top 3 for KOTM Classification
- Odds to Win Polka Dot Jersey (+1000)
- Top 3 Finish (+250)
Romain Bardet is the leader of AG2R La Mondiale as he enters the 8th Tour de France of his career. Bardet has had some strong showings in the past for this Grand Tour with two podium finishes in 2016 and 2017.
Furthermore, Bardet has never finished outside the Top 15 in the TDF. Last year, Bardet dropped to 15th from 6th in 2018. However, he ended up winning the King of the Mountains classification which is based on who scores the most KOTM points throughout the entire race.
Who will be crowned the King of the Mountains when the 2020 @LeTour reaches Paris 20 September?
Here’s the @SBS #SBSTDF team’s final jersey pick – the polka dots! Who’s your pick?@miketomalaris @mwkeenan @mcewenrobbie @Bridie_OD @davemacka #TDF #couchpeloton #SBSCycling pic.twitter.com/HC4F1PaKww
— CyclingCentral (@CyclingCentral) August 19, 2020
This classification is symbolized by the eye popping white jersey with red polka dots. Bardet also finished 3rd in this competition in 2015. He’s a noted French climber who should have a strong Tour this year due to the eight mountain stages.
Bardet sits at +6600 odds to win the Tour de France and +1000 to win the KOTM classification for the second straight year. I believe Bardet has a shot at a repeat. However, I really like his odds to finish in the Top 3 of this competition.
I expect Bardet to go after the overall GC until it’s clear that he’s not on the same level as riders like Roglic and Bernal. Once this happens, I then expect Bardet to turn his attention towards the polka dot jersey.
Team Jumbo-Visma to Win the Team Classification
- Odds to Win Team Classification (+175)
Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky, has won the Tour de France in seven out of the last eight years. In fact, if it weren’t for Froome crashing out of the 2014 TDF, Team Ineos would’ve won eight straight.
They’ve been the best team in the Tour de France since their inception. The British cycling team has been the model of success that all other cycling teams have tried to copy. Unfortunately, no other team has come close to this level of talent and Grand Tour potential until now.
Team Jumbo-Visma enters the 2020 Tour de France with just as much firepower as Team Ineos, if not more. They not only matchup with Ineos in the mountains, but have the edge on the flat stages with Wout Van Aert.
Primoz Roglic, the team leader, will go toe-to-toe with Team Ineos’ Egan Bernal for the overall victory of the Tour. Yet, I believe he has more help than Bernal does.
Although Roglic will be without Steven Kruijwsijk, he still has Tom Dumoulin and Sepp Kuss. I can’t stress enough how impressive Kuss looked in the Criterium du Dauphine where he crushed the competition with his pace in the mountains.
Along with Dumoulin and Kuss, Roglic will also have George Bennett and Robert Gesink to help along the way. Tony Martin will be a strong contributor on flat stages as well.
Team Ineos will have Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Michael Kwiatkowski, Pavel Sivakov and Luke Rowe, which is a strong group. However, Kuss and Dumoulin should outwork Carapaz and Sivakov in the high mountains where the Tour de France will be settled.
I expect Van Aert to get at least one flat stage win, and Dumoulin or Roglic to win the time trial and at least one other mountain stage. Ultimately, I see Team Jumbo-Visma having more stage wins and better overall times with their top riders than Team Ineos.
Richard Carapaz to Finish in Top 10 for Yellow Jersey
- Odds to Win TDF (+1400)
- Top 10 Finish (-143)
Team Ineos definitely surprised fans and pundits when they decided to leave Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome off their Tour de France squad. Just as surprising was the decision to bring Richard Carapaz who was said to be focusing on the Giro d’Italia.
Egan Bernal has been named the leader in the TDF, but Carapaz is being labeled as the co-leader and will be protected on the road by other riders like Kwiatkowski and Sivakov. Additionally, the team’s manager David Brailsford also said that they were aiming to keep Carapaz up in contention for the yellow jersey.
Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz are key to Team Ineos’ new Tour de France game plan, says Brailsford as he shifts Geraint Thomas to the Giro and Chris Froome to the Vuelta.https://t.co/JHdvqCvX73
— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) August 19, 2020
As most cycling fans know, the iconic yellow jersey represents the leader and the winner of the Tour de France.
Although Carapaz is making his Tour de France debut, he has competed in four other Grand Tours and won the Giro d’Italia last year while his teammate Bernal won the Tour de France and Primoz Roglic won the Vuelta a Espana.
With such a strong team, and previous success in other Grand Tours, I believe that Carapaz is a lock to finish inside the Top 10 at the 2020 Tour de France.
If anything were to happen to Egan Bernal, who is suffering from back issues that forced him out of the Dauphine, then Carapaz would become the leader of Team Ineos.
Whether it’s as the lone leader or a co-leader, the 27 year old Ecuadorian is in a great position to challenge for a podium and finish inside the Top 10.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
