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This summer’s Tour de France is fast approaching, with the opening leg starting in Copenhagen on the first day of July. This will be the 109th edition of the world’s favourite cycling road race as the riders and teams prepare to do battle for a place in the history books. A competitive contest is expected before the riders speed through the Champs-Elysees, Paris, towards the finish line on the 24th of July, but who will be the champion?
Leading sportsbook betting apps, including betonline, offer odds on the outright winner of the Tour de France, allowing both avid and casual cycling fans to make predictions and target a profit. Gamblers can stake on the rider they believe will be the 2022 Tour de France champion, or many eye-catching specials and bonuses are available. Keep your eyes peeled for free bets, enhanced odds, extra places each way, cashback offers and more.
Flying Slovenian
The name on everyone’s lips as we move through June and towards the race’s opening day is Tadej Pogacar, with traders working at all major bookmakers picking the decorated Slovenian as the most likely winner of the Tour. The bookies don’t decide who will win the race and have got it wrong on occasion, but many followers of the sport like to track the movement of the betting.
Those who know the top apps aren’t always working off the same page, either in terms of the favourite or how strongly they rate his chances. So, what’s so special about speedster Pogacar and is he as good as those holding the purse strings make out? Tadej may not be a household name in the sporting world, especially amongst casual race fans in the United Kingdom and the United States, but all that is about to change as he prepares for the race of his life. Victory in 2022 would see the young man mix it with cycling’s elite.
The hard-working and likeable 23-year-old hails from Komenda and is known in the sport by one of two nicknames, Pogi or PoGo. Keep the name in mind if you plan to watch the Tour de France on television or through one of the many legal live streaming apps available on desktop computers and smartphones. Win, lose or draw next month, Pogacar is a rider who will make a lot of noise and attract attention as he flies through the various stages.
Quick-fire double
He’s young, fast, talented, committed and eager to create a legacy, not just in this arena but in the sport of road race cycling. Tadej is already well on his way to achieving that, with two Tour de France winner’s medals already in his possession. He shot to glory when claiming his maiden title in 2020, upsetting the odds in the process. The betting industry took a bit of a hammering that year when taking the Pogi lightly, and that wasn’t a mistake they made 12 months later when he scored a quickfire double.
PoGo is now moving in on a treble that would thrust him on to three wins, equalling the efforts of greats of the game Greg LeMond of the United States, Louison Bobebt of France and Belgium’s Phillipe Thys. Those riders mentioned are on three wins each, but the bar has been set by four riders who have finished their careers on five titles. That includes France’s Jacques Anquuetil, who ruled the sport between 1957 and 1964.
Pogacar is hot on their heels with his double, and if he can win the third title, he will become a real threat to those legends of the Tour de France. Tadej has a pair of victories, but he is still young at 23 and has most of his career ahead of him. Followers of the Slovenian believe we are yet to see the best of him as he matures into a stronger, faster and more accomplished rider. His efforts in this year’s Tour de France will give us a strong indication of what’s to come.
Who is the main danger to Pogacar grabbing a hat-trick of wins in this race? According to the bookies, Primoz Roglic will be difficult to shake off, and he’s the second favourite.
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