Tour de France 2018 Favourites and Underdogs

Tour de France 2018 is the 105th edition of the prestigious cycling event and will take place 7-29 July. The route will start at Noirmoutier-en-l’Île and finish at Paris Champs-Élysées. The race will consist of 21 stages, for a total distance of 3,351 km. The route is meant to test cyclists’ ability to adapt to all terrains. There will be 8 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages, 1 individual and 1 team time trial and 2 resting days. Out of total 26 climbs, 12 will be in the Alps, 4 in the Massif central and 10 in the Pyrenees. 22 teams will take part in the race and each will have 8 members, for a total of 176 riders.

Many fans of Tour de France turn to bookmakers, or use MaxBet Bonus codes, during the time of the race. According to the bookmakers, Chris Froome has the best chance of winning the competition. Froome is a thirty-three-year-old British cyclist, and the four-time winner of Tour de France. He is also the current champion of Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. He won Tour de France race last year and the year before and there is no reason to suppose that the Yellow Jersey won’t be his once more. You can bet on him at odds 2/1.

You can also bet on the winner without Froome, to make things a bit more interesting. Other two favourites are Australian Richie Porte at odds 4/1 and Colombian Nairo Quintana at odds 8/1. Porte’s biggest achievements so far are a two-time victory at Paris-Nice and recent victory in the Tour de Suisse, where he outperformed Quintana. The new Tour de France route suits him, as he is a good climber and time trialist.

Quintana, aged twenty-eight, known as “the condor from the Andes”, is famous for being an excellent climber with incredible stamina, something that he will definitely need at Tour de France. He finished second in Tour de France in 2013 and 2015, and is expected to be at least among the first three to finish.

Even riskier bets are Mikel Landa, Tom Dumoulin and Vinzenco Nibali at odds around 10/1. If you like rooting for the real underdogs who might surprise you, consider Geraint Thomas, Jakob Fuglsang or Romain Bardet. Bookmakers are giving them odds 16/1.

Bookmakers favour Dylan Groenewegen as the most likely winner of stage 1 at odds 5/2. In 2018, Groenewegen already won Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne event, Stages 1, 3 & 4 in Tour of Norway, Stages 1 & 4 in Volta ao Algarve, Stage 2 in Paris–Nice, Stage 1 in Dubai Tour and Stage 2 in Tour of Slovenia.

If you want to bet on the green jersey winner, the favourite is Peter Sagan at odds 1/2. The Slovak cyclist is the winner of a number of prestigious competitions and the Tour de France points classification five times in a row, from 2012 to 2016. Sagan is just one win behind Erik Zabel’s record of six and it is almost inevitable that this year he will claim the record.

The most important cycling competitions

When the first bicycle race took place in 1868 in Paris, France, nobody dreamt of cycling becoming a popular sport, and definitely nobody suspected it would turn out to be an Olympic discipline! However, it rose in popularity fairly quickly, gathering large groups of people to watch exciting one day races or staged races that last a couple of days.

If you are only getting into the world of cycling competitions, you might need some help on which races you must watch. The answer is fairly simple – all the races belonging to the Grand Tours are a must! If you are also looking how to bet on them, we’ll help on that as well! This Bwin sportsbook review might also help out.

Giro d’Italia

Giro is one of the most well-known races in the cycling world, more than a hundred years old! It features three different types of stages over the course of three weeks of merciless racing! The cyclists only get two days of rest – other 21 days they cycle either in mass-start stages, individual or team time stages, which is how they are compared and given certain amounts of points. This spectacular race is held during the end of May and goes into mid-June. The race is famous for the pink jersey that is worn by the leader of the race of the general classification.

Vuelta a España

The second giant of the Grand Tours is Vuelta, the big race of Spain! It attracts more than a million viewers every year, which is an enviable number. It has the same length as Giro d’Italia, in the normal format of 21 racing and 2 rest days. Vuelta is adored by more and more people in the UK and the US especially because there are great betting opportunities for these races. Vuelta is not as old as Giro, with barely 70 years under its belt, but it offers great entertainment nonetheless. In contrast to Giro, the leader in Vuelta gets the red jersey, which is color often associated with Spain and passion – definitely symbolic! It is interesting to know that most winners in Vuelta actually came from Spain – thirty-two of them! Vuelta is usually run during August and September, so make sure to catch it!

Tour de France

Maybe it seems logical that the most famous and the most viewed event is left for the last mention – it is of course Tour de France! The famous French race for cyclist is the oldest of the three Grand Tours, with its one hundred and fourteen years of existence. Every July, the whole world turns to France and its roads to watch the best cyclist ride around the beautiful country and compete for the prestigious title. One of the best things about Tour de France is that the audience gets to see them go through both the Alps and the Pyrenees. Amazing landscape is only topped by breathtaking turns and twists in the races. The most titles have gone to the French, but lately the UK’s Chris Froome has been winning pretty comfortably.

Betting on these events

Betting on these events might be tricky – you should follow all the races before the Grand Tours and keep a record of cyclists’ performance. Looking at odds will not help you unless they match the data of previous races, and even then, there are always dark horses who might take away the trophy! Make sure to follow insider sites with information on the form and stamina of cyclist, as well as day to day coverage of the event. And remember, you don’t have to bet on the final outcome, you can also bet on individual stages!

Top 5 professional racing bikes in 2018

Riding a bike brings great benefits to your health and stamina, but if you are interested in doing it professionally and not just for fun, then you need to pick the right bike for you very carefully. There are many things you should think about, so here is a simplified list that can make it easier with several suggestions from us.

Trek Emonda

This bike is less than a year old, but it will prove difficult to beat for a long time. This Trek Emonda is special because of its carefully measured weight. Every cyclist knows it is one of the most important things to pay attention to, but here it is even more impressive because of the Trek-Segafredo’s added mechanics. This bike will definitely be used by the winners of big races in this year. One of the best features of this bike is that it has fast reaction time, and it will allow for great maneuvers. For great performances, chose this bike, but be ready to pay extra!

Pinarello Dogma

If you are looking for a bike that is light and all-around in terms of control and handling, choose Dogma without any doubt! It was driven by Chris Foome on Tour de France – and this testifies to the quality of this bicycle. It has dual-sided power meters – and sleek design that puts it above all others in the visual aspect. The weight frame is incredible – barely going over 800 grams! The new version – F10 – will definitely be a prominent bike this year.

S-Works Tarmac Ultralight

This is the newest version of Specialized Tarmac and it comes with outstanding Roval wheels of 50 millimeters. Additionally, it packs ultralight frame with futuristic design which improves aerodynamics significantly. The new Tarmac boasts special fork design and black and orange color scheme which works perfectly. The good thing is that this bike will be available somewhere south of two thousand Euros, even with all the latest improvements.

Canyon Speedmax

The first sign of the new identity that the Canyon Speedmax is promoting is the change in the color and paintjob. Darkish blue and black colors dominate the mystical and powerful design of the new Canyon Speedmax. If there was ever a perfect bike – this is the one, but the price reflects it quite well. The geometry of the bike is out of this world – it even features the adjustable rake that allows for greater adjustments than ever! Improved aerodynamics will boost the performance to the max and allow for amazing time on the racing track!

Cervélo S5

Another serious contender for this year’s winners favorite is Cervelo S5 which now, more than ever, puts focus on speed improvement. It guarantees increase in speed on road, through the combination of many step-by-step improvements across the frame. It is a bike that will not betray you on this field, but that does not mean it fell behind in the visual segment: it offers a wide array of color schemes, with black and red being the crowd’s favorite.

The biggest role-models in the world of cycling

The world of cycling had considerable problems with its image after the big turmoil that was caused by Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal. The whole cult built around his personality was dispersed after the news of his abuse of substances, which led to the crisis where the position of the cycling role model was left empty. However, now there a few suitable candidates that can pick this position and promote both cycling and positive life values to the whole world. These are the people who promote healthy life and good values, always looking to improve themselves, thus setting a great example.

One of the most respected members of the cycling community is Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas, who is at the moment in the Movistar team. His success in cycling is huge – he won two out of three Grand Tours, and several classifications across all three, with many stage races. But where he really shines is his dedication to helping and improving the society! His biggest efforts go to promoting gender equality and helping women in Colombia. He learned his greatest lesson when he was fifteen – he was hit by a car and he ended up in a coma for several days. However, his father always believed in his cycling potential and he helped him succeed by investing in him and helping him along the way. That is why Quintana is so ardent in his efforts to help others now he is in such a position. He is also creating positive health and body images, with his stamina and dedication to healthy diet.

Another potential role model could be the big star of cycling, the UK’s Chris Froome. This Vuelta and Tour de France winner has been very outspoken against doping and drug use. Even though he was accused for using different substances to improve his performance, Froome never fell under any doubt, with the exception of the 2017 case where he had to take medicine for his asthma problem. However, he was cleared of any guilt in that case. He was even made an officer of the Order of the British Empire due to his excellence in cycling. But his greatest activist achievement is in the position of the ambassador of the United for Wildlife conservation project, which is aiming to save many endangered animals. On several occasions, he put stickers of endangered animals such as rhinos on his bikes and tried to raise awareness of the problems surrounding endemic species. If this isn’t enough to convince you, Froome, who was born in South Africa, participated in the race #United4Mandela which celebrated Mandela’s social activism in that country.

Cycling betting basics and instructions

Out of all sports, cycling does not seem to be the most popular one. One of the reasons is that it is still a very young sport and that it is not popular in all parts of the world. However, there are a lot of people who follow cycling and there are huge numbers of people who are very much interested in betting on cycling. If you are one of the betting enthusiasts, or you are looking to join this group, then you should learn about the basics of betting when it comes to cycling. Firstly, of course, you should find a bookmaker that offers betting on cycling, and then you can search the promo code associated with that bookmaker. You can read more about the Supabets offer here to see how it works.

People bet on cycling because it is an action-packed sport with a lot of chances for turnarounds and twists, so some underdogs can win and you could earn big money if you know on whom to bet. However, this also makes it quite unpredictable, which is not something bettors like to hear. Being unpredictable, the odds before the competition itself can be quite big on some competitors, and you can use it to your advantage. One idea is betting with small sums on large odds before the competition, so you can try to guess the winner and win a lot of money.

If you are, however, keen on more likely bets, you might want to wait for the competitions to begin. You can bet on specific stages or only certain types of stages. Why is this important? Well, in contrast to other sports, in cycling certain competitors might not be the best overall, but they can be the fastest or the best at rough terrain – so you can bet on them only in specific stages when the conditions for their win are met. For example, there are some sprinters like Tony Martin or Chris Froome who are likely to win time trials – so you can be sure they will rank good, even if they are not the overall best. On the other hand, on climber stages, you would go for Contador or Quintana. So the most important thing is to know the strengths and weaknesses of each cyclist, and bet when you are sure they are at their best or optimal stage.

Of course, the betting of cycling can also differ based on the type of cycling – whether it’s track or road cycling. Because track cycling is shorter and more predictable, most beginners start with this type, as far as betting is concerned.

Even so, it is important to know the difference between different classifications in each competition – apart from the overall winner, people can also bet on the best times in mountains (the King of the Mountains) or on the best young rider under twenty-five years of age. With such a varied offer, people get lost, so inform yourself ahead of time on what type of races the competition you are following offers.

Another valuable piece of advice on cycling betting basics is to be patient with your bets! Just because it seems you have lost a bet mid-race does not mean the result will remain the same until the end. Cycling is a sport where nothing is definite until the end, so sit tight and follow your favorite!