Even the most casual of cycling fans have heard of the Tour de France, but did you know that there are actually three ‘Grand Tours’ that you can watch and bet on?
As well as the French showpiece, there’s the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana – and all three follow a similar theme of flat, sprint-style racing alongside torturous treks through the mountains.
Each of the Grand Tours also boasts the same points scoring system and classifications, so once you know how the Tour de France works, you can easily follow the action in Italy and Spain too.
And that means you’ll be ready to place your bets on all of this fine road racing action…
King of the Hill
When you peruse the Tour de France odds, you’ll be met with a list of riders expected to compete for the iconic Yellow Jersey – Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, and Remco Evenepoel likely to be amongst the favorites.
This is the most popular option when betting on cycling, with the Pink Jersey in the Giro d’Italia and the Red Jersey in Vuelta a Espana indicating the cyclist that is leading the General Classification standings.
An emotional Jonas Vingegaard reacts to his Tour de France stage win after coming back from the terrible crash earlier this year. #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/Laz2jHhCwC
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 10, 2024
The rider who completes the circuit in the quickest accumulative time is declared the winner of the race – this is the ultimate prize for each of the cyclists in the field, while for bettors this is also the most common betting market to wager on.
However, there’s more than one way to bet on cycling’s Grand Tours – great news when one rider has run away and won the General Classification easily…
That’s Classified
Each of the Grand Tours features a number of what might be described as ‘races within the race’.
As well as the General Classification, there are other disciplines that can be wagered upon. The Mountains Classification, for example, is awarded to the rider who performs the best in the mountainous stages of the race – those with incredible stamina, endurance, and leg strength are the favorites to prevail here.
🏔️ Heading for the mountains!
🏔️ Direction la haute montagne !#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/sDrmGDM1pf
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 2, 2024
The Points Classification, sometimes known as the Sprint Classification, is the complete opposite of the Mountains Classification. Here, the winner will be the rider who performs best on the flat sections of the race and the intermediate sprints, earning points for high finishes in each of these stages.
There’s a Young Rider Classification which, as the name suggests, is given to the cyclist who ranks the best in the General Classification – with the caveat that they must be aged under 26 at the start of the race.
Followers of Formula One will be aware of the constructors’ championship – awarded to the team whose drivers earn the most points collectively. And there’s a similar context in the Grand Tours: the Team Classification awarded to the outfit whose riders accrue the most points combined in the standings.
You can also wager on individual stages of each Grand Tour race – there are typically 20+ of those, with some flat (sprint), some taking place on hilly sections, and some up in the mountains.
There are so many different ways to bet on cycling’s Grand Tours, which helps to explain why they are such a popular wagering vehicle, if you’ll pardon the pun, for bettors.
