Cycling Review

Introduction to Cycling Betting

There has been an increase in cycling betting in recent years in the UK and other parts of Europe. Britain has a model in place that has produced Olympic champions and winners of the Tour de France. British cycling had the backing of Sky so could invest in the best coaches and technology. Increased live television coverage across Europe has led to more betting on the sport. From being a niche sport at the start of the century, it is now a sport in which British male and female riders excel. High profile Olympic champions such as Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton have kept the sport in the public eye. Bookmakers have responded by offering a range of betting markets. Cycling has a huge following in other countries around Europe.

Betting Events

The Tour de France dominates cycling like no other event in a sport. It is the most bike race in the world and the one that attracts most betting interest. It is one of the three road race grand tours and the others are in Italy and France. There are road and track races for men and women at the Olympic games. Cycling lends itself to betting because of its simplicity and the unambiguous results. There are European and World championships in both forms of cycling. There is little betting interest in any other cycling event, but the Tour of Britain is getting more popular for viewing and betting.

Betting Types

A typical stage of the Tour de France lasts six hours or more. Most stages are a race, and the objective is to pass the finishing line in first place. Within a stage, there are many tactical moves which make the racing suited to in-play betting. A rider could break away from the main body of the field and establish a lead. The other cyclists could work together to bring the leader back to the field. The fluctuations in positions encourage in-play betting. Bettors can back riders to win a stage, Tour and individual races in pre-race markets. The odds are updated after each stage. Ante-post cycling betting is limited to the outright winner of the Tour de France.

Cycling Markets

There is limited scope for cycling betting, and bookmakers offer a small number of markets. Customers can place win and each way bets on the tour de France and road and track races in the Olympic Games. Bookmakers issue odds on the winning team or country in these events. There are also betting markets on the winning time for individual stages and a Tour. The finishing position of selected riders is another potential betting market.