Cycling Betting Tips: Focus on Road and Track Specifics, Look at Analytics
First of all, it is necessary to divide cycling into two main disciplines; road cycling and track cycling. To understand how to bet on this sport, you need to understand the difference between these completely different formats.
Track races take place in indoor arenas (also called velodromes), where the track is ringed, the distance of the lap is from 164 yards to around a 1/3 mile.
Road cycling is a "street" sport in which athletes can travel huge distances in one race. Here you can see both six mile long individual races on time, and long 125-mile long courses, together making up a single canvas of road multi-day races.
Overcoming more than approximately 1864 miles in 20 days, athletes compete on different types of routes, whether it can be cobbled narrow streets in Europe, highways, flat or mountain roads.
Usually riders specialize in something specific: at finishing sprints, mountain climbs, etc. but all the main laurels and popularity reap still hardy captains, fighting for the overall standings of the multi-day.
In addition to track and highway cycling, some sportsbooks also have lines on important events in the world of mountain biking.
Types of Cycling Races and Bets
The most popular time for road cycling, when the volume of bets is especially high, are during the three main multi-day seasons. In May, the first of them, the Giro d'Italia, is held, which is known for its grueling mountain stages with incredible gradients.
In July, the most famous race in the world takes place, the big royal loop of the Tour de France. And towards the end of the season, in August - September, the Spanish Vuelta takes place. Let's highlight the main types of bets on these grand events.
The fact remains however, that the range of possible contenders is not so wide - most of the participants of the race are so-called ‘gregors’ - people who assist the chosen captain of the cycling team. It is among the captains that there is usually a struggle for the overall standings. And there are usually no more than seven or eight really strong captains, who are able to actually finish in a top spot.
Winning the Stage or One-Day Races. In addition to the multi-day road cycling season, there are also several central one-day events. For example, the world-famous race "Paris - Roubaix" is held in the spring. This is a sprint race, the line on which is not much different from the line for the sprint stage of the multi-day race.
If a top sprinter participates in a sprint stage/race, betting on his victory at the stage can often be taken for low odds, about +150, and the range of contenders is usually limited to four or five strong sprinters. However, on a multi-day race the outcome of such a race is more interesting to predict or analyze, as in a tight schedule it is easier to track the form of the athlete.
In mountain races or stages, odds on the winner are higher, as the element of chance is more significant. Even a racer who was not initially a favorite can win in rare cases. But still the "Mountain Kings" are always available, and their chances in the line are preferable to that of any dark horses.
There are specialists in short races for a time, in the "Tour de France" under the "sections" is allocated, as a rule, two stages. In these races in the bookmaker's top usually inhabited "gregors" who switched to road cycling after success on the track.
Prize-winner places. Sportsbooks often offer odds on getting a certain athlete finishing in different places of multi-day, stage or one-day. Top 3, top 5, top 10 are the normal bets, but there are different options.
Duel cyclists. Together with the bets on getting into the top, this betting line is especially popular among those who want to bet with high chances to win, regardless of low odds.
In this designated type of bet, all of the intrigue can be reduced to a face-to-face or competition between two cyclists. Our job is to predict which of the two will finish first. Often sportsbooks call this line "Who is Higher" and similar bets are offered on many individual sports and races.
Additional bets. Lines for cycling are quite rare on sportsbooks despite legalization. However, sometimes you can find markets, for example, on whether a certain racer who will start the next day or to what stage of the multi-day he will stay “in the running”.
Even more often you can find futures bets on the winners of various races.
Cycling Betting Tips: Specialization and the Team Factor
If you are betting on cycling for the first time, first of all, you should know the difference between the types of races on the terrain of the tracks (marked above mountain, sprint stages and so on) and realize that almost every athlete has a strict specialization.
In the long-distance races, riders have strengths and weaknesses, so they almost always have to focus on one race - only three cyclists in history have won all three major classifications of the Grand Tour.
You also need to pay attention to the strength of the racer's team that you want to bet on. Road cycling is largely a team-sport, and without good assistants here even the biggest stars cannot succeed. Very strong riders can sacrifice their results for the sake of accompanying the captain on difficult stretches.
In this regard, some strong Pitmen, who are in the top sportsbook lines for individual stages, may actually have less of a chance on a particular day. This can be from energy spent on escorting the captain all week, or from being quickly forced out of a competition due to an injury.
In the sprint stages, the overall strength of the team also matters, because the challenger still needs to arrive at the cherished finish line, and in races for time; fatigue and a heavy workload can greatly affect the chances of an injury or a breakdown.
If in multi-day races it is easier to be in the jet of events, then before betting on a one-day race be sure to once again examine the health of the participants, look for information. Even a small cold a few days before the race can seriously affect the athlete's chances, not to mention injuries.
