Cycling betting guide

For whatever purpose cycling may serve, it presents endless health benefits. It is great for your heart, accelerates weight loss, improves the strength and tones the legs, makes your back stronger and increases the intake of oxygen. Professional road racing, however, is only for those with "legs of steel and hearts of lions." Pro road cycling is very demanding in many respects. It is the ultimate test of endurance, strength and mental toughness.

Bicycle racers always have to be prepared for extreme weather conditions: rain and hail storms, or burning sun. Strenuous long races drain cyclists' energy stores very quickly. That is why they have to replenish their energy levels in an ongoing manner, before during and after the race, by sticking to a high-carbohydrate diet regime.

There are two basic forms of cycling betting: road race cycling betting and velodrome tracks cycling betting.
As far as the first category is concerned, top online bookmakers mostly cover the following UCI Pro Tour Series events, with a particular focus on the three Grand Tours:

• Paris-Nice. "The race to the sun." Time: early mid March. Duration: 1 week
• Tour of the Basque Country. "Race for good climbers." Time: early April. Duration: 1 week
• Tour of Switzerland. Time: June. Duration: 1 week.
• Tour de France. World’s third-largest sporting event, broadcast in more than 140 countries. One of the three Grand Tours meaning that the race lasts three weeks and is held over a distance of between 3,000km and 4,000km, broken up into 20 individual stages. The most prestigious bike race in the world. Time: July. Duration: 3 weeks.
• Tour of Germany. The most important bicycle race in Germany. Time: August. Duration: 1 week.
• Giro d'Italia. One of the three Grand Tours meaning that the race lasts three weeks and is held over a distance of between 3,000km and 4,000km, broken up into 20 individual stages. Time: May/early June. Duration: 3 weeks.
• Vuelta a España. One of the three Grand Tours meaning that the race lasts three weeks and is held over a distance of between 3,000km and 4,000km, broken up into 20 individual stages. Time: late August/ September. Duration: 3 weeks.
• Tour of Pologne. The most important bicycle race in Poland. Time: September. Duration: 1 week 
• There is also World Cycling Championships organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. It includes two components, a road race and an individual time trial. It is not a professional event and competitors ride for national cycling teams.

These are the most popular cycling bet types:

• Race winner – predict which cyclist will win the race, that is achieve the fastest accumulative time over all the stages
• Stage winner – predict which cyclist will win the stage
• Cycling live betting – predict the winner of the in-running stage
• Head-to-head betting – predict which of the two comparable cyclists will be higher after the stage or race
• Other bets:

-Tour the France betting additionally involves Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) betting or the White Jersey (best performing rider under 25) betting.
-Will the cyclist participate in the race/ next stage?

Stage Type Matters

One of the most important tips for profitable cycling betting is to pay attention to the type of stage the cyclists will be competing in. There are three basic types of stages, namely flat stages, medium mountain stages and mountain stages. "Climbers" who are in top form usually excel at mountain stages, while other cyclists specialise either in flat or medium mountain road racing. It is a factor well worth consideration when placing bets on the stage or race winner.

Vuelta a Espana Betting Advice

Traditionally, Vuelta a España is dominated by Spanish cyclists. Use this information to your advantage while betting!