Want to Bet on Cycling? Basics you should Learn

Despite the fact that cycling isn’t the most popular sport in the world, it has its share of fan following everywhere. Many cycling fans stay in places where there aren’t any sports betting shops to place their bets, but they can back their favourite cyclists at various reputed bookmakers on the Internet.

Please keep in mind that even though you can place cycling bets online, you should never do it randomly. It’s important to put some research and due diligence behind every bet. Here’s some general advice to help you out while you’re betting on cycling and other sports events. Nowadays, reputed sports betting portals not only offer excellent odds on different possibilities; they also provide expert betting advice on all the well-known cycling events that happen in different parts of the world.

Throwing some more light on the research part of it, Internet has proven to be the best data and information source for all the well-known cycling races as well as the chances of participating cyclists.

Grand Tours of European

Different race types include track cycling races and road cycling.

Unlike other sports, track cycling mainly concerns countries competing at international level; the main events in this format are in the Olympics, Track Cycling World Championships and Track Cycling World Cup.

The result of a race in track cycling is heavily influenced by aerodynamics – competitors will use different bikes, attire and riding positions to avoid drag during races.

The three types of races in competitive road cycling are single day races, individual time trials and stage races – the most well-known of the three. Stage races, also known as tours, are a great place to start when learning how to bet on cycling.

There are three ionic Tour races in cycling that run each year. The Giro d’Italia is a four-week long tour of Italy that takes in some of the most grueling Alpine slopes the sport has to offer. A few weeks later the Tour de France — widely considered the pinnacle of cycling — rides across France for most of July. And in late August the Vuelta a Espana sets off, with riders cycling under the intense Spanish sun.

Betting on cycling chances every day during a big Tour — and there is always the possibility of a crash occurring that can ruin someone’s month. Indeed, this is one of the beauties of betting on a sport that lasts for so long. There are numerous changes to the cycling betting odds during the Giro, Tour de France or Vuelta. In Italy in particular, riders can find themselves out of the race through nasty injuries sustained on the road.

Olympic Cycling Betting

Olympic cycling differs from Tour cycling because there is simply not enough time and resources to properly plan a large tour lasting weeks. So organizers have created an Olympic schedule that roughly mirrors the Track cycling schedule used at the World Championship.

But there is one big race in the Olympics that reflects the standard of Tour cycling. This is the road and off-road events which have grown in popularity over the past two decades. Individual men and women will race for gold in the road race, while they also compete in a time trial. There are men and women team events in both race and time trial format too.

Mountain biking is also a big feature at the Olympics, with competitors racing along dirt tracks and other off-road circuits in an effort to nail medals. Mountain biking can be fiercely competitive, with riders needing both endurance and spirit capacity to stand a chance of winning a medal.

When betting on cycling – be it on the track or offload – you will almost certainly be betting on who will win the race. But some Olympics markets will offer you the chance to bet on how many medals you think a country will earn in a particular discipline. For example, you could bet on Great Britain to win over 3.5 gold medals in the velodrome at Games. Or you could bet on Australia to win under 2.5 medals in total at the same event.

Why Online Betting Is Great for Cycling Bets

Up first, a great reason to consider trying out a cycling betting site is because of the selection of cycling events you’ll have available at your fingertips. If you’re used to betting in a physical sportsbook, you might be aware you won’t always have access to all of the events in the cycling world. While major ones like the Giro d’ Italia may be covered by your local sportsbook, other smaller ones might not be.

In addition to the lineup of cycling races you’ll be able to wager on, there’s also an excellent lineup of bet types you can use through these online cycling sportsbooks. Included in the collection of bet types are cycling in-play betting wagers, allowing you to bet on bike races online mid-race as it happens. Thanks to this wide variety of bet types available online, you’ll be able to diversify your betting strategy as much or as little as you’d like.

Something else to take into consideration is the convenience of using a real money cycling betting site. Instead of needing to get yourself to your local sportsbook, you can pull out your tablet or smartphone and bet in a matter of seconds.

In turn, you’ll save precious time and commuting costs while betting from your home instead. With online cycling betting, you’re free to gamble whenever and from wherever you please.

Finally, one other reason we like using betting sites with odds on bike races is thanks to the bonuses often associated with them. With online cycling sportsbooks, it’s very common to have the chance to earn free bets and large amounts of deposit bonus matches. Through these, you can make upwards of thousands of dollars in bonuses and promotions.

How to bet on cycling

Cycling is a very simple sport but the arrangement of its competitions can be tricky to follow. In effect it is a race just like any running, swimming or motorsport race. But in cycling, competitors race on two-wheeled bicycles over varying distances and speeds.

Now, staying on the bike is the easy part. The difficulty is trying to beat your opponents in an endurance or sprint race, where even the smallest margins can decide who wins or loses. Cyclists will wear aerodynamic clothing and very little else apart from a safety helmet.

There are two main forms of cycling: Tour racing and Track cycling. In Tour racing, cycling teams will come together and race for upwards of a month across a country to determine who the winner is.

In Track cycling, teams and countries will compete in an oval-shaped velodrome and race against each other and the clock. This is the sprint side of cycling often found at the Olympics and the Track Cycling World Championships.

Regardless of which form of cycling you are following, the betting is usually the same. Punters will place a bet on who they think will win the race. This can either be the individual cyclist, the team or the country they represent. In the Tour de France you can bet on Stage wins, with different classifications available.

Cycling Markets

If you’re new to betting on cycling, you might not be sure about all the different bet types you’ll have available to you. In this portion, we’ll highlight some of the most common and popular cycling bets in the industry. Even if you’re a regular cycling bettor, you might find some options below worth trying out.

1. Race Winner:If you’ve got a hunch about which cyclist will win a race, you can place a race winner bet on them. If you choose the right rider, you’ll win your wager.
2. Top 3 Finish:Understandably, you might not be totally sure which rider might finish in the first place. However, if you still think a cyclist has a good chance of finishing in the top three, you can place this type of wager. With it, as long as your selected rider finishes in third place or better, you’ll win.
3. Top 10 Finish:Similar to the top 3 finish above, a top 10 finish expands things even further. Here, if your chosen cyclist finishes anywhere in the top 10, you’ll win your wager.
4. Stage Betting:Besides just betting on the overall winner of a cycling race, you can also wager on the winners for individual stages.
5. Futures Betting:As with many other sports, cycling also offers bettors the ability to place futures wagers. With this bet type, you can bet on things like the winner of a race well before it happens. Because you can be betting months out, this type of bet can be risky. However, if you’re able to select these wagers correctly, they can be very profitable.
6. King of the Mountain:Many of the cycling races, including the Tour de France and Giro d’ Italia, have mountain stages. For these races, a King of the Mountain award is given to the cyclist that’s the best overall climber of the competition. With this bet type, you can place money to see if you can correctly choose who will earn this honor.
7. Young Rider Betting:Finally, one other popular cycling bet offers you the ability to bet on young cyclists in different events. Typically, you’ll be choosing which rider under the age of 25 you believe will earn the most significant number of points throughout a race.

Track cycling betting

This is the opposite end of the cycling spectrum, where endurance is sacrificed for raw speed. Track cycling in velodromes have become a massive source of entertainment, especially during the Olympics and World Championships.

There are varying lengths and styles in Track cycling, which can make the sport very confusing. Here are just some to look out for:

1. Individual Pursuit. Two riders start at opposite sides of the track and effectively race each other without coming into contact. The winner is the first to complete the required number of laps before the other. Whoever wins advances to the next round. In a team pursuit, two teams will race against each other in the same way.
2. Time trial. Riders simply race on their own against the clock in an effort to record the fastest time. There is also a team time trial event, where a group of riders will aim to secure the fastest time.
3. This is a multiple event race which can last over a number of days. It’s an equivalent to a heptathlon or similar in athletic. Cyclists will compete in multiple disciplines, such as a scratch race, individual pursuit, time trial, elimination race, flying lap and points race. The winner is the rider who earns the most points over the course of the competition.
4. This is similar to the individual pursuit but the difference is the two – or sometimes four – riders start next to each other. The aim is still to beat the other rider(s) to the finish line, but there are different tactics involved here. It’s not just about racing as fast as you can. Cyclists have to time their attack and work of defense.
5. Team Sprint. A team will race in a time trial over a certain number of laps.
6. Possibly one of the strangest events in track cycling. The Keirin is a race that follows a speed-controlled motorbike or a certain part of the race. Riders must remain behind the pacer bike, which gradually increases its speed. At a certain point the bike will disappear and the riders must then sprint for the finish. This race is designed to test a rider’s endurance and sprint capacity.

Strategy Tips for Cycling Betting

Check out our strategy tips below, which you should keep in mind when betting on the sport. By following these, you can help increase your odds of placing profitable cycling wagers.

1. Understand the Sport: Cycling is a sport with many different forms of race types. For you to be an excellent bettor on cycling action, you must understand the different types of racing. By doing this, you’ll learn which cyclists and teams excel in each category.
2. Study the Teams: If you’re planning to bet on some of the significant team competitions like the Tour de France and Tour Down Under, you’ll want to study the team as a whole. No individual competitor can succeed within the race unless he’s got a strong team surrounding him or her.
3. Learn the Individuals: In addition to learning about the teams, you’ll also want to learn about some of the individual competitors themselves. This is especially true when betting on distinct stages. For example, during a mountain stage, you’ll want to place your money on cyclists who are well-known for their climbing abilities.
4. Shop Your Lines: Be sure to shop the bets you’re planning to place around to find the best available odds.
5. Manage Your Bankroll: Make sure you’re using a bankroll management plan to help you get the most out of your available betting dollars. If you don’t have one, we’d urge you to establish one as soon as possible to properly plan the amount you should bet on each cycling wager.