Pogacar All the Rage at Tour de France

However, there are a host of quality riders looking to chase him down — Geraint Thomas, Primoz Roglic, and Julian Alaphilippe are all capable of taking out the three-week race.

As well explore a variety of other cycling odds here to win!

Top Pick – Tadej Pogacar

The Slovenian is looking for back-to-back Tour de France wins, but he didn’t face the same quality of field presented in 2021.

He is the rising star of the sport and the UAE WorldTeam Emirates leader already has three wins under his belt this year. He won the Tirreno-Adriatico, UAE Tour, and Tour of Slovenia, so he’s in form.

His strengths are in the mountains and that showed at the Tour de France last year. He won the King of the Mountains and he also won three individual stages.

Home Hero! Tadej Pogačar takes the win at his home Tour of Slovenia, and he’s looking to be in good shape for the Tour de France. pic.twitter.com/vCJwkjqe03

— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) June 13, 2021

Currently ranked second in the world behind countryman Roglic, Pogacar will be keen to take that top spot. He spoke to the media two weeks ago about his progression toward defending his title.

“My legs are getting better and better and I’m almost ready for the Tour de France,” Pogacar told CyclingNews. “I still have two weeks to prepare myself for what will be my next big goal.”

“Tour of Slovenia gave me (the) right racing rhythm, and that will be of great help on the first week of the Tour. Route in Slovenia was very diverse, we had everything from climbs to sprints, and it was a good training race. I’ll now race nationals and then we go to France.”

Cycling betting markets have Pogacar at +150 to win. It’s a short quote for such a long tour, but betting online against him is risky. He knows what it takes to win the Tour de France and he’s our top pick.

Pick: Tadej Pogacar +150

Best Value – Geraint Thomas

The Welshman has the experience edge over most of the field and the 35-year-old shouldn’t be overlooked.

Thomas is one of the most recognizable names in cycling and although he has been fighting an uphill battle recently, he’s our best value pick.

Thomas didn’t ride in the 2020 Tour de France and instead opted to focus on the Giro d’Italia. It proved to be a bad decision as he would crash on the third stage and fracture his hip.

However, he has recovered and his past Tour form is worth noting. He won the 2018 Tour de France before finishing second in 2019 behind Egan Bernal. He came into the race overweight and underprepared, but it was still a fine effort in defeat,

We expect the Ineos Grenadiers team to come out aggressively, and although Thomas avoided stating he’s a team leader, his teammates will be riding for his benefit.

Pick: Geraint Thomas +400

Upset Rider – Julian Alaphilippe

Alaphilippe is a prolific Tour de France stage winner and he wants to come out firing from day one.

The Frenchman is a 15-time stage winner, which includes winning five stages in 2018, 2019 and 2020. However, he needs to overturn his 36th finish at the 2020 Tour after getting a costly 20-second time penalty in Stage Five.

Congratulations Julian Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse 🥰👶 Nino ❤️🌈 pic.twitter.com/KFaVu80kRY

— pro cycling trumps (@procycletrumps) June 14, 2021

His fifth-place finish in 2019 was a credible effort and we’re expecting him to lead the race at some stage. Early-stage wins are his key to success, and if he can establish a big lead, he could take some catching.

The +2500 is a value price from bookmakers and Alaphilippe is worth having on your ticket.

Pick: Julian Alaphilippe +2500

Stage Rider Pick – Rigoberto Uran

The Colombian has one individual stage win on his record, but his odds have been slashed for the Tour, and we think he can win his second stage.

His odds have firmed considerably into +2800, which is one of the biggest moves in the market. He is experienced and more than capable of scoring a stage win in France later this week.

Uran was third after the second rest day last year and he finished the race in eighth. He has a chance of winning the Tour, but pick him to win a stage as bettors will get generous odds throughout the event.