Tour de France - Betting Odds, Event Details, History and Records

Date: 2024.06.29 - 2024.07.21
Contest: CYCLING
Location: France


Tour de France is the biggest and most prestigious bicycle racing event in the UCI World Tour. One may call it the Wimbledon of bicycle racing, but it is something far greater than that. Top bicycle racing teams and expert riders participate in the race as fans, sponsors, and global media turn their attention to the multi-stage bicycle racing event in France. The event is one of the most popular and keenly followed sporting events in the world.


Tour de France 2024 Betting Odds:

After winning it this year and the last year, Jonas Vingegaard will, very likely, be the favourite to win it again once the odds for the next year's race are posted.


History:

The Tour de France was first held in 1903 as a bicycle race to advertise and increase the sales for the French newspaper L'Auto. Until now, 109 editions of the prestigious event have been held. The only pauses or breaks since the inaugural edition have been because of the two world wars. Otherwise, the event has continued without any unfortunate and unwanted interruptions.

Traditionally, the race has been held in the month of July.


Status and Scale:

Tour de France is one of the three Grand Tours (the other two being the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana) in the UCI World Tour. Over the years, 20-22 top bicycle racing teams have participated in Tour de France, with each team having 8 riders.

These teams and riders compete for different stage wins in Tour de France.


Stages, Circuits, and Location:

In total, the race has 21 different stages, with each stage being held on a different day. In total, the tour runs for 23 days, with the Bastille Day Holiday coinciding with it. The total length of the Tour de France race is about 3500 km.

Generally, the circuit covers different areas of France and a few neighboring countries. Commonly, the race starts in France. However, there have been instances of Tour de France starting in some nearby country or region. Each year, the race alternates between clockwise and counter-clockwise circuits.


Classifications:

Since there are multiple stages involved in Tour de France, there are separate points and awards for winning these stages. Moreover, it also results in separate classifications like General Classification, Mountain Classification, Young Rider Classification, Points Classification, and Minor Classification.


Who gets to be the overall Winner?

In each stage, the riders' times are added up, and the rider with the minimum total time is declared the General Winner of the Tour de France. The overall leader is also given the prestigious yellow jersey, which he wears during the race.


2023 Champion:

Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard won the race for the second consecutive year. Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia came second, while Adam Yates from the United States finished third.


Past Winners:

Jacques Anquetil:

Jacques Anquetil, the former French Bicycle racing Champion, is among the most successful bicycle riders in the tour history. He has won the tour five times, with his victories coming in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964.


Eddy Merckx:

Eddy Merckx has also won Tour de France five times. His victories came in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1974.

Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain:

Bernard Hinault from France and Miguel Indurain from Spain have also won the Tour de France 5 times. Hinault won in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1985 while Indurain won five consecutive Tour de France Races between 1991 and 1995.

Chris Froome:

In recent years, the British road racing cyclist Chris Froome has won the Tour de France title four times. He won his first title in 2013 and achieved a hattrick of Tour de France Wins between 2015 and 2017.


Prize Money:

With Tour de France being the premier road cycle racing event, the prize money has been kept at a lucrative 2.7 million US Dollars. In the upcoming seasons, it is further expected to rise.

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