Betting on the Tour de France Online

Anyone betting on the Tour de France should be alive to three fundamental things:

• The Tour's duration.
• The nature of betting markets.
• The need to embrace a strategy.

As mentioned early, the most popular bet type is always betting on the Tour's overall winner. However, plenty of other betting markets provide value to bettors. Like with most internationally acclaimed sport championships, punters betting on the Tour de France can explore a variety of odds markets, including:

• Head-to-head: Pick a duel, and choose who among the two is likely to beat the other
• Stage winner: 21 opportunities to bet on each stage.
• Point's winner: Who will clinch the Green or Points Jersey
• Overall winner: Bet on who will win the Tour de France
• Top ten: The possibility of a rider featuring among the top 10 mostly works well for little-known riders who are likely to pull a surprise.

Back to the question, what is Tour de France?, Also known as the "Le Tour" or "Le Grande Boucle," this is one of the biggest sports events, usually held annually. This competition is usually held in France or any of its bordering countries. The Amaury Sports Organization runs the Tour, along with other cycling events.

This Tour takes place in 21 stages, stretching 3,500km. Each stage of the competition takes close to 6 hours and covers approximately 225km. Each stage has a winner, but the title is awarded to the rider that completes the most stages in the shortest time.

With its enormity, in terms of popularity, participants in the Tour enjoy impressive cash winning, albeit not as much as those offered in other sporting events like the Masters or Wimbledon. 2021 Tour de France had its prize pool set at $2,642,340, with the winner, Tadej Pogačar, taking home £427,000. However, there are also cash prizes at various stages of the completion, such as intermediate sprints, stage wins, mountain summits, and combative prizes.

The first Tour de France race was held in 1903, featuring only 60 individual riders. A sports and rugby reporter, Henri Desgrange, is credited for organizing and marketing the first event through his editorial works. It is also worth noting that the first event was a six-stage race covering 2,428km. This meant that riders had to tackle an average of 405km, spending days and nights on the bike.

Maurice Garin won the inaugural Tour. However, incidences of cheating in the next event also risked compromising the following year's Tour. However, the organizers were quick to address the malpractices by introducing new rules in 1905.

The Tour de France has been held over the years, save in 1918 during the Spanish flu and both World Wars. The Tour has recorded massive improvements over the years, key among them being the shift from unpaved to paved roads.

Another hallmark in the competition's history is the introduction of the yellow jersey (Maillot Jaune in French) immediately after World War I to help spectators locate the race's leader with ease.