The Tour De France first stage is set to start on the 28th of June 2021, when the world’s top cyclists will depart from Brest, Brittany. This 108th incarnation of the tournament will feature 21 stages totalling over 3,380km before the athletes cross the final line in Paris on the 18th of July.
The established cycling event draws a fierce amount of attention from punters across the globe. We’ll show you what our predictions are for the upcoming tournament.
We browsed online bookies to find out who offers the most competitive odds on cycling events, and one of the best that we came across was Bwin. We checked out a detailed Bwin review, and we were impressed with all its positive features; when we entered the website, we saw a huge variety of cycling events to bet on, including many Tour de France 2021 specials.
Tour de France Route
The entire route has eight flat grounds, five hilly terrains, six mountain stages and two time-trials. The seventh stage, Vierzon>Le Creusot, is the longest, with a total distance of 248km. By contrast, the fifth stage time trial, Changé>Laval Espace Mayenne, is the shortest sprint with a total distance of only 27km.
The 21 stages and the variation in terrain and distance will play a deciding role in the race, alongside the cyclists’ strengths and weaknesses. For example, tournament favourite Primož Roglič may lose time on his mountain ascents, but he’ll perform well on descents and hilly terrain.
Ireland’s own Sam Bennett delighted the nation when he won the green jersey at last year’s event. The Tipperary cyclist will be one to watch on intermediate sprints during stages as he looks to defend his jersey.
Tadej Pogacar won the King of The Mountains last year and walked away triumphantly with the yellow jersey. He’s also tipped to win the polka-dot jersey this year if he performs well.
Tour De France Favourites
There’s a lot of world-class talent in this year’s race. We’re excited to see who’s going to emerge as the overall winner. We can expect the Slovenians to give it their all in another spectacular rematch this year. We predict that the following cyclists will have a decent chance of cycling to glory this year, so you might want to consider throwing a few bob on the following:
- Tadej Pogacar: The 22-year-old Slovenian lifted the 2020 trophy, so the chances are high he could pull off another heist this year. He’s currently the bookies favourite due to consistently breaking records in cycling events every time he passes the finishing line.
- Primož Roglič: There are numerous mountain descent finishes at this year’s tournament, which will suit Primož Roglič. He’s currently a close second favourite to win the Tour De France 2021, and he’s also a hot preference to win the Paris-Nice.
- Remco Evenepoel: After fully recovering from a horrific crash, the 21-year-old Belgian resumed training this February. His determination and focus will ensure that he’ll be in great shape for this year’s event.
- Geraint Thomas: There are two time-trials at this year’s tournament, and Geraint Thomas is optimistic that they’ll play to his advantage. The Welsh cyclist won the event in 2018, and he was runner-up in 2019.
- Egan Bernal: The Colombian cyclist has admitted that he’ll suffer from back pain during the 2021 season. The Tour de France 2019 winner still has reasonable odds to perform well during this year’s event, though, and we wouldn’t bet against the lad after seeing what he can do at his peak.
