Cycling season is slowly heating up. Even though the weather in most European countries is still unstable, and we witness many rainy and snowy days, the cyclists are already in working mode.
In a few days we will have the Milano-Sanremo race and after that comes a very interesting April, with two big events, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. For all the fans of this sport, this is a delight which shouldn’t be missed. On the other side, for those who love to bet, it is an opportunity for winning some easy money.
Tour de Flanders 2021 starts on April the 4th. It will be the 105th edition of this legendary race, with Mathieu van der Poel winning the last one, which took place in October instead of April as usual. Unfortunately, there won’t be any spectators involved, due to the health and safety protocols.
The Dutch is again the top favorite for clinching the trophy, with him topping all the bookmakers’ list. The odds on his second straight win are 5/2, and if he manages to defend the honors, the 26-year old will become the first cyclist since Fabian Cancellara has back-to-back wins here.
Wout Van Aert is the next on the list, 6/1. The Belgian was the runner-up last year, but according to his statements, he is coming to Flanders to win this race. Julian Alaphilippe is the third candidate for the honors 17/2, and he closes the top echelon of the favorites. Far behind are Peter Sagan, 21/1, Davide Ballerini 26/1 the same as Alexander Kristoff, while Remco Evenepoel is 29/1. Just to add that apart from having more odds at your disposal, you can find a thorough guide to cycling betting on this link.
Seven days later, the entire caravan moves to France to participate in the Paris-Roubaix race. Since 1896 this race has been on the calendar, and it shares the same status in the cycling world as Tour de Flanders. However, the event in France didn’t occur in 2020 due to COVID-19 measures, and the most recent winner here was Philippe Gilbert.
He is not among the top favorites to win the race again, with the top two favorites being the same guys as in the previous case. Only this time, the odds are the same for both van Aert, van der Poel 15/4. Sagan is long behind with 15/1, and Mads Pedersen comes after the Slovakian with 19/1. John Degenkolb is 21/1, and Alaphilippe 23/1.
As you might see, the majority of the action is expected to come from van Aert and van der Poel, who are really two fantastic athletes and who are yet to reach their peak in the cycling world. Both have 26 years, meaning that at least six, seven quality years are ahead of them, and during that time, these guys will probably write the history of this sport.
One of them might even win both races this year, becoming one of the rare persons who achieved the same. Legendary Cancellara was the latest to become a champion of both races during one year.
The bookies set odds for van der Poel to repeat that at 9/1, while van Aert’s double-win is priced at 15/1. Miles away are the rest of the cyclists, Alaphilippe and Sagan 101/1, Evenepoel 151/1, Pedersen 160/1, Greg van Avermaet 200/1.
These two races will be a perfect intro for the rest of the season, including the Olympic Games, Giro d’Italia, and Tour de France, if COVID-19 circumstances allow the same to occur.
Many believe that there won’t be any problems for these sports event to proceed this summer, which spices up the situation in the cycling world.
