The Best Cycling Betting Sites for 2024

Race Winner

Betting on the winner of a race is the simplest way to bet on cycling. You’ll simply choose who you think will win the overall race. If your rider finishes first, then your bet will pay out at the listed odds.

Top 3 Finish

This is like betting on the winner of a race, but offers you more flexibility. In this market, you are predict that your chosen rider will finish on the podium at the end of the race. Should your selection finish first, second, or third, you’ll win your bet.

Stage Winner

Many major races are broken up into daily stages, each of which has its own winner. You can bet on each stage individually. When you make this bet, all that matters is that your chosen rider finishes first in the given stage. If they do, you’ll win your bet at the odds posted.

Number of Finishers

This market is a bet on the total number of riders that will finish the entirety of a race. The site will list a total, such as 155.5. Your goal is to pick whether the total number of finishers will be over or under that number. If you choose correctly, you’ll win your bet.

King of the Mountains

The rider who performs the best in a series of mountainous stages that involve major climbs over the course of a race. Famously, the rider leading in this category at the Tour de France wears a polka dot jersey.

In this market, you are trying to predict the winner of the King of the Mountains competition. If your chosen rider wins that title, your bet will pay out.

Best Young Rider

The best young rider classification goes to the competitor who posts the lowest overall time among riders below a certain age. Most commonly, only cyclists below the age of 26 are eligible for this prize.

If you bet on this market, you must predict who will win the best young rider award. Your bet pays out if you choose the correct winner.

Tour de France

No cycling race in the world is more famous or more prestigious than the Tour de France. First organized in 1903, this 21-stage event tests riders over a variety of different environments throughout France. Today, it is considered one of the world’s largest annual sporting events.

Typically, 20 to 22 teams compete in the race, each represented by eight riders. The overall race leader wears a yellow jersey into the next stage. However, there are other classifications that riders compete in, including sprinters, mountain climbs, and a team competition based on the top three finishers from each team in each stage.

Giro d’Italia

The Giro d’Italia – or Tour of Italy – doesn’t receive as much attention as the Tour de France, but is considered nearly as prestigious in the cycling world. This 21-stage event is typically held in May and normally uses a route that passes through the Alps.

Often simply called the Giro, this race features the same classifications as the Tour de France. However, the overall leader wears a pink jersey, rather than a yellow one. In a unique twist, organizers often set up a foreign start for the first stage, with a short time trial beginning the race before it moves to Italy for the remainder of the tour.

Vuelta a España

If there is a Triple Crown of cycling, the Vuelta a España – or Tour of Spain – would make it up along with the above two races. First held in 1935, it has now been run a total of 75 years, including annually since 1955.

Like the tours in France and Italy, this event is contested in 21 stages over the course of 23 days. While organizers choose a new route each year, it always winds its way through the Pyrenees and finishes in Spain’s capital city, Madrid. The leader of the race wears a red jersey throughout the competition.

Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain is a shorter race than the ones listed above, but still tests riders over the course of eight stages in as many days. The leading cycling race in the UK, this competition makes up part of UCI ProSeries, the second-tier men’s elite cycling tour.

The tour route for this race frequently visits London, though this is not always the case. Riders must often visit many parts of the UK over the course of the week, with stages traveling through England, Scotland, and Wales.

UCI World Championships

The UCI World Championships bring together various forms of cycling into a single event to determine world champions in various disciplines. These include road cycling, track cycling, BMX, mountain biking and other competitions.

These championship events are organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Hosting duties rotate between different nations each year, and winners earn the honour of wearing a white jersey with coloured bands on the chest, known as the rainbow jersey, when they compete in that same discipline over the next year.

Olympic Cycling

Cycling has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1896. Since 1984, both men and women have competed in a variety of different cycling disciplines at every edition of the Olympic Games.

Most major forms of cycling are now contested at the Olympics. These include track cycling, road cycling, mountain biking, and BMX races, with multiple races held in each style.

Research the Field

First and foremost, you’ll want to do your research before a race to find out what to expect from the field. You should look into which riders are nursing injuries, which rider’s won’t be competing at all, and which teams are bringing their best possible teams in an effort to win the team classification.

One great way to get the latest information is to check out cycling sites and social media accounts, especially in the hours leading up to a race.

Know the Location

It’s tempting to think that the best riders will be winners no matter where they race. But location matters in a few different ways. The most obvious is that the makeup of a multistage race will benefit different racers: an extra climb will benefit strong mountain riders, while sprinters will excel if there are more short, flat stages or time trials.

You’ll also want to monitor local riders who know the route well and understand exactly where to make their breaks during the race.

Check the Weather

The weather will change over the course of a race, especially in the longer tours. Not every rider does well in the rain or wind, and knowing who prefers the expected conditions could give you an edge in betting.

This requires some more research but can pay off if you get a good sense of each rider’s preferences. Some cycling betting sites provide detailed weather information, which is helpful when betting live.

Search for Competitive Cycling Odds

This tip applies not only to cycling betting, but any form of sports betting. It’s worth signing up at multiple betting sites in order to ensure that you can get the best odds on every race. By checking several different sites, you can choose the one that offers the biggest payouts on the bet you want to make.

Each of our recommended betting sites features competitive odds for all major cycling events, and the advantage you get from looking at multiple bookmakers before betting can make a big difference over the long run.

Time Trialling

In a time trial, cyclists race against the clock in either a road race or on a track. In contrast to other races, time trials see each rider race alone, one after another. This means that each racer faces the exact same conditions, with no consideration to positioning within a pack or help from teammates.

Cyclo-Cross

Cyclo-cross is a form of racing that combines several different types of terrain, including pavement, hills, obstacles, and wooded areas. At some points, riders must dismount their bikes and carry them to get around certain obstacles. Typically, races feature relatively short tracks, with competitors completing several laps over the course of an hour or less.

Mountain Bike Racing

Mountain bike racing is like road racing, except that riders must navigate off-road courses. This makes it similar to cross-country competitions in sports like running. While this type of cycling competition is newer than more traditional disciplines, it has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1996.

Track Cycling

In track cycling, riders compete on specialized banked tracks or arenas known as velodromes. While laps are short – modern tracks are 250 metres long – cyclists still compete in both sprint and endurance races, and track races are highly popular in Europe, Japan, and during the Olympics.

BMX

BMX stands for bicycle motocross. In BMX racing, cyclists compete on short dirt tracks that feature jumps and other obstacles. Since 2008, BMX cycling has been a part of the Summer Olympics. Many talented riders begin their careers as BMX racers before moving on to other racing disciplines.

Cycle Speedway

Cycle speedway has similarities to both track cycling and BMX racing. Riders compete on short oval dirt tracks that are around 80 metres long. While this format is somewhat obscure compared to the others on this list, it is popular in the UK, Australia, and the United States.