Tour de France 2023 Odds: Three tips as Mark Cavendish targets historic stage win
Netflix’s 'Tour de France: Unchained' has thoroughly whetted the appetite ahead of the 110th edition of cycling’s most famous bike race, which returns with a bang on Saturday 1st July.
There are storylines aplenty leading up to the 2023 Tour de France which spans 3,404km across two countries over the course of three gruelling weeks, complete with eight mountain stages and four summit finishes.
Here at BettingOdds, we’ve taken a look at the Yellow Jersey contenders, then enclosed you'll find three tips from various Tour de France betting markets, all of which can be browsed below.
Yellow Jersey Contenders
The Yellow Jersey focus is firmly pinned on two riders: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAW Team Emirates).
The duo were involved in a bona fide thriller in 2022, showcasing their incredible talent and staggering ability to go deep within themselves.
In the end it was Vingegaard who was crowned the victor for the first time. The Dane, who won three stages, is 11/10 with the majority of bookmakers to successfully defend the Yellow Jersey this time around.
It will be no easy feat considering that the recent Critérium du Dauphiné winner is up against a wounded Pogacar who is doubly determined to bounce back and win his third Tour de France. The Slovenian is also 11/10 with most outlets, although at the time of writing he can be backed at the marginally longer price of 6/5 with Betfred.
In truth, unless both riders are forced to pull out of the race due to injury or covid, it’s almost impossible to envision another winner coming from the cashing pack. However, the unpredictable and occasionally heart-wrenching nature of cycling means that anything can happen, so we can’t yet rule anyone out.
Last year’s Giro d’Italia champion Jai Hindley is worth monitoring as the 18/1 third favourite, Enric Mas (28/1) has five top-5 Tour finishes on his CV, and Ben O’Connor (33/1) finished 4th in 2021.
'The returning former champ Egan Bernal is out at the three-figure price of 100/1, while his Ineos teammates Carlos Rodriguez (70/1) Daniel Martinez (80/1), and Tom Pidcock (80/1) are also rank outsiders in the betting.
Tour de France Betting Tips
Mark Cavendish has one goal in his final ever Tour de France: to win a race. If successful, the Manx Missle will become the first rider in history to win 35 stage victories at Le Tour.
Cavendish, who will retire at the end of the season, is currently tied alongside the legendary Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour de France stage wins. In his last appearance he accumulated a whopping four wins in 2021, but was surprisingly not selected last year. He’s now back with history in his sights.
Only last month the 38-year-old proved he’s still got what it takes to win a Grand Tour stage after he claimed victory in the final stage of the Giro d’Italia; his 17th stage win at the race.
You can simply never rule out the Astana sprinter who will get chances in France, making him a nice odds-against price of 6/4 (Paddy Power) to break the stage win record at some point over the course of the three weeks.
It’s impossible to pick between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar in the mesmerising battle for the coveted Yellow Jersey. With the duo expected to grab the top two spots for a third straight year, realistically there’s only likely to be one more place up for grabs on the prized podium, and there’s sure to be one heck of a battle for it.
It’s a case of take your pick from a variety of contenders, including Jai Hindley, Ben O’Connor, Enric Mas, Richard Carapaz, and Simon Yates to name just a handful.
It’s Simon’s twin brother Adam Yates who I believe offers some decent value for a podium spot at 14/1 with Paddy Power, as he bids to add to Britain's impressive sustained period of success over the last 11 years at the Tour de France; producing 10 podium finishes from these shores in that timeframe.
Fresh off top spot at the Tour de Romandie and an impressive runners-up place behind Jonas Vingegaard at the Critérium du Dauphiné - during which he finished above O'Connor and Hundley - Yates heads to the Tour de France bidding to help his UAE teammate Tadej Pogacar regain the Yellow Jersey.
The in-form Yates will no doubt play a pivotal part in Pogacar’s pursuit of glory, meaning he’s sure to be there or thereabouts in the Tour de France Top-10 for the fourth time in his career.
Given the open nature of the contest outside of Vingegaard vs Pogačar, a Top-3 finish is definitely in reach for Yates, who was agonisingly 21 seconds off the podium back in 2016.
To round things off we’ve pieced together a Top-10 treble featuring Enric Mas, Adam Yates, and Tom Pidcock.
We’ve already detailed Adam Yates’ (11/10) form and past performances in the section above. To briefly reiterate, the UAE rider has previously secured three Top-10 finishes at the Tour de France, including a best-placed 4th, and will be expected to be in the mix once again as he bids to help propel Pogacar to victory.
Enric Mas (4/6) is no stranger to finishing in the Top-10 in Grand Tours with his CV boasting six in total. On three occasions the Spaniard has finished runner-up at Vuelta a España and has two Top-6 finishes in the last three years at the Tour de France: 5th (2020) and 6th (2021).
We round things off with the ultra-talented Tom Pidcock (3/1) who famously won on the Alpe d’Huez last year in his first-ever Tour de France.
He finished in a creditable 16th overall and is now expected to continue on his upwards trajectory and push on further this time around. With no concrete leader in a transitional Ineos team, a strong start to the tour could fire Pidcock into contention near the top of the order.
Check out the odds below in a comprehensive range of Tour de France betting markets.
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