Tadej Pogacar In Control at 2021 Tour de France

Currently, besides EURO 2020 and Wimbledon, the biggest thing in sports is Tour de France. This is the 108th edition of this monumental event, and we are currently in the middle of the same.

The race started on June 26th, which is why we are free to say that the competition is underway for a solid period of time. There have been numerous exciting events, surprises, both positive and negative (the biggest being Primoz Roglic's withdrawal), but overall, this year's Tour met the expectations for now. Some aren't thrilled with the fact that Tadej Pogacar's win is already apparent, but that is what it is. All the bookmakers and their cycling betting odds suggest that the Slovenian is way ahead of the competition.

Pogacar's victory is currently priced at 1/11, meaning that you'll need to invest 11 units in winning one. It might not be what most punters desire, but that is the case for now. Richard Carapaz is second at 13/1, and Ben O'Connor comes third at 18/1, even though he wears the yellow jersey right now. The biggest tests are yet to come, and that is when Pogacar turns up the pace. Rigoberto Uran is 25/1, and Jonas Vingegaard sits at 33/1.

As said, the battle for the Tour de France winner this year is not that interesting, but that is solely because we have a very dominant rider, much, much better than the rest of the competition. Judging by the way he develops and his age, Pogacar might be the next big thing in the history of this sport. Let us remind you that he has only 22 years.

The path towards a win is clear now, with his biggest rival, Primoz Roglic, abandoning the race. The crashes he endured in the early stages of the race were too much for the older Slovenian, and he decided to quit before the 10th stage. This is a gift, Pogacar won't skip.

However, the other competitions will be very interesting.

King of the Mountain title will be hard to reach, even for Pogacar. Right now, the top favorite for this one is Nairo Quintana, 6/4, who is ahead of Pogacar, 9/2. The Colombian won this honor in 2013, while the Slovenian is the last year's winner. Wouter Poels waits his chance from the dark, 13/1, and is slightly better positioned than Michael Woods 7/1. The next batch of riders is led by Miguel Angel Lopez, Mattia Cattaneo, and Sergio Higuita, all 25/1 to win.
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When talking about the Points Classification, the undisputed Peter Sagan, who didn't win just twice since 2012, is not almighty as before. With 13/2 for another eighth green jersey, he is in the second echelon of the candidates for that title.

The No.1 favorite is the British veteran and the 2010 winner, Mark Cavendish, 10/11. Second on the list is Sonny Colbrelli at 7/1, and then comes Nacer Bouhanni at 11/1. With 13/2 besides Sagan are Michael Matthews and Jasper Philipsen, while Wout Van Aert is far behind at 14/1.

There isn't too much excitement in the remaining two competitions for the Young Rider and the Team Classification. Pogacar will win his second straight award for the best youngster, and the bookmakers see that as an inevitable outcome, 1/20.

As for the team's competition, Bahrain Merida created a gap that is probably too big for all others to cover. Their win is priced at 4/6, and the closest rivals are Ineos Grenafiers with 11/4. Ag2r is 14/1, Astana 15/1, while Jumbo Visma and EF Education-Nippo have the same odds, 18/1.

We have almost two more weeks until the end, with the last stage taking place on 18th July. It shall start at Chatou and finish at Champs-Elysees.