Cycling Schedules
Understanding Cycling Schedule
Road cycling, or just “cycling,” takes place[-professionally-from late January (or February) until October/November. It’s the Union Cycliste Internationale’s (UCI) World Tour, representing both men and women. There are roughly 30-plus events every season, all of which have odds at the sportsbooks.
Main Events for 2022
Those 30-plus events are broken down into tiers. Of course, the featured event in the top tier is the Tour de France, the most iconic cycling race. Winning the Tour rewards more points than any other race. It’s part of the three Grand Tours, which also includes the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta España. Both of those rewards the second-most points.
Following the “Big Three” of cycling are the five Monument one-day races, the 10-part European races, 13 one-day European races, and races in Australia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Australia, and Canada.
The Tour de France starts Friday, July 1st to Sunday, July 24th, and is divided into 21 stages:
- 6 flat stages.
- 7 hilly stages.
- 6 mountain stages with 5 summit finishes (La super Planche des Belles Filles, Col du Granon, Alpe d’Huez, Peyragudes, Hautacam).
- 2 individual time trial stages.
- 2 rest days.
- 1 transfer day.
The women’s Tour de France starts Sunday, July 24th, and ends Sunday, July 31st, is divided into 8 stages:
- 4 flat stages.
- 2 hilly stages.
- 2 mountain stages with one summit finish at La super Planche des Belles Filles (stage 8).
- The 5th stage, Bar-le-Duc > Saint-Diédes-Vosges (175km), will be the longest of the race.
The Giro d’Italia is taking place between Friday, May 6th to May 29th, and is divided into 21 stages:
- 7 stages for sprinters.
- 6 medium-mountain.
- 2 individual time trials.
- 6 high-mountain.
Vuelta a España starts Friday, August 19th, and ends Sunday, September 11th, is divided into 21 stages:
- 6 flat stages.
- 2 flat stages with high-altitude finales.
- 4 hilly stages.
- 7 mountain stages.
- 1 team trial stage and 1 individual time-trial stage.
- 3 rest days.
The Tour of Colombia would start Friday, June 3rd, and ends Sunday, June 12th, and is divided into 10 stages.
Important: The Colombian Cycling Federation confirmed that the competition will not be held next year.
Tips Before Betting on Cycling
As a niche sport, dig deep to research cycling. Before you bet, however, here’s some advice.
- There are no point spreads in cycling betting. Rather, most of what you find are outright odds. Put another way, you’re just wagering on who wins the race. Usually, there’s a runaway favorite. Before any betting, convert the moneyline odds into win probability to figure out who’s worth the wager.
- Weather is a bigger factor in cycling than perhaps most sports. So notice the forecast before the race as well as any changes in road conditions around the area.
- Although it makes news when it happens, freak accidents usually do not happen in cycling. However.it could lead to unexpected results. However, don’t put too much stock into that oddity when dissecting the cyclists’ odds.
