As summer winds to a close, you might be thinking about packing up your bike and putting away your lycra shorts for the long winter months. That is the last thing on the minds of the pros as they gear up for the Vuelta a España – the third and final Grand Tour of the year. So, get ready for three long weeks of pure pedal power that is expected to be one of the toughest yet.
Beginning on Saturday the 19th of August, it’s about time to get your bets in for who you think will take the red jersey at the end of it all. The tour doesn’t quite have the same history and prestige as its French counterpart, so you might not find a full spread of betting options available. Nevertheless, you can still pocket a bit of extra cash by backing the winner or a top-3 finisher.
The Tour of Spain
Along with the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a España makes up the holy triumvirate of main-event cycling races in the UCI World tour. The race is the youngest of the three Grand Tours even though it has been run for 71 editions since 1935, so it doesn’t get quite the same amount of coverage on TV, nor does it get full attention from the online bookmakers. That said, most good online betting sites will offer odds on outright markets for the overall winner of the tour.
So, what do need to know about the three-week long race to make an informed punt? Read this Vuelta a España betting preview to get the full low-down on the route, the riders and the ante-post odds for the race.
More Than 3,000 km of Gruelling Cycling
At a total length of 3,297.7km (2049 mi), the 2017 Vuelta a España might sound like a fairly hefty amount of cycling for the average person. However, the final Grand Tour of the season will actually be slightly shorter than the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. But, if you think that this means the cyclists will get an easy ride, think again, because this year’s race is set to be a toilsome ride with some punishing climbs throughout the three weeks.
As a matter of fact, there will be a total of three summit finishes each week of the tour despite calls from the cyclists that recent Vuelta a España races have been too demanding on the inclines. So, naturally we’ll be looking at the top climbers when it comes to these ultimate tests of steep altitude cycling. The likes of Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana are out of the question but it would be worth keeping an eye on the likes of this year’s Tour de France Polka Dot Jersey winner, Warren Barguil at 80/1 with other grimpeurs Domenico Pozzovivo at 66/1 and Rafal Majka at 36/1.
While these cyclists might seem like a long shot for the outright win – especially when you have all-rounders like Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali in contention – it will be well worth having them in mind if you want to be live in-play on the Vuelta a España. If you can see that they are well poised for an attack on the inclines, then a punt wouldn’t go amiss. Plus, a few strong mountain finishes could always put a dark horse at the front of the pack.
Who Will Win the Red Jersey
The most coveted prize in La Vuelta is the Red Jersey and, with so many summit finishes along the way, we wouldn’t bet on one cyclist keeping hold of it for a long period during the tour. However, the only thing that really matters is who is wearing the Jersey Rojo at the end of the three weeks after the riders complete the 101.9 km final stage into Madrid.
As far as we see it, there are three main contenders to keep in mind and they are all classed as all-rounders. Chris Froome goes into the competition on the back of his fourth Tour de France win and as the overwhelming favourite with odds as low as 14/19 at some online bookmakers. Eagle eyed punters might spot odds on the favourite at slightly better returns of 15/13 which will at least give your more than the original stake and then some as profit. With 37% of punters backing him (according to oddschecker.com), it’s safe to say that bettors are keen to stick with what they know and we know that Froome is a formidable Grand Tour competitor who is tough to beat on any route, especially with a strong Team Sky behind him. That said, the Tour-Vuelta season double has only ever been achieved twice in history and not since the Spanish race was moved later in the calendar to follow the French Grand Tour
If you fancy improving your potential winnings whilst still playing it relatively safe, then you can back one of two other all-rounders – Vincenzo Nibali at 9/2 and Alberto Contador at 12/1. Nibali is far the stronger of the two and has committed himself to the Spanish tour after missing the Tour de France earlier in the summer. “El Tiburon” (“the shark”, as he is known in Spain) is looking to build on his legacy of one Vuelta win in 2010 as well as one Tour de France win and two Giro d’Italia wins, and he is primed for it having told the official ‘La Vuelta’ website that he will be in “top shape” for the race.
Barring a few run-ins with the doping police, Alberto Contador is considered as one of the greatest racers of his generation. La Vuelta 2017 will be the Spaniard’s last Grand Tour as he plans to retire after his home event, and there would be something poetic about the 34-year old celebrating for the last time in the Red Jersey in his place of birth, Madrid, on the 10th of September. Contador has won La Vuelta three times in the past but at 12/1, it does feel like too long a shot for the ageing cyclist to land a grandstand finish to his career.
Consider Laying a Bet
From a look at Oddschecker.com, you can see that a reasonable amount of bettors have took the plunge of backing some relative outsiders. In fact, more than a third (34.85%) of punters have placed money on ‘Others’. Now, anyone who follows cycling will know that Grand Tour races are characterised by huge fields, unpredictable stages and the odd crash to shake things up but, generally, it’s one of the big names who ends up taking the spoils at the end of the three weeks.
Of course, there’s always merit in a long-shot bet – that’s just the way some gamblers like to play it. You could take advantage of other punters adventurous nature by laying bets via the Betfair Exhange. This essentially means that you can sell bets to other punters, keeping their stakes in the event that they lose the bet or paying them the winnings in the event that they win. There is still plenty of risk involved in this strategy but if you can lay enough bets off across the field then you could potentially end up covering any liability that you have to pay out.
