Best bookmaker for cycling betting

Leading tipster site Betting Expert compares bookmakers’ offerings for the Tour de France, exploring their markets and odds to determine the best in the UK.

The Tour de France is the biggest event in the cycling calendar. Millions of people across the world tune in to watch the 21-stage event and many of them will bet on the action.

There are now plenty of options for punters but not all offerings are equal, with significant differences in the commission and odds available at various bookmakers.

We researched what was on offer at 25 different bookmakers across a range of different categories. We compared odds across numerous markets, including outright winner, top three finish, top 10 finish, points winner, climber classification and any special bets offered.

All data were collected between 18 and 25 August and the results may have been different using different dates.

Overall best bookmaker for Tour de France
Let’s first take a look at the overall top three bookmakers for cycling betting. Taking into account all the odds and markets offered, these three bookmakers were the most consistent across the board in the variety of markets:

1. EnergyBet
2. Mr Green
3. 888sport

The standout name in our analysis was EnergyBet. It offered a great variety of markets for punters to bet on and its odds were competitive across the board.

What really separated EnergyBet from the rest and secured it the number one spot was its odds for top three finish, one of the most popular markets with punters betting on the Tour de France.

A close second was Mr Green, which offered 14 markets in total. What stood out for the bookmaker was that it had some of the best odds around: it was in our top four for both climber’s classification and top three overall odds.

In third place in our overall comparison was 888sports. With 11 markets, it offered a lot of variety, and also had very competitive odds on offer.

Best Tour de France outright winner odds
When it comes to betting on the Tour de France, the most popular and common market is the outright winner of the competition. Only the very best cyclist will come out on top after 21 events over 23 days. In a field this large, it could be anyone.

With that in mind, punters look for the bookmaker with the best value odds and the lowest commission. These were our top three bookmakers for Tour de France outright winner betting:

1. Sportingbet
2. Marathonbet
3. Bet-at-Home

Sportingbet provided the best odds and the lowest commission, which made it the best bookmaker when looking solely at outright winner.

Marathonbet and Bet-at-Home followed closely behind.

Best Tour de France points winner odds
Punters also want the best value and the highest returns when it comes to the points winner market, and in this category these were the three best bookmakers:

1. Sportingbet
=2. Coral
=2. Ladbrokes

Sportingbet came out on top, with the best odds and the lowest commission at 39.49%.

Joint second-placed Ladbrokes and Coral offered among the best Tour de France odds for the points winner and had identical commissions of 40.74%.

The difference in odds was particularly significant outside the top five riders, with Sportingbet offering odds almost three times greater than other bookmakers for a top 13 racer.

Best Tour de France climber classification odds
Many punters choose to bet on the best climbers in the Tour de France and here the following three bookmakers stood out:

1. Betsafe
2. bet365
3. BetVictor

Betsafe was the name at the top of the mountain, with the most competitive numbers of the 25 bookies we studied. Betsafe offered odds of 20 for its fourth favourite rider, while many bookmakers were as low as 13.

Bet365 and BetVictor also offered some of the best odds and lowest commission rates in this category, coming in second and third place, respectively. 

Best Tour de France top three odds
With the Tour de France typically being quite unpredictable, many punters look to bet on a podium finish rather than an outright winner. The following bookmakers scored highest in this category:

1. EnergyBet
2. SkyBet
3. Fansbet

EnergyBet came out on top, while SkyBet and Fansbet were the second and third best bookies in this category.

Best Tour de France top 10 odds
A top 10 finish is an enormous achievement at the Tour de France and betting on the top 10 really opens the field up for punters. The best odds in this market came from the following operators:

1. William Hill
2. Unibet
3. Fansbet

William Hill was the best bookmaker we examined for this market, while Unibet and FansBet came second and third, respectively.

Conclusion
The Tour de France is one of the standout sporting events of the year for punters. After looking at 25 bookies over a variety of markets, we found that EnergyBet was the best bookmaker for cycling betting. It had excellent Tour de France odds, as well as a highly competitive commission rate across the markets.

888sports and Mr Green also performed well by offering among the best odds, while Bet365 and Fansbet were among those with the most attractive commissions.

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