The Tour de France is the most prestigious and famous bicycle race in the world. There are three Grand Tours in competitive cycling, and of the three, the Tour de France is the oldest and the one everyone wants to win. It’s a multi-stage race that takes place annually, with the majority of the action happening in the month of July. 

The route of the Tour de France changes each year, and the same will apply in 2024. However, the format remains the same from year to year, and the finish will always happen on Paris’ Champs-Elysees. The format of the multi-stage race in modern times sees 21 day-long stages completed across a period of up to twenty-four days, and this works out at approximately 3,500 kilometres. One of the most noticeable differences from year to year is the switch from clockwise to counterclockwise and back again. The Tour de France remains the most popular cycling race to bet on. 

The overwhelming favourite to win the 2024 Tour de France with online sportsbooks is Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian won the event in 2020 and 2021 and is currently odds on to make it a hat trick of victories in the most famous cycling race on the planet. The reality is that Jonas Vingegaard, who has won the two previous Tour de Frances, would have started as the favourite, but his participation is up in the air due to injury, and he may not be ready in time to mount a defence of his crown. It would be a significant blow to the Dane to be unable to compete. 

Primoz Roglic and Reco Evenepoel are further down the odds list than many would probably have expected, but you'd expect both to be in the running. As far as Grand Tour riders go, Roglic and Evenepoel are among the best, which means they are always going to be there or thereabouts in the Tour de France. Again, Vingegaard’s potential absence would be a significant boost to both as they hunt for success. Interestingly, both Roglic and Evenepoel were injured at the same time as Vingegaard, but not as seriously, and they’ve been working well ahead of the race. 

As far as cycling goes, the Tour de France is the most popular event for which people can place bets. It’s an iconic multi-stage race that doesn’t only attract fans of the sport but sports fans in general, which is why leading sports betting operators such as BetVictor offer odds on it. And there is one market in particular that most punters naturally take a keen interest in. 

That market is, of course, the outright winner market, which can be accessed before and during the stages of the Tour de France. As mentioned above, it's Tadej Pogacar who currently leads the way in the betting, with the Slovenian odds on to be the winner in 2024. But, as the event edges closer, this could all change. And during the various stages, there could be different riders seen as having a chance to be crowned champion. As always, placing bets on a sporting event like the Tour de France is a doddle at BetVictor, and it can be done online or on mobile. 

As you can see from the table above, four riders in Tour de France history have won the race on five occasions, with Spain’s Miguel Indurian managing to complete his haul of successes across five consecutive years, which is an amazing feat in itself. Great Britain's Chris Froome is the only man to have won the Tour de France four times, and he did so by winning in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. 

Of the current riders who have been successful in the Tour de France in recent times, it is Jonas Vingegaard, winner in 2022 and 2023, and Tadej Pogacar, victorious in 2020 and 2021, who make the list with two triumphs apiece, while both retain a chance of adding to their successes in the coming years. At the time of writing, it’s the latter who is in with a great chance of adding a third win to his record in 2024, which would skyrocket him up the winners list. 

Mark Cavendish and Eddy Merckx remain out in front in Tour de France history with a stunning record of thirty-four stage wins, and that’s highly unlikely to be eclipsed anytime soon. Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar is the only active rider on the list, with eleven stage wins to his name.