The 2022 Giro dâItalia starts this week, and here we have put together our preview with free picks for all three of the main cycling betting markets.Â
The race is the first Grand Tour of 2022, and despite the three biggest GC names in cycling not competing, there are plenty of other talents on show.
All the top teams in world cycling are all here, and they have all sent strong and talented teams to Hungary for Fridayâs start. So here is all the information you need to know, including the latest Giro d'Italia betting odds, race details, and of course, our free picks.Â
| 2022 Giro d'Italia GC Winner Betting |  |
|---|---|
| Richard Carapaz | +135 |
| Simon Yates | +500 |
| Joao Almeida | +650 |
| Mikel Landa | +750 |
| Miguel Angel Lopez | +1200 |
| Romain Bardet | +1200 |
| Tom Dumoulin | +1600 |
| Emanuel Buchmann | +2000 |
| Wilco Kelderman | +2000 |
| Pello Bilbao | +3300 |
| Richie Porte | +3300 |
| Tobias Foss | +3300 |
| Ivan Ramiro Sosa | +4000 |
| Hugh Carthy | +4000 |
| Jai Hindley | +5000 |
2022 Giro dâItalia; All You Need To Know
This yearâs race starts in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday, May 6th. The race lasts for just over three weeks, finishing in Verona on Sunday, May 29th.Â
- Dates; May 6th, 2022 - May 29th, 2022
- Time; 7.40 am ET
- Start; Budapest, Hungary
- Finish; Verona, Italy
- Distance; 3,410KM
- Teams; 22
- Riders; 176
Our Cycling betting page has more details about betting on races in more detail. But here is a brief rundown of what you need to know about betting on the Giro dâItalia.
The Giro dâItalia is one of only three Grand Tours held every year. The other two are the Vuelta a España, usually held in late August, and of course, the Tour de France, held in July every year.
When betting on Grand Tours, there are three main futures markets:-
- General Classification (GC)Â
- Points Classification (PC)
- King of the MountainsÂ
General Classification; This is what the big guns turn up to win. First in GC, is the overall race winner, the guy who gets around the whole race circuit in the shortest time.Â
The leader of GC gets to wear the Maglia Rosa (Pink) Jersey the next day (in the Tour de France, itâs Yellow Jersey).
Points Classification; Also known as Blue Jersey, this is awarded to the rider who scores the most points, which are awarded for daily finishing positions, as opposed to time (GC).Â
This usually goes to the best sprinter of the race. There are also incremental points added to intermediate sprints held throughout the day's racing.
King of the Mountains; To be called the King of the Mountains, you need to be good at climbing.Â
The guy who scores the most points in the mountains wins the King of the Mountains (Blue) Jersey.Â
Who is the Defending Champion?
The defending champion is Egan Bernal. The Ineos Grenadiersâ GC rider is out injured, having sustained multiple injuries in a horror crash that almost cost him his life in his native Columbia.Â
Even if he was not injured, Bernal would probably not have participated anyway.Â
How to drop your rivals, by @Eganbernal đ
đ„ @giroditalia 2021
________
đźđč #giro #giroditalia pic.twitter.com/DKnupKZ7vF— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 3, 2022
With the Giro finishing not long before the start of the Tour de France, Bernal was already planning to miss the race to give him a better chance of taking on Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic in July.  Â
The big GC names prioritizing the Tour de France is, unfortunately, one of the issues that the Giro faces every year.Â
Teams Competing In 2022 Giro dâItalia
There are a total of 22 teams competing in this yearâs Giro.Â
The 18 World Tour teams are all here, along with top-ranked pro team Alpecin-Fenix, and there are also three wild card entries for Eolo-Kometa, Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli, and Bardiani-CSF-FaizanĂš.Â
- AG2R Citroën Team
- Alpecin-Fenix
- Astana Qazaqstan
- Bahrain Victorious
- Bardiani-CSF-FaizanĂš
- Bora-Hansgrohe
- Cofidis
- Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli
- EF Education-EasyPost
- Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
- Groupama-FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
- Israel-Premier Tech
- Lotto Soudal
- Movistar Team
- QuickStep-AlphaVinyl
- Team BikeExchange-Jayco
- Team DSM
- Team Jumbo-Visma
- Trek-Segafredo
- UAE Team Emirates
General Classification Pick
The top four in the betting are Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers at +135, Simon Yates at +500, Joao Almeida at +650, and Mikel Landa at +750.
Itâs well known that the Ineos Grenadiers focus their attention on the Grand Tours, and they will throw all of their resources into getting Carapaz to Verona wearing the Maglia Rosa Jersey. Â
Carapaz may be short in the betting at Giro dâItalia betting odds of +135, but he won this race in 2019, becoming the first Ecuadorian to do so in the process.Â
I expect Simon Yates to be his biggest threat, but with the backing of Ineos, I make Richard Carapaz my pick to win the 2022 Giro dâItalia General Classification. Â
Check out our BetOnline Review for more great betting deals and information.Â
Points Classification Pick
The favorite to be the Points Classification winner is Arnaud Demare at +220. He is closely followed by the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, at +350.
The decision to enter Cavendish into the Giro has meant heâs not expected to be at this yearâs Tour de France, where he would have hoped to break Eddy Merckx's tour record of 34 stage wins (held equally with Cavendish).
So I think Cav will be revved up by this and ready to prove a point, and also show his team he is good to go to France in July if required.
King of the Mountains Pick
If Richard Carapaz is to win General Classification, then he will need to have a good time in the mountains. His main rivals here are Guillaume Martin (+800) of Cofidis and Romain Bardet (+1200) of Team DSM.
Odds of +750 on Carapaz to be the best climber look very good value to me, and Iâm happy to make Richard Carapaz to be 'King of the Mountains' at the 2022 Giro dâItalia my final pick.
