Mathieu van der Poel favored for Road Race Olympic Gold

The 2024 Paris Olympics Cycling road race is just days away. The betting favorite is Mathieu van der Poel at +162. But the Dutchman will have plenty of competition from Mads Pedersen and Wout Van Aert for the Olympic gold. Here we tell you the best bets to place in our Paris Olympic cycling betting picks.

What: Men’s Cycling Road Race - 2024 Paris Olympics
Where: Trocadéro, Paris
Distance: 273 km
When: Saturday, August 3rd

Cycling has been a mainstay of the Olympics with events dating back to the Games held in 1896. Every Games the road race is held against a spectacular backdrop, and this year is no different with iconic Paris landmarks like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tour included in the race itinerary.

The 2024 Paris Olympics road race starts at the Trocadéro. It then passes through the Île-de-France region before heading back to Paris for three laps of an 18.4km circuit, followed by a finish back towards the Trocadéro.

The men’s road race takes place only 13 days after the final day of the 2024 Tour de France. Unlike most other sports, this doesn’t mean that all cyclists will have fatigue as the way a cycling season is planned out means some riders will come to France for the Olympics at their peak.

But on this occasion, fatigue has hit one of the big names who was originally down to ride at the Games.

Yes, the 2024 Giro d’Italia and 2024 Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar, has decided that he has extreme fatigue and has withdrawn from the Olympics.

CYCLING: Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar on Monday pulled out of the Paris Olympics citing "tiredness", his Slovenia team announced. https://t.co/YqD4wLap4j 🚴 pic.twitter.com/miybqQB831

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 22, 2024

It’s a blow, that’s for sure. Pogacar is the biggest name in cycling. But his absence from the race only increases the chances of others winning Olympic gold.

Who is the favorite to win the 2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Road Race?

The favorite to win the 2024 Paris Olympics road race is Mathieu van der Poel at +162. Van der Poel was already the favorite before Pogacar withdrew. His odds were cut from +275 off the back of the Slovenian’s withdrawal from the race.

Second in the betting is Mads Pederson at +500. Wout Van Aert (+650) and Remco Evenepoel (+700) are the only other riders under the +1000 mark.

Speaking of Remco Evenepoel, he is not only a contender for the men’s road race, but also the men’s Olympic time trial. The Belgian is +333 to win the time trial, making him the third favorite.

More betting to win the Paris Olympics men’s road race can be found on our cycling odds table. For more information about betting on the Paris Olympics, we have a couple of pages to check out. First, have a look at our How to Bet on the Paris Olympics page. And when you’ve done that, you can check out our Olympics betting picks.

Rider
Mathieu van der Poel	+162	+162	+162
Mads Pedersen	+500	+500	+500
Wout Van Aert	+650	+650	+650
Remco Evenepoel	+700	+700	+700
Jhonatan Narváez	+1400	+1400	+1400
Julian Alaphilippe	+1600	+1600	+1600
Christophe Laporte	+1800	+1800	+1800
Biniam Girmay	+2500	+2500	+2500
Matej Mohoric	+2500	+2500	+2500
Jasper Stuyven	+2500	+2500	+2500
Tom Pidcock	+3300	+3300	+3300
Matteo Jorgenson	+3300	+3300	+3300
Michael Matthews	+3300	+3300	+3300
Alberto Bettiol	+4000	+4000	+4000
Mattias Skjelmose	+4000	+4000	+4000
Oier Lazkano	+5000	+5000	+5000

Click here for more Cycling betting resources.

The favorites

There is no Richard Carapaz at the Olympics. The Ecuadorian has not been selected by his country and can’t defend the title he won in Tokyo at the last games. His compatriot, Jhonatan Narváez (+1400), took Ecuador’s lone spot.

Of the four betting favorites, Mathieu van der Poel is the stand-out name. Van der Poel is a one-day classic expert. He is the reigning World Road Race champion, and he has won plenty of Monument races, including back-to-back wins in Paris–Roubaix in 2023 and 2024.

Mads Pederson has a Road Race World Championship win to his name. The Dane won the rainbow jersey in 2019, as did Remco Evenepoel in 2022.

Wout Van Aert has had plenty of big wins over the years. The biggest being a victory in the Milan-San Remo in 2020. But his Resume isn’t as decorated of late, with a win in the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne his best result so far in 2024.

Mathieu van der Poel To win the Paris Olympics men’s road race

+162

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The outside bets

A couple of long shots to bear in mind are Julian Alaphilippe (+1600) and Tom Pidcock (+3300). Alaphilippe is a one-day specialist, he has two World Championship wins on his Resume (2020 and 2021).

With this being a home Olympics for Alaphilippe the course will suit his riding style. The French will see this as a chance to win another gold, and they will see the two-time Road Race World champion as their best bet.

But there is one major setback in setting up a road course to suit Alaphilippe, and that is Tom Pidcock.

If the course is to Alaphilippe’s liking, it will also be to Pidcock’s. At 32 years old, Alaphilippe’s better days are arguably behind him. At 24 years old, Pidcock’s are ahead of him.

Pidcock also withdrew from the Tour de France early with covid. So he most certainly won’t have burnt himself out. Like Remco Evenepoel, Pidcock is doubling up. But not with the time trial, with the mountain bike cross-country race, where Pidcock is the defending champion having won gold at the Tokyo Games. It shouldn't have any impact on Pidcock's chances in the road race.

Both men will look to attack on many of the steep climbs on the route, and both are well able to win and worth a wager to win the 2024 Paris Olympics road race.

Julian Alaphilippe To win the Paris Olympics men’s road race

+1600

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Tom Pidcock To win the Paris Olympics men’s road race

+3300

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Make sure you check out our top-rated sportsbooks below. These are our recommended 2024 Paris Olympics Cycling betting partners that you can read more about on our sportsbook reviews page: