Paris 2024 Olympic Cycling Odds: Will Pogacar Continue His Dominance?

After smashing the competition in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, Pogacar seeks to be immortal with a gold medal in the Olympics. He pulled away early and cruised in the later stages for UAE Team Emirates.

Pogacar won six stages, including the final three of the Tour de France! While rival Jonas Vingegaard ended up participating in the Tour after overcoming an injury, he couldn’t keep up with Pogacar’s kick in the final stages.

👑 𝐓𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐉 𝐏𝐎𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐑

2020 🏆
2021 🏆
2024 🆕#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/wlCFY4Me1R

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 21, 2024

This win followed an incredible performance from Pogacar in the Giro d’Italia. He captured six stages en route to a textbook victory in Italy. For good measure, Pogacar opened 2024 with a win in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya!

Pogacar flourishes in Grand Tour events where he can set the pace and outlast his opponents. However, he’s typically not at his best in a one-day road race format. He can most certainly win given his obvious talent, but there are too many variables to consider with him at the moment.

As I noted, Pogacar hasn’t committed to the Olympics. If he doesn’t ride, this future wager loses. Then, you’ll have to be concerned with Pogacar’s fitness levels following back-to-back max efforts in the Giro and Tour.

A lot can happen in a short road race, so I see stronger value on the board! I wouldn’t risk backing Pogacar with so much uncertainty.

As the favorite to win the road race, van der Poel has high expectations. He was contemplating passing on the Tour de France to squarely focus on preparing for the Olympic road race. While some cyclists will be going to the Olympics for the experience, van der Poel is going to win a gold medal.

Currently, the 29-year-old Dutch rider believes that he is in better shape now than last year, when he became a world champion. Despite 11th being his best stage finish at the Tour, van der Poel claims he is in great shape heading into the Olympics, which is the ultimate goal.

Mathieu van der Poel doing Mathieu van der Poel things ⚖️

Col du VAM, 2020 elite 🇳🇱 road championship 🥇 pic.twitter.com/b9LYy3uXH5

— Atlanta Rouleur Collection (@AtlantaRouleur) September 20, 2023

Earlier this year, van der Poel won the E3 Saxo Classic, Tour des Flandres, Paris-Roubaix, and was runner-up in the Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields road races. Last June, he captured the World Championships road race title in the UK. Another notable 2023 achievement was the SUPER 8 Classic victory.

After getting behind early, van der Poel put the Tour de France on cruise control. He didn’t charge or overwork himself, likely in anticipation of the Olympics. As a result, the Dutch star ultimately finished a disappointing 96th in the general classification, but should be well-tuned for Paris 2024 after putting in little effort in the later stages of the Tour.

Van der Poel’s strengths are perfect for the Paris 2024 road race, so he is a strong bet to consider for your 2024 Olympic cycling men’s betting picks!

Another ride in top shape for the Olympic road race is van Aert. The well-known 29-year-old from Belgium has been in solid form in the Tour but isn’t in contention for the win.

Van Aert came close a few times to capturing a stage win! In the opening stage, he put forth a solid attempt to finish 3rd. In Stage 12 and Stage 13, van Aert was the runner-up in both performances. Most recently, van Aert was 5th in Stage 16.

"Last Sunday we got beaten, but we were also super strong as a team, we blew the race apart, we will use this strength also in the last week"

Wout Van Aert said Visma | Lease a Bike will not give up on winning the Tour 🇧🇪#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/0trl18AS0N

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 16, 2024

That said, van der Poel got the better of van Aert in the 2023 World Championships and E3 Saxo Classic. In his final prep race before the Tour, van Aert finished a disappointing 5th in the Belgium National Championships.

I like how he is riding now in the Tour de France, but there are too many reasons to feel pessimistic about him over van der Poel.

Ineos Grenadiers has high hopes for 20-year-old Tarling’s future. They recently signed him to a deal that will expire at the end of 2027. That signals plenty of confidence in the young Tarling, who is expected to be one of the top contenders in the time trial.

Their investment could immediately pay off with a gold medal at the Summer Games in Paris. Tarling passed on competing in the Tour de France, so he will be fresh and ready to roll for the Olympics. While other riders could have some fatigue, that shouldn’t be the case at all for Tarling.

The British cyclist has some recent success to lean on heading into the Olympics. In June, he captured the National Championships Great Britain ITT – ME. To close out the 2023 season, Tarling won the Chrono des Nations! Will his inexperience prove to be his downfall, though?

With Primoz Roglic opting out of defending his Olympic title, the door is wide open for another veteran to take gold. As well as Tarling, Evenepoel is on my shortlist to win the men’s time trial race.

The Belgium native is in the midst of a strong performance in the Tour de France. He won Stage 7 and finished in the top 3 in five other stages. Currently, Evenepoel is third, behind only Jonas Vingegaard and Pogacar. The 24-year-old is riding better than expected, but I had him down for a quality effort given his form in earlier events.

Really gave everything until the finish line!!👊🏼⚪🔥

Looking back at a strong weekend of racing and another P3 today.🥉🙏🏼

Proud of what we are achieving as a team. Now it's time to stay focused and keep working towards our goal.🐺💙 pic.twitter.com/H1xluugV5M

— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) July 14, 2024

Evenepoel won the general classification in the Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta and the runner-up at Paris Nice in 2024. As the third favorite at +275, Evenepoel’s Olympics cycling men’s betting odds are worth looking into for the time trial!

Note that Evenepoel’s price to win this race has shortened slightly since the end of the Tour de France. He went from +275 to +250, so some money has flowed in on Evenepoel to win. I agree with this money, as the Belgian carries the best value on the board!

Pidcock is regarded as one of the best climbers in the world. He is at his best on hills with elevation changes. Additionally, Pidcock is one of the most versatile cyclists, with the skill set to compete in all three disciplines.

There aren’t many riders who can transition as well as him. He can take to the road, and then head back to win a race with his mountain bike.

Pidcock has had some success this year, including winning the Amstel Gold Race in April. The defending Olympic champion is coming back with another great chance at gold.

Eyes on a second @Olympics Champion title 👀

Tom Pidcock to lead Team GB's 🇬🇧 Mountain Bike squad at @Paris2024 😎

➡️ Evie Richards
➡️ Ella Maclean-Howell
➡️ Charlie Aldridge#MountainBike #OlympicCycling pic.twitter.com/uNlSWZq0M9

— UCI MTB (@UCI_MTB) June 26, 2024

He has had his moments during the Tour de France, as well. Pidcock was the runner-up in Stage 9 for his best performance of the race. He ultimately had to drop out of the Tour due to Covid-19 but will feel at home at Paris 2024 in the men’s mountain event!

Victor Koretsky is a short track mountain specialist who prefers to race off-road rather than in perfect conditions. The hometown favorite currently competes in the Elite Mountain Bike Cross Country XCO Championships.

Being able to solely focus on this race gives Koretsky an advantage. He isn’t in the Tour de France, and rarely enters road races, so all his strength will be used to prepare for the Paris 2024 mountain event.

As far as pure talent is concerned, Koretsky rates well behind Pidcock, however. There isn’t much question about who the better all-around rider is, but Koretsky won’t be intimidated in France. I don’t know if it’s enough to outshine Pidcock, though.