Betting on this year’s Tour de France has almost become a joke with claims of cheating, counter claims of poor sportsmanship, and simple things like slipping chains costing punters dearly. Andy Schleck was well placed to make an impact until his chain slipped off, costing him valuable time. The real problem was that Alberto Contador, his nearest rival and favourite to win, was in the same pelaton and rode away to claim a thirty second lead over the field.

In today’s markets, Contador’s betting odds are now in to 2/11, almost reaching unbackable status. Schleck on the other hand has drifted out to 9/2 with the rest of the field at 50/1 or longer. If you like to punt on cycling then I suggest you look at some of the head-to-head options.

Schleck v Contador is a popular bet each day – each rider is paired with the winner being the first of the two across the line. Schleck is trying hard to peg back time and the only way he can do this is by finishing ahead of Contador. In head-to-head betting, Schleck is even money to Contador’s 11/10 – not much in it, but evens is a good bet in this pairing.

There are a lot of head-to-head bets available with many riders paired against a number of other riders. If you are careful with your betting strategy, you can often make a lot more backing these lesser head-to-heads than by following the favoured riders. If you are looking for some value, consider the Sanchez v Van Den Broeck betting odds. Sanchez is well under at 8/11 while Van Den Broeck at 11/10 looks to be good value.

The Tour de France – it’s a brave punter that lays large sums on this event this year. The online bookmakers are loving every minute of it as riders offer them new ways to win your money. Of course, where there are losers there are also winners – but then, that is what betting is all about.