2020 Paris-Roubaix Betting Tips: Top 3 Cyclists to Keep an Eye On

The teams competing in arguably the world’s hardest cycling race have been announced. Registration for the Paris-Roubaix challenge, which allows the fans to experience Queen of the Classics themselves has opened. With the one of the oldest cycling race coming around in only two months, here are 2020 Paris-Roubaix betting tips.

Not everybody has a financial or most importantly physical ability to be in the Hell of the North to compete. Even if you have no will to go over to France and sweat yourself cycling for at least 70 kilometers, you can still be part of your favorite event.

The Hell of the North

In order to understand the 2020 Paris-Roubaix betting tips more clearly, you should know a little about the race itself. On 12th April, Sunday, the Paris-Roubaix cycling race will be held for the 118th time. This one-day race is one of the most important events in the cycling world. Ever since 1896, when it was held for the first time, the race was organized every year, except for during the WWI and WWII.

After the world wars, the race has found its name “The Hell of the North”. When the war was over, a team of journalists and organizers went to see the damage made to the road. The devastating ruins of the historical road were so great that they have called it “the hell” in the articles. This nickname has stayed even until today not because of the war damage, but mainly because of its grueling nature.

Even the most experienced and well-fit cyclists fear this road that stretches for 257 kilometers. There are 29 cobble-stone tracks in total within the route. That adds up to around 54 kilometers, which is around a fifth of the whole way. Not only this is longer than most routes, the cobblestones od Roubaix is known for its difficulty. This makes the race almost an endurance test rather than speed race.

Paris-Roubaix 2020 betting tips

In accordance with Union Cycliste International rules, 19 teams were invited to the race based on their forms and statistics throughout the year. Coming over from 12 countries, these are the best teams in the world. On top of that, the race gives the two top teams of the UCI Pro Teams ranking right to compete. This year, Total Direct Energie from the home country France and Circus-Wanty Gobert from Belgium are on the first and second places. The organizers have invited three other teams from France and one from Belgium, which makes the total number of participants 25.

Out of the 25 teams, 5 are French. It seems that french cyclists definitely have a better edge than the others. Not only they have more access and information about the actual route, but they’re also more accustomed to the weather and environment of France. When doing an as vigorous activity as cycling for over 250 kilometers, these small details matter the most. However, our 2020 Paris-Roubaix betting tip would be to keep some other options than just french cyclists.

Based on the last year’s winner list, France hasn’t won once. Here is the list of previous winners and teams they represent.

2019: Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck – Quick-Step
2018: Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
2017: Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing
2016: Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
2015: John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin
2014: Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-QuickStep
2013: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack
2012: Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
2011: Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Cervelo
2010: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Saxo Bank
2009: Tom Boonen (Bel) QuickStep

Top three cyclists most likely to win the race

According to 22bet Sportsbooks, these are the top 3 cyclists with the highest Paris-Roubaix betting odds. In order to fully utilize the 2020 Paris-Roubaix betting tips, you should always check the betting odds. If you haven’t been following the cycling news for a long time and have little information about the teams, this is the easiest way to find out about the leading cyclists. Before you start betting, you can read the review about 22bet here.

Mathieu Van Der Poel

Mathieu Van Der Poel is a 25-year-old Dutch cyclist born in Belgium. He’s currently riding for UCI ProTeam Alpecin-Fenix.  He has won the Dutch national cross championship 3 times between 2015-2017 and won the World cross championship in 2017.

Coming from a family of professional cyclists, he has been training since a very young age. He will make his debut in the Paris-Roubaix race this year. UCI has invited his team Alpecin-Fenix this year, giving him a chance to compete for the championship. Even though this will be his first year, online gambling sites in France’s 2020 Paris-Roubaix betting tip would be to save some of your money for him.

Best odds: 5.50

Peter Sagan

Another favorite of the online sportsbooks in France is the 2018 Paris-Roubaix champion, Peter Sagan. He is a 30-year-old Slovakian professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Bora-Hansgrohe.

He is considered to be one of the cyclists’ greatest talent, having won some of the most prestigious awards. During his career, he has won 3 consecutive World Championships, one European Championships, and many more titles.

Last year, he was in fifth place and admitted to lacking energy in the finals. However, based on his continuous successes in tournaments this year, he has a great chance of earning his championship title back.

Best odds: 5.50

Wout Van Aert

Currently riding for Jumbo-Visma, Wout Van Aert has long waited for this year’s Paris-Roubaix race. When he crashed in Tour de France 2018, he has suffered from what he described as “potentially career-ending injury”. He has attended last year’s race only four months after his crash. When he was pedaling in the cobble-stones road of the Hell of the North, he was on the bikes for only a month.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t exactly have the best luck in the world. Last year, he has collapsed at the end of the race due to a hunger flat. When the media has surrounded him, he ended up laying down and mumbled “I feel terrible. I’m dead-empty. I can’t say much about it.” He also said during the press conference that “Once again, it wasn’t to be in Roubaix and that’s a bummer”. However, this year a three-times cyclo-cross champion has a definite goal in his mind. He’s determined to win the championship this year and has a good chance of it too.

Best odds: 7.00