The 2012 Tour de France will begin on Sunday, June 30. The top riders in the world will be duking it out to capture the most prestigious and well-known title in professional cycling.
Tour de France 2012: Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans Early Favorites To Win
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Australian Cadel Evans is one of the favorites to win the Tour. Evans is the defending champion, having won his first Tour in 2011, coming in ahead of Andy and Frank Schleck.
Evans, however, is not the overall odds-on favorite to win as of one week before the race begins. That distinction belongs to British rider Bradley Wiggins, who is on an unbelievable roll thus far in 2012. Wiggins had won three straight stage races and is the first person to ever win the Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie and Critérium du Dauphiné in one season.
Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal is at 28/1 to win the Tour, while Tour of California winner Robert Gesink has odds of 25/1.
Here are the early odds for the 2012 Tour de France:
Bradley Wiggins 5/4
Cadel Evans 9/4
Denis Menchov 14/1
Jurgen Van Den Broeck 22/1
Vincenzo Nibali 22/1
Chris Froome 25/1
Frank Schleck 25/1
Robert Gesink 25/1
Ryder Hesjedal 28/1
Samuel Sanchez 28/1
Alejandro Valverde 33/1
Pierre Rolland 40/1
Jani Brajkovic 50/1
Andreas Kloden 66/1
Tony Martin 66/1
Ivan Basso 80/1
Levi Leipheimer 80/1
Peter Velits 125/1
Chris Horner 150/1
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