Tour de France Preview – Copybet

Tip 1: Pogacar's dominant 2025, most recently marked by his win at the Criterium du Dauphine, means he is the 4/11 favourite for a fourth Tour title.

Vingegaard's tough season with injury makes him difficult to back at 12/5, so it is worth looking elsewhere for value, and the 9/4 available on a podium place for Joao Almeida is a great option.

The Portuguese rider's priority will be helping his UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Pogacar win the race, but those favours could be returned in the last week if the Slovene builds a lead in the first fortnight.

Almeida has won the Tour of the Basque Country, Tour of Romandie and Tour du Suisse this year and looks in the type of form to secure his second Grand Tour podium after finishing third at the 2023 Giro d'Italia.

Tip 2: The amount of points on offer means Pogacar also features highly in the betting for the green jersey.

The number of points on offer for stage wins in the hilly stages contributes to the Slovene being joint-fourth favourite at 6/1.

Turning that around, it is Jonathan Milan who leads the market, perhaps because he has the climbing talent to add to his tally on the hilly and mountainous stages, as well as outsprint his rivals.

Milan makes his Tour debut after winning the points prize at the 2023 and 2024 Giro d'Italias. Lidl-Trek colleague Mads Pedersen took that prize this year, but has stepped aside to allow the Italian his first crack at La Grande Boucle.

Last year's winner, Biniam Girmay, arrives with little form and 2023 green jersey Jasper Philipsen carries the most significant threat, with it unclear if his teammate Mathieu van der Poel and others like Tim Merlier and Wout van Aert will target this prize.

Tip 3: The Mountains Classification is always tough to call as riders contending for the yellow jersey can sometimes tally up enough points through their exploits in the tougher stages of the race to rise to the top of these rankings.

There are six mountain stages in 2025, five of which are mountain-top finishes. There are also six hilly stages featuring decent points for those looking to wear the famous polka dots.

Repeating a theme, Pogacar's attacking style has him as the 15/8 favourite for the polka dot jersey. However, the undulating route could suit a rider who is not overly concerned with riding for the general classification and will instead pick and choose days to attack and be happy to lose time on others.

France's Lenny Martinez is the selection. His Bahrain Victorious team have selected a squad made up of individuals who are likely to prioritise stage wins, and Martinez is in great form.

The 21-year-old finished second to Almeida in Romandie and has also won stages in Paris-Nice and the Dauphine.

With the home French crowd behind him, Martinez is a rider to watch.