Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar renew their budding cycling rivalry on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. ET when the two champions begin their three-week battle in the world's biggest cycling race, the 2023 Tour de France. The 24-year-old Pogacar already has won the Tour twice, in 2020 and '21. The 26-year-old Vingegaard is the reigning Tour de France champion, relegating Pogacar to second last year. The two cyclists have dominated racing this season, having combined for 21 wins.
Vingegaard is the slight +110 favorite (risk $100 to win $110) to win the yellow jersey in the latest 2023 Tour de France odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while Pogacar is second in the odds at +125. Jai Hindley is a distant third choice in the odds, at +2000. The Tour begins on Saturday with a hilly 113-mile stage in the Basque region of Spain and ends on July 23 with its traditional finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. With so many variables in every Tour de France, you'll want to see how SportsLine senior writer Gene Menez breaks down the race before making any 2023 Tour de France picks of your own.
A former reporter and associate editor for Sports Illustrated, where he covered an array of sports for almost 14 years, Menez has been obsessed with the Tour de France for almost four decades. He has been following the iconic three-week race since the mid-1980s when Greg LeMond was riding to three yellow jerseys. Menez correctly predicted the winners of the yellow, green and white jerseys in the 2019 Tour and the white jersey winner of the 2021 Tour.
Now Menez has analyzed the 2023 Tour de France route and contenders and has identified five best bets for the yellow (overall winner), green (best sprinter), and polka dot (best climber) jerseys. He's only sharing his expert Tour de France 2023 picks at SportsLine.
Top 2023 Tour de France picks
Menez, who did a deep dive on the contenders for all of the jersey competitions, is bullish on Biniam Girmay (+900) to win the green jersey, also known as the points competition. The 23-year-old has been one of the best sprinters in the world over the past 18 months. He established himself as a major contender for the green jersey earlier this month when he won Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse, becoming the first rider from Eritrea to win a stage of that race.
Last year's green jersey winner, Wout van Aert, already has said he is not targeting the points competition this year. And even though Girmay will be riding in his first Tour de France, Menez likes that he has experience in a grand tour, having won a stage in last year's Giro d'Italia. "I prefer Girmay over pure sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen because Girmay has the ability to get over some of the lower-difficulty categorized climbs," Menez told SportsLine. You can see who else to back here.
How to make 2023 Tour de France picks
Menez's pick to win the yellow jersey is a rider who excels in "the long, high mountains." Menez also is high on a "big longshot" who "enters the Tour in good form" to earn a top-three finish at odds of more than 30-1. He's only sharing his Tour de France picks and analysis at SportsLine.
So which rider wins the Tour de France 2023, and what big longshot finishes on the podium? Visit SportsLine now to see Menez's detailed Tour de France picks, all from the SportsLine staff writer who has been following the sport for almost four decades, and find out.
2023 Tour de France odds, top contenders
See 2023 Tour de France picks at SportsLine
Jonas Vingegaard +110
Tadej Pogacar +125
Jai Hindley +2000
Enric Mas +2800
Matthias Skjelmose +3300
Adam Yates +4000
Ben O'Connor +4000
Richard Carapaz +5000
Daniel Martinez +6600
Egan Bernal +6600
Tom Pidcock +8000
Mikel Landa +8000
Simon Yates +8000
Wilco Kelderman +10000
Romain Bardet +10000
Carlos Rodriguez +10000
Sepp Kuss +12500
Wout Van Aert +12500
Felix Gall +12500
Julian Alaphilippe +12500
Pello Bibao +15000
Marc Soler +25000
Jack Haig +25000
