Giro d'Italia predictions and cycling betting tips: Tadej Pogacar 2-9 to be pretty in pink

Where to watch the Giro d'Italia

Every stage of the 107th Giro d'Italia will be shown live on Eurosport & Discovery+ from May 4-26.

Best bets

Thymen Arensman podium finish
1pt 7-1 bet365

Thymen Arensman to win young rider's classification
1pt 7-2 bet365

Giro d'Italia predictions

'Unbeatable' – that's how one rival sports director has described Tadej Pogacar ahead of the 107th Giro d'Italia, which begins in Turin on Saturday.

And, in truth, it's hard to disagree. Pogacar, who is this year bidding to become the first man in 26 years to win the Giro-Tour de France double, has been utterly dominant this spring, winning a second Strade Bianche, second Liege-Bastogne-Liege as well as the general classification and four stages of the Volta a Catalunya, where he also won the points and mountains classifications for good measure.

Pogacar has been involved in, and lost, two battles royale with Jonas Vingegaard at the last two Tours but his first visit to the Giro should be a much more straightforward assignment. 

This year's route features far more time-trialling than is usually the case for an edition of the Giro and he could make serious inroads into all his perceived rivals for the Maglia Rosa over the 71km against the clock such is his prowess in the discipline.

And while Ineos arguably have a stronger overall team, Pogacar has demonstrated he is head and shoulders above everyone bar Vingegaard in three-week races. 

That he is 2-9 for overall victory and just 5-4 to win at least five of the 21 stages illlustrates just how dominant the Slovene is expected to be in Italy.

Pogacar's stranglehold over the betting makes finding betting value tricky, but it is easy enough to pick holes in those immediately behind the favourite to warrant taking a chance on one of the few fledgling GC racers making their mark.

Second-favourite Geraint Thomas, who agonisingly relinquished the leader's jersey on the penultimate stage last year, is now 37, just a year older than Giro regular Damiano Caruso, while Romain Bardet looked in decent shape in finishing second at Liege-Bastogne-Liege but has not threatened a Grand Tour podium for some time.

There is a chance that those three could be upstaged by younger rivals Antonio Tiberi, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Thymen Arensman, who are closely matched in the betting for the young rider's classification.

Of the trio it could pay to focus on Arensman, who is a little further along in his development and has been nominated as Ineos's joint-leader alongside Thomas.

Arensman was a hugely creditable sixth on his Giro debut last year and he has already performed well at the Volta ao Algarve and Tirreno-Adriatico this year.

The Dutch youngster would like to have shown more at the recent Tour of Romandie but he is a strong climber and, crucially for this year's Giro, also a competent time-trialist.

That could give him the edge over the other youngsters and at 7-1 for a breakthrough podium finish and 7-2 to claim the white jersey, Arensman could fare best of the rest in Pogacar's potential procession to Rome.

Click for more free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.