The third and final grand tour of the 2022 cycling season gets underway next week, so here we are looking at all the main contenders and attempt to name the winner with our 2022 Vuelta a Espana betting picks.
The action starts on Friday, August 19th, and finishes on Sunday, September 11th. It will be another grueling three weeks of climbs, time trials, and sprint finishes. The defending champion is Primoz Roglič, who - if he races - will be looking for a fourth consecutive Red Jersey.
The General Classification winner gets the Red Jersey in the Vuelta. This is the equivalent of the Yellow Jersey in France. In total, 23 teams will take part, with each team consisting of eight riders.
Vuelta 2022; All You Need To Know
- What; Vuelta a Espana 2022
- Start Date; Friday, August 19th, 2022
- Start Venue; Utrecht, Netherlands
- Finish Date; Sunday, September 11th, 2022
- Finish Venue; Madrid, Spain
- Distance; 3280.5 KM
This year the opening three stages will be taking place in the Netherlands, one of Europe’s flattest countries, in other words not a place for mountain climbing. Don’t be fooled by that though, as once the Grande Salida is completed, the race reverts to type with eight summit finishes from its 21 stages.
- Six Flat Stages
- Two Flat Stages with Altitude Finishes
- Four Hilly Stages
- Seven Mountain Stages
- One Individual Time Trial
- One Team Time Trial
As is becoming the norm these days, the grand tours seem to put more emphasis on mountains and altitude finishes, than they do on individual time trials. And this year’s Vuelta is no different.
This makes it a race for the climber, and as good as that can be, it can also negatively play a part as it makes the race less likely to see the main attractions from the Tour de France turn up for another tough three weeks.
Vuelta Always Suffers from a Tour de France Hangover
As the third grand tour of the year, the Vuelta often suffers from the Tour de France hangover. The race comes a bit too soon for some, while for others their whole season is based around France, and as a result, they are not scheduled to take to the roads of Spain. That would appear to be the case for the top two riders from the 2022 Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), as neither will be competing.
Our Tour de France betting page has more details about next year's race.
It also doesn’t look like three times winner Primoz Roglič will be defending his Red Jersey either. He is still recovering from the injury that forced him to abandon last month’s Tour de France. As things stand, the Jumbo-Visma rider isn’t listed in the betting to win the race. And even if he does make the starting line, it’s debatable how likely he is to make it four wins in four years.
It’s one for the future, but the Vuelta’s organizers do maybe need to look at the scheduling if they are to try and lure the big names from the Tour de France to take part more often.
Vuelta a Espana Betting
The betting for this race sees Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Remco Evenepoel start as the favorite.
| 2022 Vuelta a Espana GC Winner |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Remco Evenepoel | +280 | +250 |
| Richard Carapaz | +500 | +480 |
| Jai Hindley | +800 | +650 |
| Simon Yates | +800 | +900 |
| Enric Mas | +1200 | +1600 |
| Joao Almeida | +1400 | +1200 |
| Carlos Rodriquez | +1400 | +1800 |
| Sergio Higuita | +1600 | +1500 |
| Mikel Landa | +2000 | +2100 |
| Miguel Angel Lopez | +2200 | +2300 |
| Jack Haig | +2200 | +2200 |
| Sepp Kuss | +2200 | +2100 |
| Pavel Sivakov | +3000 | +2500 |
| Juan Ayuso | +3300 | +3300 |
| Pello Bilbao | +3300 | +3300 |
| Tae Geoghean Hart | +3300 | +3000 |
| Wilco Kelderman | +3300 | +3300 |
| Gino Mader | +3300 | +4000 |
| Ben O'Connor | +3300 | +3500 |
| Aleksandr Vlasov | +3300 | +3300 |
The latest La Vuelta betting odds see the Belgian rider at +280 to win his first ever grand tour.
This looks a slightly risky bet, with the 22-year-old more of a one-day specialist at this stage of his career. Evenepoel is expected to develop into a more all-around cyclist as he gets older, but I don’t think I’ll be backing him at these odds.
Elsewhere, and second in the cycling betting odds is Richard Carapaz of the Ineos Grenadiers. Carapaz is +500, ahead of Jai Hindley (+800) and Simon Yates (+800).
Further down the odds is the name of Egan Bernal at +4000. The Ineos Grenadier is nearing a return to cycling after the crash that almost ended his life. But it’s a bit of a long shot for him to ride in this race. And even if he does, one would suspect it will be done in a way to ease him back into competitive cycling, as opposed to an all-out assault on winning the Red Jersey.
Vuelta 2022 Betting Picks
After missing out on both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France this year, Ineos Grenadiers will be chomping at the bit for a grand tour win. In the end, the team didn’t have a bad Tour de France, with Geraint Thomas making it onto the podium. But it's still not as good as a win.
In Italy, the Grenadiers put all of their weight into backing Richard Carapraz, and it almost paid off with the Ecuadorian finishing second. This wasn’t a distant second either, Carapaz finished just 1 minute and 18 seconds behind eventual winner, Jai Hindley. Carapaz also wore the Maglia Rosa for six stages, and only surrendered the lead on the penultimate stage.
The Ineos rider also won the 2019 Giro and finished second in this race in 2020, so I’m happy to make Richard Carapaz my pick to win the 2022 Vuelta a Espana.
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