The Tour de France is well under way now and for those cycling betting enthusiasts not yet disillusioned by the plague of drug scandals which have dominated the race for several years, the romance of this spectacular event still holds true. Further interest is provided this year by the presence of Manx rider, Mark Cavendish, who won this week’s fifth stage. Cavendish, a sprinter, is one of his team’s specialists along with the hill climbers and speed merchants who make up the team. Winning the fifth stage means he gets to wear the much coveted yellow jersey in the sixth leg.

This is an immensely gruelling race, run over twenty or so stages, or legs, and covering between 50 and 200 miles per stage. In the three weeks of racing riders get only one day of rest. Twenty teams of about ten members each compete for the overall best average speed over the various legs and, while it is prestigious to win a leg or legs, it is the rider whose total time is the lowest who wins for his team. Some team members are there to clear the way for the specialists but all act as a team.

The race has some very demanding days in the Alps, the Massif Central and the Pyrenees and incredible demands are made on the stamina of riders. Much has been made about the use of drugs in this competition and online betting fans will be relieved to hear that the French, anxious to rebuild the reputation of the tournament, have instituted one of the most rigorous drug testing regimes ever seen in sport. All riders are tested and there is the possibility on any day that any one of them will be called in for a check and shameful expulsion from international cycling is the punishment for anyone caught.