And now, here comes the Olympic Triathlon Odds! The Triathlon course at the 2024 Paris Summer Games will open with a controversial swim in the potentially polluted Seine River, followed by a bike rally and 10K run through the streets of the City of Lights.
Cyclists will follow the Champs-Elysees, perhaps the most famed boulevard in Europe, and runners will cross the Alexandre III bridge en route to the finish line.
Let’s look at a preview of the course as well as some thoughts about contenders to influence your sports betting decisions on this Olympic event.
Olympic Triathlon Odds Men’s & Women’s Preview | Olympics Betting Odds
The Course
Triathlons begin with a swim, and the Alexandre III bridge will feature a pontoon on the western side with 55 gates.
Entrants choose their pontoon number in order of their Olympic ranking, which means Beth Potter and Leo Bergere get to choose their entry points first in their respective races.
The turn at 440 meters will pit triathletes against a sideways pull from the river current, and the turn at 470 meters will send them directly into the river current.
They get a break at the pontoon before jumping back in for the second lap.
The transition area is 36 stone steps up from the bridge, and then the cycling course runs even laps.
Triathletes will tackle a seven-lap, 40km course, running along the Champs Elysees, turning with the Arc de Triomphe in the background.
Just over a quarter of each lap is paved with cobblestones, adding to the burden on legs and arms.
The run follows a similar course and is made of four laps. Again, just over a quarter of the running course takes place on cobblestones.
Before runners cross the water on each lap, they deal with a subtle uphill.
^Men’s Olympic Triathlon
Top athletes: Alex Yee (GBR), Hayden Wilde (NZL) and Vasco Vilaca (POR) are the favorites at this point.
Yee had just one WTCS victory going into the Tokyo Olympics, and that win came less than two months before the Olympics.
Now he has won eight races and has the confidence that he can win just about any race.
Wilde has not been able to keep up with Yee at this distance, so a win here for him would be a huge upset.
Vilaca was the runner-up in last year’s test triathlon. He crashed in Yokohama back in May, so he’s had to back off and recover, but sometimes that leaves triathletes extra rested.
It’s true that Leo Bergere is the top-ranked athlete in this event.
However, he doesn’t have the strength of team that some of the other nations have, which is why I didn’t pick him in the top three. He is a Frenchman.
Top 5 Olympic Triathlon Odds to Win
- Alex Yee +132
- Hayden Wilde +310
- Kristian Blummenfelt +870
- Dorian Coninx +980
- Pierre Le Corre +980
Women’s Olympic Triathlon
Top athletes: Beth Potter (GBR), Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), Kate Waugh (GBR) are the favorites right now.
Potter has worked at this event for seven years by keeping her training consistent but simple.
Taylor-Brown would be happy with the silver as she is recovering from a torn calf.
While Waugh had the controversy of the selection process hanging over her head, she has the strength to get on the podium as well.
A couple of dark horses here include France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and the United States’ Taylor Knibb.
Beaugrand is an excellent open-water swimmer, but if this event reverts to a duathlon because of the water quality issues in the Seine River, her other two sports here are not her strengths.
Knibb will also compete in the cycling time trial, which will either show her at elite form or still showing signs of fatigue.
Top 5 Olympic Triathlon Odds to Win
- Beth Potter +158
- Cassandre Beaugrand +168
- Flora Duffy +550
- Emma Lombardi +680
- Taylor Knibb +800
Mixed Team Relay
The best teams here are Great Britain, Germany and France.
The Brits left Jonny Brownlee at home, so it will probably be Sam Dickinson as the opening leg or the third leg.
All he needs to do is have a solid performance for Great Britain to have a more than solid chance at winning.
The German team won the test event and are likely to bring the same four athletes this time around.
The German women are actually stronger than the men as a group, which helps a lot in a mixed event.
^The moon decided to play ball!
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 22, 2024
Four more nights until the #Paris2024 opening ceremony! pic.twitter.com/bIwllGc6Ag
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