Betting in Cycling and My Top-3 in Roubaix

Fancy a roll of the dice or a friendly wager on the top-3 finishers in this weekend's Paris-Roubaix? Wanna throw-down on how many Belgian riders will finish in the top-10? [Thanks to Unibet.com, once a sponsor of VDB, for that interesting special line of action...] Despite Spartacus's making Tom Boonen only look like the best normal rider in the Tour of Flanders, I'm giving a slight edge to Tommeke in the Queen of the Classics, and believe the unrelenting pavé (and a super-motivated teammate in the form of one Patrick Lefevere-scorned-Stijn Devolder) will neutralizes the Swiss' turbo-jet.

As Velonation.com notes, "Now [Patrick Lefevere] says it's time for Devolder to step up and shine in Paris-Roubaix if he wants to remain with the team.  The two-time Tour of Flanders winner spent a lot of energy in yesterday's edition fighting his way up to the group of favorites, unable to make the same impression on the Ronde as he did when he secured his previous two victories...This time around the pressure will be much greater for team Quick Step since they won't have that crucial win in the Tour of Flanders to build morale from."

Though I have my own Boonen war-story, I think Velonation sums up quite tidily what the situation is for Tornado Tom and his compatriots Hoste (25/1) and Devolder (33/1):

"The situation for a Belgian team in particular will be even more serious when considering that the country as a whole has been blanked from the win column through their early season Classics and semi-Classics.  It may just take Boonen rising up to Roger De Vlaeminck's Paris-Roubaix win record to calm the nerves of the Quick Step team and Belgian fans alike." So, my picks:

1. Boonen (2/1)

2. Cancellara (15/8)

3. Breschel (6/1)

Those readers living outside of the United States, in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal, might wish to bet on the outcome of Paris-Roubaix. With the idea that we should support the companies that in some way, shape or form support cycling, head-on over to Sky Bet to put the kid's college fund to ride on a win by Boonen, Spartacus or perhaps dark horse Jeremy Hunt, whose odds are 150/1! And after you've placed your bets, satiate your need for a moving picture montage of calamity and chaos along the cobble of P-R with the 2009 highlight video below. What an exciting time it is!

Dark Horse Jeremy Hunt (GBr), of the Cervélo Test Team - I have never met another PT-caliber rider who could drink as much as Hunt and still turn-up to pedal the next day (Herald Sun Tour/Tour of Queensland 2003)!

Paris-Roubaix 2009 Highlights

Visit the Official Paris Roubaix Race Website, here!