Upcoming Match-ups

Olympics Odds Today July 24th – Picks for Medal Events in Cycling, Weightlifting & Judo

Chris Amberley

by Chris Amberley in News

Updated Jul 23, 2021 · 7:23 PM PDT

Tadej Pogacar celebrates at the Tour de France
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates as he crosses the finish line of the twentieth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time-trial over 30.8 kilometers (19.1 miles) with start in Libourne and finish in Saint-Emilion, France, Saturday, July 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
  • The first medals of the Toyko 2020 Olympics will be awarded on Saturday, July 24th
  • Tadej Pogacar, the two-time Tour de France champ, is eying a gold medal in Cycling
  • Read below for odds, analysis and best bets

Saturday in Tokyo marks the first day of the Olympics where medals will be awarded. A handful of events will declare champions including cycling, where 130 male riders are set to tackle a treacherous road race. The 234-kilometer course is one of the most mountainous tracks ever seen at an Olympics, and features plenty of the sport’s biggest names that are fresh off competing at the Tour de France.

Men’s Cycling Road Race Odds

Athlete Odds
Tadej Pogacar (SLO) +400
Primoz Roglic (SLO) +450
Wout Van Aert (BEL) +550
Remco Evenepoel (BEL) +800
Joao Almeida (POR) +1400
Adam Yates (GBR) +1600
Alejandro Valverde (ESP) +2000
Simon Yates (GBR) +2000
Maximilian Schachmann (GER) +2000
Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) +2500
Richard Carapaz (ECU) +2800
Gianni Moscon (ITA) +2800
Bauke Mollema (NED) +3500
Sergio Higuita (COL) +3500
Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) +3500
Michael Woods (CAN) +3500
Alberto Bettiol (ITA) +3500

Odds as of July 23rd at DraftKings.

Tadej Pogacar is the favorite and rightfully so. The 22-year-old is the two-time Tour de France champion, fresh off winning multiple stages in Paris, and sweeping the Tour’s overall, best climber, and best young rider classifications for the second year in a row.

Men’s cycling has officially entered the Pogacar era, and no one is better suited to tackle this brutal trek through the mountains.

Pick: Tadej Pogacar (+400)

Women’s 49 kg Weightlifting Odds

Athlete Odds
Hou Zhihui (CHN) -500
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (IND) +500
Jourdan Delacruz (USA) +1000
Nina Sterckx (BEL) +1600
Windy Cantika Aisah (INA) +3500
Beatriz Piron (DOM) +3500
Fang Wan-ling (TPE) +5000
Kristina Sobol (ROC) +5000
Hiromi Miyake (JPN) +5000
Natasha Rosa (BRA) +20000
Dika Toua (PNG) +20000
Ludia Montero (CUB) +20000
Anais Michel (FRA) +25000
Roilya Ranaivosoa (MRI) +50000

When it comes to women’s weightlifting in the 49 kg category, Hou Zhihui is the name that stands high above the rest. The 24-year-old holds the world record for her weight class in not only the snatch, but the overall total as well (snatch plus clean and jerk).

YouTube video

She boasts a 96 kg snatch (211.2 lbs), and her 213 kg total (468.6 lbs) is 3 kg higher that the personal best of any other competitor. Barring injury, look for Zhihui to not only smash the competition but also set a new world record along the way.

Pick: Hou Zhihui (-500)

Men’s Judo 60 kg Odds

Athlete Odds
Naohisa Takato (JPN) -120
Robert Mshvidobadze (ROC) +400
Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) +400
Lukhumi Chkhvimiani (GEO) +700
Francisco Garrigos (ESP) +800
Won-Jin Kim (KOR) +1100
Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB) +1300
Yung-Wei Yang (TPE) +2000
Tornike Tsjakadoea (NED) +2000
Eric Takabatake (BRA) +2000
Jorre Verstraeten (BEL) +3500
Karamat Huseynov (AZE) +5000
Ashley McKenzie (GBR) +5000
Amartuvshin Dashdavaa (MGL) +8000
Luka Mkheidze (FRA) +10000
Lenin Preciado (ECU) +10000
Yanislav Gerchev (BUL) +15000

The host nation is expecting its highest gold medal tally ever, and success in Judo will go a long way in helping to achieve that. Japan’s Judo Federation is so dominant that it sent none of its Olympic athletes to the World Championships this summer, but still came home with six golds, four silvers and two bronzes, which was more medals than any other federation.

Naohisa Takato, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is the favorite in the Men’s 60 kg class, but don’t sleep on Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov.

The 28-year-old is a former World Champion, and the silver medalist at the Rio Games. He also boasts six Grand Prix gold medals on his resume, in addition to a Grand Slam gold, and victories at the Asian Championships and Asian Games.

Pick: Yeldos Smetov (+400)

Author Image