Is biathlon a popular betting sport?
Biathlon is one of the brightest winter sports. It appeared back in 1767, but gained immense popularity only in the second half of the 20th century. In 1954, the International Olympic Committee recognized biathlon as an official sports discipline, and in 1960 it was first included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games. Since then, biathlon has spread almost all over the world, attracting the attention of hundreds of millions of fans. And the names of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Martin Fourcade, Anton Shipulin, Kaisa Makarainen, Laura Dahlmeier and other leading athletes are always on their ears.
The leading biathlon states are Norway, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Austria and Italy. All competitions are held under the auspices of the International Biathlon Union. Many bookmakers willingly include biathlon events of different levels in their line. But in order to win the fight against the bookmaker as often as possible, you need to know all the small nuances of this sports discipline.
Rules of the game
Biathlon races are held on special tracks that fully comply with the requirements of the International Biathlon Union. Each season traditionally begins at the end of November and ends at the end of March. It consists of 9 stages of the World Cup and the World Championship (or Olympic Games). Most often, races are held in Germany (stages in Oberhof and Ruhpolding), Norway (Holmenkollen), Italy (Antholz-Anterselva) and Sweden (Ostersund). Russia is represented by a stage in Tyumen, but the races are not held there every season. Points are awarded for each race. They are given to the top 40 athletes in the finish list. At the end of the season, the winner of the most points will receive the Big Crystal Globe. The record holders for the number of BHGs are Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Martin Fourcade and Magdalena Forsberg (6 awards each).
Biathlon combines both skiing and shooting. Therefore, athletes are on the track with a rifle on their backs. After each completed circle, they must come to the firing line and try to close all 5 targets. It is not easy
to do this, since the distance to the targets is 50 m. But top athletes shoot consistently accurately, and this is the main guarantee of their constant victories. Indeed, for each miss, the athlete must run an extra 150 m on the penalty loop. This usually takes about 20-25 seconds. More than two uncovered targets are actually a guarantee of no medals at the finish of the race. Shooting is carried out both in the prone position (prone) and standing (standing).
Types of races and bets on them
There are several types of races in biathlon at once. Each of them has its own rules and characteristics. All of them will be very important at the end of the race. After all, some athletes prefer to run fast on the track, and some prefer accuracy when shooting. And the combination of these components almost guarantees high results in the race. So, betters need to analyze what types of races are favorite for a particular athlete, and, based on this information, make the right bet.
In bookmakers, you can see the following types of biathlon bets:
- Sportsmen comparison bets.
- Competition Winner Bets.
- Bets on the top three winners.
- Miss Betting.
- Special bets.
Note that biathlon is a sport in which there are men’s, women’s and mixed competitions. Depending on the format, cross-country shooting can be of the following type: sprint, individual race, mass start, pursuit, relay, mixed relay. Naturally, all competitions have different regulations and rules, therefore, before placing bets, you must carefully study them. Note that each type of competition may have its own favorite, so it’s best not to rush and check everything carefully several times.
Factors affecting the outcome of any race
This is definitely an athlete’s class. The better his form, the more likely he will win in any given race.
Favorite stages of athletes and their home races. It’s no secret that track profiles are completely different. This also affects the results of the players. The flat stages are obeyed by some athletes, and the mountain stages by completely different ones. So, before betting on biathlon, you need to familiarize yourself with the statistics that can give an answer about the favorite tracks of this or that athlete.
The situation is similar with the home stages, where everyone is trying to perform in front of their fans as best they can.
Weather. If the sun is shining, then the same race conditions are created. But when a strong wind or fog rises, then everything is completely different. This is especially true for shooting, where the class of potentially strong sportsman is leveled. Many bettors prefer to find out the weather forecast at a certain stage (this is easy to do on the Internet), which allows them to avoid various incidents.
Why should you try betting on biathlon?
Every day there are more and more biathlon fans. It is very convenient to place bets on this sport. Since everything here depends on one athlete, and not on the team. Anyone can analyze its current shape, make adjustments for the weather and take into account other risk factors. So biathlon betting is a pretty lucrative business. Bookmakers rarely set odds below 2. Even several bets on one event can bring victory.
The main type of bet is on the victory of participant. But comparisons of their results with each other are also permissible. Yes, the painting is not always extensive. However, the availability of biathlon on TV and on the Internet allows millions of betting fans to always follow the progress of competitions of various status – from an ordinary World Cup race to the Olympic Games. Do not miss your chance to bet on this sport and win some money.