How much money do riders and teams make at the Tour de France?
Perhaps one of the most difficult sporting events out there, it´s a test of both mental and physical fortitude, but is the payday worth the struggle?
As the most prestigious race on the cycling calendar and one of the oldest sporting events in the world, one can imagine that winning the famous Tour de France brings with it a lucractive payday, but just how much are we talking? Let´s take a look.
The Tour de France has arrived
On Friday July 1st, the 109th edition of the Tour de France will commence with cyclists setting off from the Danish capital city of Copenhagen before they undertake the arduous task of conquering 21 brutal stages all the way through to July 24th. As with any one the editions of this famous event, there will be varying battles. This year for example will offer fans the chance to see whether or not Slovenian star Tadej Pogačar can defend his crown and thereby become one of only a few riders in history to win three consecutive Tour titles.
What´s the prize money in the 2022 Tour de France?
This year’s event sees an almost identical pot up for grabs in comparison with last year, which it should be said was about €60,000 less than it has been in the two editions prior to 2021. In the Tour de France which follows on from last year´s event when the amount was increased. The total amount available is approximately €2.6 million.
Now while that’s a lot of money to the everyday person, when compared to other professional sports out there it´s actually quite modest. Consider for a moment the Wimbledon tennis tournament, with a prize pool of €40,799,650. The men´s and women´s singles winners will both pocket roughly €1,981,697 which is almost the same amount as the entire pot available for the world´s most famous bike race. What then is the break down of said pot? How much do the first three get and do others get any money as well? Let´s find out!
How much do riders in the Tour de France get?
When the three weeks of gruelling struggle is finally over and the winners take to the podium, just what can they look forward to aside from the famous bowl shaped trophy and the funny little stuffed toy in the likeness of a lion? In this year´s Tour de France the overall winner or general classification champion as he´s known will pocket €506,790. That is of course essentially the same amount that Pogačar himself took home after emerging victorious in last year’s race. Where second place and third place are concerned, they will earn €202,520 and €100,780) respectively for their places on the podium. After that we´ve got the remainder of the top seven who will all take home at least €9,920 each, whilst each rider who manages to complete the final stage in Paris will take home approximately €992.
What about money for Tour de France teams?
Given the importance of teams in the Tour de France it makes perfect sense that they receive monetary prizes as well. After all it´s most definitely a team effort when it comes to winning the race overall. How does it work? Prize money is distributed between teams, jersey classification victors and stage winners. Each stage winner will take home €10,960 per victory, while second and third on each day will earn €5,420 and €2,770. Where the teams themselves are concerned, rest assured a the lion´s share goes to those who finish in the top three. First place earns €49,604 while second and third take home €28,840 and €19,611 respectively.