Tour de France prize money so far: The rich get richer as a few teams hog most of the riches
Astana-Qazaqstan in last as such teams as Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates dominate the list.
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GENEVA (VN) — The Tour de France purse is eerily similar to the real world — the rich get richer, and the poor are left with scraps.
Tour organizers released the running prize money totals so far through nine stages, and the super teams are at the top of the heap.
No surprise, the WorldTour’s top teams are hogging the top of the list.
Jumbo-Visma, with two stage wins thanks to Wout van Aert, is leading the pack so far with 82,140 euros.
Second with less than half that is UAE Team Emirates, with 37,210 euros thanks to Tadej Pogačar also winning two stages, followed by Quick-Step Alpa Vinyl, and Ineos Grenadiers.
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Prize money is awarded daily on wins, placings, special primes, along with points in jersey categories. The total is tallied on a rolling basis.
The top 11 teams are dominating a large portion of the Tour’s prize money so far.
The total payout so far is 349,200 euros, a little more than $350,000.
This year’s total purse is 2,288,450 euros. The Tour winner earns a check worth €500,000 ($510,000) for winning the yellow jersey in Paris.
Second and third on the podium receive €200,000 ($204,000) and €100,000 ($102,000), respectively, with decreasing amounts given to riders the further down the standings.
Arriving to Paris will earn a rider €1,000 ($1,002) in prize money. In total, nearly half of the overall prize pot is awarded to GC positions at the end of the race.
Those totals are paid out after the peloton reaches Paris, so the running total released by officials only reflects performances through the opening nine stages.
How the money gets divided
Prize money is not vitally important to the biggest stars in the Tour peloton as many of them are typically on seven-figure contracts.
In fact, most teams split the prize money pot across the team. Many teams will divide out the pool, with a Tour winner often foregoing their prize money to share among the staff and riders.
The support riders receive the largest chunk, but an important portion also goes to sport directors and such staffers as bus drivers, soigneurs, mechanics, and coaches.
Earning an extra bonus is an important additional source of income for the hard-working, backroom staffers, if they’re on the right team.
Trek-Segafredo is the highest team not breaking into five figures, with 8,930 euros. It goes down quickly from there.
Which team is last? Astana-Qazaqstan, with only 600 euros in prize money so far.
