Evenepoel Now Second-Highest Paid Rider in Pro Cycling with Red Bull Payday

Remco Evenepoel just signed one of the richest contracts in professional cycling history, and it catapults him up the list of cycling’s best-paid racers.

The Belgian star’s blockbuster move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for 2026 is poised to position him not only to take on Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard in the race for the yellow jersey, but also levels him up to their already super-sized pay packets.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Evenepoel’s deal is worth a reported €8 million per year, vaulting him near the very top of cycling’s financial hierarchy and into the elite of the richest pro racers.

Official details have not been publicly revealed, but sources confirmed to Velo that the salary estimate reflects the current market price for confirmed elite winners.

Also read: All the details of Evenepoel’s Red Bull move

Sources suggested that a base salary could be lower, perhaps in the €6 million to €7 million range, with performance bonuses and other payouts built into a layered, multi-year contract that could push the total deal north of €20 million for three years.

Either way, Evenepoel is now one of cycling’s best-paid racers.

So where does Evenepoel rank?

Pogačar still at the top

At the very top of the pyramid remains Tadej Pogačar, who is deservedly elite men’s cycling’s top-paid star.

According to sources, the prolific Pogačar is earning an estimated pay packet of more than €8 million per year. That number could be as high as €12 million annually, depending on how bonuses are structured within the UAE Emirates-XRG deal that runs through 2029.

Evenepoel bounds up into second on the salary ranking and now earns more than two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, whose deal with Visma-Lease a Bike is estimated between €4.5 million and €5.5 million per season.

Also read: Can Red Bull nudge Evenepoel into yellow?

Sources say Visma-Lease a Bike operates on a unique model that pays the top stars slightly less and the lower ranks slightly more to ensure financial cohesion across the roster.

Is the two-time Tour de France winner underpaid? That’s what many in the Danish media are saying about Vingegaard’s latest deal that ends in 2028.

Wout van Aert to stay with Team Visma | Lease a Bike until retirement

The Belgian has signed a new contract to remain with the Dutch team for the rest of his career.

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— Road Code (@RoadCode) September 18, 2024

Also in the upper tier are classics superstars Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who recently signed one of cycling’s first “forever” contracts, and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Along with grand tour maestro Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), all three are earning in the range of  €4 million-plus annually.

It’s no surprise that the “Big 6” are the highest-paid riders in the elite men’s peloton.

With more money moving into the top end of pro racing, the peloton’s proven winners and biggest stars are earning paychecks unseen in the history of professional cycling.

Big gap between the top and the bottom

Top winners earn top paychecks — that’s the law of the two-wheeled jungle.

In a sport without spending limits or salary caps, the tendency is toward richer salaries for today’s proven winners and tomorrow’s potential champions.

Rounding out the top 10 are the next tier confirmed big-time performers like Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), budding superstar Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), and Ineos Grenadiers riders Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodríguez. According to sources, any rider in the top 10 is earning between €2 million to €3 million annually.

Belgian Olympic gold medallist Remco Evenepoel will leave Soudal Quick-Step and join Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe at the end of the 2025 season, his current team said on Tuesday. https://t.co/2i7Yscm1qE https://t.co/2i7Yscm1qE

— Reuters Sports (@ReutersSports) August 5, 2025

Further down the list are high-value “super domestiques” like Sepp Kuss, Simon Yates, and João Almeida, and top-end classics kings and established stars still on hefty contracts, such as Geraint Thomas, Enric Mas, and Jasper Philipsen.

Add rising superstars like Isaac del Toro or Matteo Jorgenson, plus nearly every team captain on each WorldTour team, and anyone in this range can be cashing checks worth anywhere from €1 million to €2 million per year.

An upper-end domestique can make close to 1 million euros per year, and a solid team captain or preferred teammate can earn €450,000 to €700,000 per season.

Salaries are inching up, but there’s still a wide gap

It’s a wide range, and it highlights just how top-heavy cycling salaries have become.

Below this upper crust of elite earners, things can taper off rather quickly.

Pros are still earning today more than ever, but there remains a big salary gap between the top 25 and the rest of the peloton.

The top earners blow out any “average” or “median” numbers because they take home so much more than what everyone else is making.

While the top riders now command superstar wages, sources say the average WorldTour pro earns between €250,000 to €400,000, and many domestiques, even in top-tier teams, take home less than €150,000.

Also read: Evenepoel needs a ‘Wiggins Tour’ to have a chance

Performance bonuses and sharing out prize money can help elevate these numbers.

Minimum wages in the WorldTour are now €42,000 per year, assuring that the entry-level talent can cover the rent.

In the ProTeam ranks, salaries in the second tier are proportionately lower, but riders can still earn top salaries at this level.

Israel Premier Tech and Lotto — two teams at the ProTeam level — boast WorldTour-level budgets, with several riders on seven-figure contracts.

The takeaway: WorldTour salaries keep going up, and Evenepoel just joined the cycling equivalent of the 1 percent.