Vuelta a España prize money: Feast and famine among the peloton
Jumbo-Visma earns nearly one-third of the total purse, while Astana-Qazaqstan brings home less than $5,000 in three weeks.
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Vuelta a España and the prize money list perfectly aligns with how the Spanish grand tour played out.
The richest and deepest teams stuffed their pockets, while the smaller and outgunned squads were left with crumbs.
Vuelta officials released the official prize money list Monday, and it confirms the obvious: Jumbo-Visma cleaned up at the Spanish grand tour in more ways than one.
Also read:
- The final prize money list from the Tour de France
- 2023 Tour de France Femmes prize money list
- How the Giro d’Italia prize purse is doled out
The Dutch outfit not only swept the final podium with Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, and Primož Roglič, but it also won the team prize, as well as five stages.
The world No. 1 team earned €364,985 (about $390,000) in prize money across three weeks of racing.
Soudal Quick-Step, led by Remco Evenepoel and his three stage wins and King of the Mountains jersey, earned less than a third of that, with a haul of €98,965 (about $105,000).
UAE Team Emirates, with Juan Ayuso in fourth and the best young rider’s jersey, brought home €95,530 for third on the ranking.
The Vuelta prize purse at €1,116,185 is about about half of what the men’s Tour de France awards in July, with a total purse of €2,308,200 in offer in Paris. The Giro d’Italia is slightly more than the Vuelta at €1,500,000.
In what’s no surprise, Jumbo-Visma also cleaned up at the Tour behind Vingegaard’s second Tour win, cashing in €664,280 (about $710,000) in July. The team also led the prize money list at the Giro d’Italia, which it won with Roglič.
Following a long-running tradition, prize money is typically divided among teammates, with some helper staff such as soigneurs and mechanics also receiving a cut. The payout per Jumbo-Visma rider could be middle five figures during the Vuelta.
The 𝗣𝟯𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 Grand Tour season 🏆🏆🏆
Team Jumbo-Visma swept the board at the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España this year.
📸 Cor Vos pic.twitter.com/Xe8p3Wyx4J
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) September 17, 2023
Of course, the top riders in the elite’s men’s WorldTour peloton earn millions in salaries, and the prize money is simply an added bonus that’s often shared out with the lesser-paid, but essential teammates.
Like in any grand tour, there are winners and there is pack fill, and that’s also reflected in the Vuelta prize money list.
There were pauper earnings for the teams at the bottom in Madrid. Four teams earned less than €10,000 across three weeks.
Only 10 different teams won stages, so there wasn’t much leftover for everyone else.
Astana-Qazaqstan was the lanterne rouge in the team prize money list, earning a paltry $4,485 (about $4,800) across three weeks. That doesn’t even cover gas money for the team bus, let alone leave much to pay out across the squad.
Vuelta a España prize money
