Professional cyclists earn a fraction as much as other top sports figures, even as the sport's most prestigious event, the Tour de France, is far more gruelling than most sports.
In the battle for the famous yellow overall leader's jersey - the most visible of the prizes on offer during the Tour de France - cyclists in the race can earn cash for more than their ranking at the end.
In addition to the overall timed classification - the winner completes the total distance in the shortest amount of time - there are several other minor competitions: for points gained during the stage and at the finish, points gained atop mountains, a combined timed team classification and a separate purse for the best riders under the age of 26.
There are daily prizes for each stage where the winner of the day gets €11,000, the leader of the race gets €500 for each day in the yellow jersey, and the other jersey holders earn €300 for wearing either the green points jersey, polka dot mountains jersey or white shirt of best young rider.
There is a €2,000 prize for the most aggressive rider on each stage and €20,000 for the overall combativity classification winner as well as cash for crossing each categorised climb first and more.
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Riders traditionally pool their prize money, with one rider in each team designated as accountant. A share of prize money is also given to the hard-working team staff.
Teams and sponsors also award special performance bonuses, but the amounts are rarely made public. Success in the Tour de France is rewarded by bigger and better contracts for the following seasons, with a Tour de France winner often set to earn between three and five million per season – among the best-paid contracts in the sport.
Daily prizes
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Stage finish
Ranking
Prize (€)
Row 0 - Cell 2
1
11,000
Row 1 - Cell 2
2
5,500
Row 2 - Cell 2
3
2,800
Row 3 - Cell 2
4
1,500
Row 4 - Cell 2
5
830
Row 5 - Cell 2
6
780
Row 6 - Cell 2
7
730
Row 7 - Cell 2
8
670
Row 8 - Cell 2
9
650
Row 9 - Cell 2
10
600
Row 10 - Cell 2
11
540
Row 11 - Cell 2
12
470
Row 12 - Cell 2
13
440
Row 13 - Cell 2
14
340
Row 14 - Cell 2
15
300
Row 15 - Cell 2
16
300
Row 16 - Cell 2
17
300
Row 17 - Cell 2
18
300
Row 18 - Cell 2
19
300
Row 19 - Cell 2
20
300
Row 20 - Cell 2
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Sprints
Ranking
Intermediate Sprint
1
€1,500
2
€1,000
3
€500
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Mountains
Row 0 - Cell 0
1st
2nd
3rd
Col du Galibier (Stage 20)
€5,000
Row 1 - Cell 2
Row 1 - Cell 3
Col du Tourmalet (Stage 6)
€5,000
Row 2 - Cell 2
Row 2 - Cell 3
HC
€800
€450
€300
Cat. 1
€650
€400
€150
Cat. 2
€500
€250
Row 5 - Cell 3
Cat. 3
€300
Row 6 - Cell 2
Row 6 - Cell 3
Cat. 4
€200
Row 7 - Cell 2
Row 7 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Best teammate (jury selected)
Header Cell - Column 0
Prize (€)
Week 1
2,000
Week 2
2,000
Week 3
2,000
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Most aggressive rider (combativity)
Stage
Prize (€)
2-15, 17-20
2,000
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Teams classification
Stages
Prize (€)
1-21
2,800
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Classification Winners
Jersey
Prize (€)
Yellow (GC)
500
Green (Points)
300
Polka dot (Mountains)
300
White (Youth)
300
Best teammate
3,000
Most aggressive
20,000
Final classification prizes
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General classification
Final ranking
Prize (€)
1
500,000
2
200,000
3
100,000
4
70,000
5
50,000
6
23,000
7
11,500
8
7,600
9
4,500
10
3,800
11
3,000
12
2,700
13
2,500
14
2,100
15
2,000
16
1,500
17
1,300
18
1,200
19
1,100
20th-160th
1,000
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Points, Mountains classifications
Ranking
Prize (€)
1
25,000
2
15,000
3
10,000
4
4,000
5
3,500
6
3,000
7
2,500
8
2,000
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Youth classification
Ranking
Prize (€)
1
20,000
2
15,000
3
10,000
4
5,000
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Teams classification
Ranking
Prize (€)
1
50,000
2
30,000
3
20,000
4
12,000
5
8,000
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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