Team Sky’s dominance of the 2018 Tour de France is reflected in the €728,630 of prize money they accumulated during the three weeks of racing.
With Geraint Thomas winning €500,000 as the overall race winner, Team Sky took home almost three times the amount won by Team Sunweb and second-placed Tom Dumoulin, who won €245,280, while the least successful teams collected little to ease the pain of three weeks of racing. EF Education First-Drapac finished 22nd and bottom of the prize list, winning just €14,420.
Prize money is low in professional cycling compared to other sports, with athletes’ income largely coming from their salaries. Teams and sponsors offer bonuses, with some riders boosting their income via the post-Tour de France criteriums scheduled for the next few weeks.
Teams once had to pay to ride the Tour de France but are now paid a participation allowance of around €55,000 which covers extra costs incurred for the race. Tour de France organiser ASO pays all the hotel costs.
The prize money on offer during the Tour de France is detailed in the official rulebook, with a rider from each team usually selected as the team’s bookkeeper to ensure a fair share of the cash.
A total of €2,287,750 prize money was awarded at this year’s Tour de France, with €1,128,800 shared based on the general classification. Thomas won 500,000, Tom Dumoulin won €200,000 for second place and Chris Froome won €100,000 for third. Lesser amounts on a sliding scale were award to riders in the top 20, with every rider finishing within 160th place awarded a symbolic €1000 for reaching Paris.
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) won €25,000 for winning his sixth green points jersey and Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) won the same for mountain classification polka-dot jersey. Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) won €20,000 as best young rider while Movistar took home €20,000 as best team. Stage winners won €11,000, while riders were also rewarded with between €500 and €300 for each day in a special jersey, with cash primes on offer at each intermediate sprint and on each categorised climb.
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The Most Aggressive rider of each stage won €2000 as well as a special red race number, with overall super combatif Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) given €20,000.
The €2,287,750 is significant but has to be taxed, levied for things such as anti-doping tests and rider union fees, with any fines incurred during the Tour de France deducted.
The final amount is traditionally shared with team staff, meaning that the riders only see a small part of the final figure. The Tour de France winner usually put their share back into the pot, knowing their future earnings are assured thanks to overall victory.
The 2018 Tour de France prize list:
1. Team Sky €728,630 2. Team Sunweb €245,280 3. LottoNL-Jumbo €190,980 4. Quick-Step Floors €145,070 5. Bora-Hansgrohe : €125,900 6. Movistar €114,620 7. UAE Team Emirates €100,650 8. Bahrain-Merida €86,050 9. AG2R La Mondiale €69,800 10. Trek-Segafredo €58,850 11. Wanty-Groupe Gobert €56,600 12. BMC Racing €54,340 13. Astana €53,530 14. Groupama-FDJ €53,290 15. Direct Energie €40,850 16. Fortuneo-Samsic €36,590 17. Cofidis €25,780 18. Mitchelton-Scott €20,970 19. Katusha-Alpecin €18,070 20. Lotto-Soudal €16,750 21. Dimension Data €15,730 22. EF Education First-Drapac €14,420.
