Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot taking home 10 times less prize money than Tadej Pogačar is the wrong comparison to make, says race director

With Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's historic overall victory at the Tour de France Femmes, Visma-Lease a Bike were confirmed as the top-earning team by organisers ASO, taking home €76,190 from the nine days of racing.

This included prize money from the Dutch team's three stage wins: one for Vos, two for Ferraind-Prévot, but was mostly made up of the €50,000 received for the latter winning the yellow jersey, France's first in either the men's or women's Tour for more than 30 years.

In comparison, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took home 10 times more for his overall victory at the men's race earlier this month – €500,000, with the total race prize pots being similar in their difference, €2,577,731 for the men, versus €264,152 for the women.

Another big difference between the men's and women's races exists in the prize money for the top-earning team and that which won the least money. UAE's €701,280 is 45 times more than the €15,510 Cofidis won, whereas Ferrand-Prévot's Visma secured €76,190, 262 times more prize money than Winspace, who just managed €290 winnings in the nine stages.

The gulf in prize money is no surprise, given factors such as the revenues the respective races bring in from broadcasting rights, but also the men's Tour's long-standing history, and it being 21 stages compared to just nine in 2025 for the women's race.

Tour de France Femmes race director Marion Rousse spoke before the race was decided and prizes were handed out, acknowledging the reality of the differences and how evolving the race gradually over time was more important than any pursuit of prize pot parity.

"We have to realise that women's cycling, even 4 years ago, was non-existent," Rousse told Clapping Media, in quotes reported by DH Le Sports+, referring to the previous amount of TV coverage and early beginnings of a minimum wage – which was only introduced in 2020.

Rousse also made a strong comparison with a men's race of a similar size, the eight-day Critérium du Dauphiné, one of the most prestigious stage races on the men's calendar, which has a prize pot significantly smaller than that of the Tour de France Femmes – €144,024.

"We took the men's Tour de France, which lasts 3 weeks, and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, which is over 9 days of racing. Obviously, we have to compare like for like," said Rousse.

"When you compare the prize money, the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift is higher than the prize money for men at the Critérium du Dauphiné, over [almost] the same race days."

The Tour de France Femmes also started in 2022, bringing the biggest brand in cycling back to a stage race for the women's peloton for the first time in decades. With its revival has come more sponsorship and significant financial benefits for women's teams and riders.

Professionalism drastically improved, and more and more women's riders are now able to race their bikes as their primary source of income, instead of having to supplement it with other work.

"There was no salary. The girls were professionals, but they had to go to work in the afternoon to earn a salary," Rousse added. "I think that was the most important thing, to be able to live off your passion rather than relying on bonuses that don't make up our salary at all.

"We must not grow too quickly, and above all, we must ensure the race's longevity because if the event stops next year, it would be a catastrophe for women's cycling, which is evolving very quickly from year to year."

Aside from Visma, the other top earners were runners-up and Queen of the Mountains jersey winners FDJ Suez, thanks to Demi Vollering and Elise Chabey's performances. They won €53,810.

Also in the top five prize money winners were UAE ADQ, who won two stages with Maeva Squiban and finished fourth overall through Dominika Włodarczyk, AG Insurance-Soudal, whose top earners were Kim Le Court-Pienaar and Sarah Gigante. Finally, in fifth were SD Worx-Protime, who won two stages with Lorena Wiebes and the green jersey.

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