The prize money of the Tour de France: Who earns what?

Sadhbh O'Shea
·4 min read

This article originally appeared on Velo News

The teams at the Tour de France aren't necessarily in it for the prize money, but it's a nice side-effect of doing well at the race.

This year's race sees a total money pot of EUR2,288,450 ($2.4m) being split between the various classification winners, stage victors, team prizes, intermediate sprints, and the rider who crosses the Tour de France's highest peak first.

Regular updates on how much money each team has earned throughout the stages is posted by the Tour de France's press office and looking at it can be a rough guide as to how the race is panning out for each squad.

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Of course, the final winner of the yellow jersey will pocket the biggest amount of prize money with a tidy EUR500,000 ($562,000) for taking the iconic jersey into Paris.

Second and third on the podium receive EUR200,000 ($211,000) and EUR100,000 ($105,000) respectively, with decreasing amounts given to riders the further down the standings they are.

Even if you're not in the GC contention, finishing the race will earn a rider EUR1,000 ($1,054) in prize money. In total, nearly half of the overall prize pot is given away for GC positions at the end of the race.

Movistar may have received a lot of jokes made at its expense in recent years for its apparent love of the team classification, but it brings in a sweet sum at the end of the race. There is EUR50,000 ($52,600) on offer for the winner, with EUR30,000 ($31,600) and EUR20,000 ($21,000) for the other two podium spots.

The winners of the points and mountains competitions will both at EUR25,000 ($26,300) to the team coffers with money awarded down to eighth place.

Of the four jersey classifications, the young rider competition earns its winner the least with EUR20,000 plus money for the top four.

There are daily monetary prizes on offer for various things. The biggest daily financial outlay is for the stage winner. Scoring a stage victory is a great moment for any rider but it will also net the team a tidy EUR11,000 ($11,600) for the pot.

Racing for a minor placing might still be worth it as, on top of the UCI points, there's a small amount of cash for finishers up to 20th on each stage. There's also money available for the first three riders across the intermediate sprint -- EUR1,500, EUR1,000, and EUR500.

Getting over a classified climb first can net somewhere between EUR800 and EUR200 depending on the severity of the climb with hors categorie ascents offering up the most money.

There's also the “Souvenir Henri Desgrange,” which sees the rider who crosses the race's highest peak get EUR5,000 ($5,300). This year, it is the Col du Galibier that has that honor. While it is crossed twice during this year's race it is the ascent on stage 11 that is offering up the funds.

Classification leaders during the stage will add a small amount for every day that they spend at the top of the respective standings. The points, mountains, and young rider leaders get EUR300, while the overall leader adds EUR500 to the team funds each day. The best team on any given day will also net a nice EUR2,800 ($2,950).

Last but not least is the prize for the most combative, with the rider who is named the most aggressive rider on a specific stage getting EUR2,000. At the end of the race, a super-combativity prize is handed out and the winner of that gets a handy EUR20,000.

At the end of the race, whatever money has been racked up by the team will be spread out among everybody, including staff members. Depending on how much has been accrued, the prize split could be enough to pay for a nice vacation or just enough for a slice of pizza.

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