Tour de France 2024: Half a million for the winner: this is the prize money at the Tour
Sebastian Lindner
· 13.06.2024
In order to do justice to the Tour de France's exceptional status and reputation in cycling, the A.S.O. is digging deep into its pockets. The organiser of the world's most important cycling race pays out a total of 2.3 million euros in prize money to the 22 teams and 176 riders. This is the absolute top figure in cycling.
Prize money comparison Tour de France vs. Giro d'Italia
At this year's Giro d'Italia, organiser RCS distributed a total of around 1.6 million euros to the participants. Also a handsome sum. Stage winners were rewarded just as well as in the Tour, but there were significant differences in the overall standings. One of the most important one-day races of the season, Paris-Roubaix, also organised by the A.S.O., brought the winner Mathieu van der Poel 30,000 euros. He thus collected around a third of the total prize money.
Also World Tour, also A.S.O., but not a monument of cycling is the German race Eschborn-Frankfurt. A total of 40,000 euros was up for grabs here on 1 May, almost half of which went to winner Maxim Van Gils.
Tour de France prize money to be split
Of course, it's a different story on tours. At least for the big ones. The overall winner of the Tour de France 2024 receives 500,000 euros, while Tadej Pogacar received around 265,000 euros for winning the Giro. A total of €128,000 was paid out for the Criterium du Dauphine and €16,000 for overall victory. The Deutschland Tour, which, like the Dauphine Tour, also belongs to the largest and richest cycling organiser A.S.O., but is not part of the World Tour race series, recently distributed around 73,000 euros in prize money, with the winner receiving a good 8,000 euros.
So the prize money in cycling doesn't even make the best cyclists like Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard rich, at least in the world of sport. As a rule, these sums go into a team fund from which all riders and the staff, the team behind the team, receive their share. The fact that the top stars can still make a good living is ensured by their contracts worth millions and, above all, the advertising deals.
Tour de France prize money no match for tennis, golf or football
Compared to other sports, however, even the prize money of the Tour de France cannot keep up. In tennis, for example, new record sums are reported every year. At the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon last year, a total of 52.3 million euros was distributed. The winners of the men's and women's singles competitions each received €2.3 million, which is the total amount paid out on the tour. The finalists received half as much. Even a first-round victory brought in 55,000 euros.
The best golfers also skim off the top. The US Open, the best-paid major tournament, distributed a record total of €20 million in prize money last year. The sum has doubled since 2016. There was 3.6 million euros for winning.
Football is yet another category. For the World Cup in Qatar, the world governing body FIFA distributed 444 million euros to the 32 participating teams, with the winner receiving 42 million euros. The money went to the respective national associations, which could then decide for themselves what to do with it.
Development of Tour de France prize money: Highest in the darkest years
These are utopian sums for cycling. Figures that the Tour de France has never come close to achieving in its entire history with 111th editions, including 2024. Even road cycling in its entirety is likely to fail to reach this mark. There were also times when there was more to be gained from the Tour than now. However, the record prize money comes from the darkest era of cycling. Between 2006 and 2012, the total prize money was 3.2 million euros, with the winner taking home 450,000 euros during this period.
Then, in 2013, the figures plummeted. Suddenly, only two million euros were available - the sum for winning the Tour remained unchanged. Since 2016, the figures have remained at a constant level, which is still the case today.
Over the past millennium, the prize money has steadily increased. In 1995 there was a total of around 1.8 million euros (around 335,000 euros for the winner), in 1990 1.5 million (305,000 euros). Five years earlier, the total sum was not even a third of that. Tour winner Bernard Hinault had to make do with around 18,000 euros. In 1960, a total of 61,000 euros was paid out, with the winner receiving 3,000 euros.
Tour de France 2024: How the prize money is distributed
But how do the 2.3 million euros for the current edition of the Tour de France break down? Every single euro that the A.S.O. spends is precisely regulated in the race regulations.
Stage classification
The best 20 riders per stage will receive prize money. A total of 28,650 euros is distributed per day via the stage classification. Calculated over the entire tour, this amounts to around 600,000 euros.
- 11,000 euros
- 5500 Euro
- 2800 Euro
...
300 euros remain for places 15 to 20
Overall ranking
Every professional who finishes the Tour de France is also rewarded financially by the A.S.O.. From 20th place onwards there are 1000 euros. Even for 10th place it is only 3800 euros. It is only from 7th place onwards that it becomes five or six figures.
- 500,000 euros
- 200,000 euros
- 100,000 euros
- 70,000 euros
- 50,000 euros
- 23,000 euros
- 11,500 euros
The Tour spends just over 1.1 million euros on the overall classification. There are also bonuses for the wearer of the yellow jersey. The yellow jersey gets an additional 500 euros per day.
Scoring
19 intermediate sprints are held during the Tour de France. Each time, the top three not only receive points, but also a little prize money.
- 1500 Euro
- 1000 Euro
- 500 Euro
The wearer of the green jersey receives 300 euros per day. Those who also wear it on the last day in Nice will be particularly well rewarded. The top eight in the final standings will be honoured. Fourth place will receive 4000 euros and 500 less for each place behind.
- 25,000 euros
- 15,000 euros
- 10,000 euros
A total of 128,000 euros in bonuses will be paid out for the points classification.
Mountain classification
Similar to the points classification, the top eight in the mountain classification are also rewarded, and the same applies to the winner of the classification jersey after the individual stages. However, the best riders in the individual mountain classifications are rewarded differently.
For the six climbs in the highest HC category, the top 3 will receive 800, 450 and 300 euros per climb. For the ten 1st category climbs, the prizes are 650, 400 and 150 euros. On the eleven climbs in the 2nd category, only the two best will receive monetary rewards. 500 and 250 euros are distributed respectively. On the 19 climbs in the 3rd category, only the first rider will receive 300 euros, while the 21 hills in the 4th category will be rewarded with 200 euros for the first rider.
This brings the total prize money distributed by the A.S.O. for the mountain classification to 110,450 euros.
Young talent ranking
Every day, the best young professional in the stage classification receives 500 euros. As with the green and dotted jerseys, 300 is awarded for wearing the white jersey. The top four riders in the overall young rider classification will be rewarded with other sums in Nice.
- 20,000 euros
- 15,000 euros
- 10,000 euros
- 5000 Euro
A total of 66,500 euros in prize money will go to the young talent competition.
Team classification
In relation to the media attention, the team classification of the Tour de France comes off well. Every day, the best team in a stage receives 2800 euros for the cash register. In the final ranking, the best five teams are rewarded financially.
- 50,0000 Euro
- 30,000 euros
- 20,000 euros
- 12,000 euros
- 8000 Euro
A total of 178,800 euros will be raised for the team ranking.
Most active driver
After each stage - except for the time trials - the most active rider of a stage is honoured with 2000 euros and the red back number. The winner is chosen by a jury. After the tour, the impressions are summarised to award the most active rider of the entire race with 20,000 euros. 58,000 euros is the total prize money for this classification.
Special prices
The A.S.O. awards three special prizes, two of which could also have been awarded in the mountain classification. 5000 euros will be awarded to the first rider on the Col du Galibier (stage 4) in addition to the prize money for the first rider on the climb of an HC category. This is where the Henri Desgrange souvenir will be awarded. The founder and first director of the Tour will be specially honoured there.
On the Col du Tourmalet (14th stage), however, his successor is honoured. The souvenir Jacques Goddet also brings an extra 5000 euros to the first rider at the summit of the Pyrenean giant.
In addition, a jury selects the best team-mate in the entire field of drivers once a week. This is rewarded with 3000 euros each. The A.S.O. thus distributes a total of 19,000 euros in bonuses for the special prizes.
