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Winning the Tour de France is worth 500,000 euros, or about $571,000.
That sounds like a very good salary for a bike tour through France.
This is prize money, not a salary. Each Tour rider is already paid by their team, and racing prizes are added to this annual compensation. The winner’s €500,000 usually also goes into a team pool shared by drivers and staff.
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How much does a touring driver get paid?
Driver contracts are private, so exact salaries are rarely disclosed.
In 2026, the average gross salary of an employed male WorldTour rider is €216,000, or approximately $247,000. The median for a self-employed driver is €350,000, or about $400,000. Self-employed drivers usually bear costs such as insurance and pension contributions themselves.
The current WorldTeam minimums are €44,150 or approximately $50,400 for an employed rider and €72,404 or approximately $82,700 for a self-employed rider. Neo-Pros have separate, lower minimums, and the Tour also invites ProTeams that operate with lower salary floors.
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The reported annual salaries of the tour’s biggest stars run into the millions of euros, but rider contracts, performance bonuses and endorsements are generally private.
What do the biggest stars do?
Current estimates put Tadej Pogačar’s annual team salary at around 8 million euros or $9.1 million; Remco Evenepoels is at 6.6 million euros or $7.5 million; and Jonas Vingegaards at 5 million euros or $5.7 million. Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Primož Roglič are estimated to earn around 4 million euros or $4.6 million each.
These figures are estimates rather than publicly confirmed salaries. They generally exclude performance bonuses, personal sponsorship and referrals. Pogačar’s estimated team salary alone is 16 times the official price of winning the Tour.
How much prize money is there on the tour?
The 2026 Tour will award direct prizes of 2,302,800 euros, or approximately $2.63 million.
The final overall winner will receive €500,000, or approximately $571,000. Second place pays €200,000, or about $228,000, and third place pays €100,000, or about $114,000. Drivers who finish 20th to 160th will receive €1,000, or about $1,140. Each day in the yellow jersey pays an additional €500, or about $570.
Dario Belingheri//Getty Images
The first place prize for a 2026 Tour stage is €11,000. Mauro Schmid secured victory on stage 13 after the longest day of the race.
How much does a stage winner get?
A stage win in the 2026 Tour pays €11,000, or about $12,600. The second place winner will receive €5,500 or about $6,300, and the third place winner will receive €2,800 or about $3,200. Payments continue until 20th place, who receives €300.
The official check is only part of the value of a stage win. Wins can trigger private signing bonuses, improve a driver’s next deal and create sponsorship opportunities. These amounts are not public.
How much are the Tour jerseys worth?
The final winner of the green polka dot jersey will receive €25,000 or approximately $28,500. The polka dot mountain jersey pays the same. The white jersey for young riders is worth €20,000 or about $22,800. The winning team will receive €50,000, or approximately $57,100.
The leader of the green, polka dot or white rating receives €300 per day. The daily combat ability award pays €2,000 and the total combat ability award is €20,000. The Combativity Award does not come with a jersey.
Dario Belingheri//Getty Images
Tour prize money is traditionally pooled and divided among riders and staff. The person in yellow gets the photo, but teammates, mechanics, soigneurs and directors helped create it.
Does the tour winner keep the 500,000 euros?
Normally not.
The tour’s prize money is traditionally pooled and divided among the drivers and support staff. The exact breakdown varies by team, but Mechanics, Soigneurs, Directors and Domestiques can all receive a share. The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés also operate a centralized prize management system that supports the distribution of shared prize pots.
That’s 500,000 euros in prize money associated with winning the tour – not necessarily the winner’s personal salary.
How much does a touring driver earn?
At the WorldTour level, annual team compensation ranges from a minimum of around 44,150 euros for a salaried rider to an estimated 8 million euros for Pogačar. There are also bonuses, sponsorship and a share of the racing prizes.
For the sport’s biggest stars, the tour’s first prize of €500,000 is less than their annual salary. For a lower-paid driver, a share of a successful team’s prize pool can be a useful supplement to their income.
Same race. Completely different paycheck.
Taneika is a Jamaican runner and gravel cyclist living in Virginia. With her passion for cycling, she wants to encourage more people of all abilities to ride the less beaten path.
Matt has been a gear editor throughout his career. His journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist began in 1995 and he has been at it ever since. You probably carry more cycling gear on the road than anyone else on the planet. Before his time with Ride a bikeMatt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic and salesman. He lives in Durango, Colorado and enjoys riding and testing bikes of all types. Therefore, the likelihood of you seeing him on a Lycra-clad racing bike at a World Championships on Tuesday night is just as likely as you are of seeing him riding an enduro bike through a bike park wearing a full-face helmet and pads. He doesn’t race often but is up for anything; I have competed in road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short distance races, time trials and gran fondos. Next on his to-do list: a multi-day bikepacking trip and an e-bike race.
https://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/a73219221/tour-de-france-rider-salary-prize-money/
