is tour de france

2-FOR-1 GA TICKETS WITH OUTSIDE+

Don’t miss Thundercat, Fleet Foxes, and more at the Outside Festival.

GET TICKETS

BEST WEEK EVER

Try out unlimited access with 7 days of Outside+ for free.

Start Your Free Trial

Powered by Outside

Tour de France

Tour de france stage 19: a crucial day in the high mountains, second-last mountain stage will play major part in tour gc battle, with three peaks over 2,000 meters..

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

Stage 19 — Friday, July 19 Embrum to Isola 2000 Distance: 144.6km (90 miles) Profile: Mountain stage

Stage 19: Second-last mountain stage will play major part in GC battle

Tour de France organizers may be avoiding Paris for the first time ever, due to the Olympic Games being held there, but the final three days of the race will be suspenseful right up to the finish in Nice. Stage 19 will see the climbers go all out for success, with 4,500 meters of climbing in store.

The difficulty is further heightened by the fact that all three of the day’s climbs are over 2,000 meters, the level at which altitude really starts to have an effect.

The first half hour of racing is on rolling roads but from there the peloton will begin the climb of the Col du Vars. At 18.9km in length, it averages 5.7 percent but does top 10 percent early on. It summits at 2,105 meters and then the riders will plunge downhill for 22km before starting the Cime de la Bonette. This 23km brute is 6.9 percent average and ascends to 2,797 meters, the highest of this year’s Tour.

A 40km descent takes the riders to the day’s final climb, that of Isola 2000. It is another testing one, averaging 7 percent over 16.4km up to the finish.

The view of Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme: “The menu for this ultra-mountain stage could well make you dizzy, but it’ll also whet the appetite of the very best climbers. Although the stage is less than 150km long, the riders will climb above 2,000 meters on three occasions.

“The biggest test the climb to the summit of La Bonette, the highest road in France at an altitude of 2,802 meters. Its 360-degree panorama is breath-taking.”

• Tour de France

Tour de France coverage from Cycling Weekly, with up to date race results, rider profiles and news and reports.

The Tour de France 2024 begins on Saturday 29 June 2024 and marks the 111th edition of cycling's flagship race. In the first Grand Départ for Italy, the race starts in Florence and traces a path east across the country, before heading back west towards France and into the Alps. 

The race also tackles the Apennines, Massif Central and Pyrenees mountain ranges, and passes through Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France. This edition breaks from tradition, finishing not in Paris but in Nice, due to the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The three-week event is the second in the trio of Grand Tours, coming after the Giro d'Italia and before the Vuelta a España .

Tour de France 2024: Overview

Tour de france 2024: the route.

One for the climbers, the 2024 Tour de France route incorporates four summit finishes, spans four mountain ranges, and features the hilliest opening stage in history. One of the most interesting and intriguing routes of recent years, sitting between the predominantly hilly week one and week three sits a flatter week two, and stage nine - with an abundance of white roads; 14 sectors in total. There's plenty for the sprinters as well as the general classification and climbing specialists, although there are going to be some tough mountains to get over to reach the sprint stages, and to finish the three weeks. For the first time in 35 years, a final day time trial means the yellow jersey won't be decided on the penultimate day. 

• Tour de France 2024 route: Two individual time trials, five summit finishes and gravel sectors
• Opinion: Is the 2024 Tour de France too hard?
• FAQs of the Tour de France: How lean? How much power? How do they pee mid-stage? All that and more explained

Tour de France 2024 route: Stage-by-stage

Tour de france 2024: the teams.

There will be 22 teams of eight riders at the 2024 Tour de France. This includes all 18 UCI WorldTour teams, as well as the two best-ranked UCI ProTeams, and two further squads invited by the organiser, ASO. 

Tour de France 2024: General classification riders

The general classification riders set to appear on the start line in Florence on June 29 are as of yet unconfirmed.

Reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard is extremely likely to be there to defend his title, and there should be no challenges from within the team since Primož Roglič's move to Bora-Hansgrohe. However, Roglič will be making his own bid for the win as the new team leader, with the route suiting him well. 

Following the route announcement in October, Tadej Pogačar said that the "end of the journey makes me smile", with the final 2 stages starting and finishing close to his home in Monaco. Pogačar is hoping to take back the top step in 2024 after two years of missing out on yellow to Vingegaard.

Remco Evenepol intends to make his Tour de France debut in 2024. Although he took a win in 2022 at the Vuelta, his performance in other Grand Tour races has been either inconsistent or blighted by illness. If he's to compete against the likes of Vingegaard and Pogačar, he'll have to up his game. It's not yet known who Ineos Grenadiers will hand the reins to, but, coming 5th overall and taking a stage win in his Tour debut in 2023 , Carlos Rogríguez seems a likely choice.

Tour de France 2024: Sprinters

It's going to be a tough year for the sprinters. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck was one of the star men of last year's Tour de France, taking four stage wins and the green sprinter's jersey at the end of the three weeks. If the Belgian returns in 2024 then he will definitely be looking to defend his jersey.

Mads Pederson of Trek-Segafredo has won stages in all three Grand Tours and is likely to gain victory again in some of the harder sprint stages in 2024.

All eyes will be on Mark Cavendish in the 111th Tour de France after he postponed retirement to target the Tour win record, currently shared with Eddy Merckx, and gain his 35th win. He said, however, that he was "in shock" and that this was the "toughest course" he had ever seen , when it was revealed in October. 

Tour de France 2024: On TV

As you'd expect the Tour de France will be avialable to watch in a lot of places this July.

The race is expected to be live-streamed on GCN +, Discovery+ and Eurosport , as well as ITV4, in the UK and in Europe. Subscription costs are £6.99/month or $8.99/month, and £39.99 or $49.99 for a year.

A Flobikes  annual subscription will cost you $209.99 if you want to watch in Canada, while in the USA  NBC Sports  via Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month) will show the race. Australians can can watch the Tour for free on SBS on Demand.

And, of course, if you want to watch your local stream from anywhere in the world you'll need a VPN from a trusted company like ExpressVPN .

Tour de France: The jerseys

Much like every year in recent memory, the Tour de France jerseys and classifications are yellow for the overall leader, green for the leader in the points standings, polka-dot for the mountain classification, and white for the best young rider.

Along with the jersey prizes, there is an award for the most combative rider of each stage, with the winner wearing a red number on the following day. This is awarded each day, with a 'Super Combativity' award decided by a jury at the end of the race for the most active rider throughout the entire event.

There is also a team classification where the time of the first three riders from each team is put together to create a single time. This is then done in a similar way as the individual general classification.

In addition, there are plenty of bonus seconds up for grabs at the race. There are ten, six and four bonus seconds available at the end of each stage for the first three riders, as well as bonus sprints that are dotted throughout the race on key climbs to try and make the racing more entertaining for spectators.

Of course, there's also prize money up for grabs. For winning the 2023 edition of the race, Jonas Vingegaard collected €535,220 (£463,100), a sum which is customarily shared out among the team's riders and staff.

Tour de France past winners in the last 12 years

• 2012: Bradley Wiggins (GBr) 
• 2013: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2014: Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 
• 2015: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2016: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2017: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2018: Geraint Thomas (GBr) 
• 2019: Egan Bernal (Col) 
• 2020: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) 
• 2021: Tadej Pogačar (Slo)  
• 2022: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)
• 2023: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)

Tour de France FAQ

How does the tour de france work.

The Tour de France is one of a trio of races that are three weeks long, known as the Grand Tours, alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. The Tour is the best known and arguably the most prestigious.

It is the second of the three races in the calendar with the Giro taking place in May, the Tour usually in July, and the Vuelta in August and September.

The Tour, like all Grand Tours, takes on varying terrain with flat days for sprinters, hilly days for punchers and mountains for the climbers and GC riders, along with time trials, so that a winner of the race has to be able to perform on all types of road.

The main prize in the race, known as the general classification, is based on time with the overall leader wearing the yellow jersey. The race leader and eventual winner is the rider who has the lowest accumulated time over the 21 days of racing. Riders can win the Tour de France without winning a stage, as Chris Froome did in 2017. Time bonuses of 10, six, and four seconds are given to stage winners though, creating incentive for those general classification riders to chase individual victories and lower their overall time.

In 2020 it took race winner Tadej Pogačar 87 hours 20 minutes and 5 seconds to complete the race with the second-place rider overall 59 seconds slower. That continues all the way down to the last place rider, which was Roger Kluge (Lotto-Soudal) who finished 6 hours 7 minutes and 2 seconds behind.

The white best young rider's jersey is worked out in the same way but only riders under the age of 26 are eligible for the jersey.

The polka-dot mountains jersey and the green points jersey are based on a points system and not time. The only reason time would come into account would be if riders are tied on points, then it would go to who is the best placed in the general classification.

The team classification is based on the general classification times of the first three riders of a team on each stage. The time of those three riders is added up and put onto their team's time, creating a GC list much like in the individual classifications. The leading team gets to wear yellow numbers and helmets on each stage.

The final classification available is the combativity prize. This is decided by a race jury or, in more recent years, Twitter. This takes place just before the end of each stage and often goes to a rider from the breakaway who has put in a daring performance or attempted to liven up the stage by attacking. The winner of the combativity award gets to wear a special red race number on the following day's stage.

There is a final prize added to this with the Super Combativity prize being awarded on the podium in Paris. This is decided in a similar fashion to pick out the most aggressive, entertaining, and daring rider of the whole three weeks. Again, usually going to a rider who has featured regularly in the breakaway.

Stage winners do not wear anything special the day after apart from getting a small yellow jersey to stick on their number on their bike, this can be replaced if they win multiple stages.

Teams used to come to the race with nine riders but the UCI, cycling's governing body, decided that nine riders from each team was too dangerous and dropped it to eight, however more teams now take part.

How long is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France takes place over 23 days with 21 of them being race days. The riders get two days of resting; they usually fall on the second and third Monday of the race.

This year's race is 3,492km long, which is 2,170 miles, around the same distance from Washington DC to Las Vegas, or Helsinki to Lisbon. 

Road stages can range from anything around 100km to something approaching 250km, sometimes more. This year the shortest road stage is stage 20, from Nice to Col de la Couillole, with the longest being 229km on stage three in Italy, from Plaisance to Turin.

Road stages often take around four to five hours with the longer days sometimes nudging over seven hours.

Time trials are always much shorter. Team time trials have long since gone out of fashion in the world of road racing so individual time trials are the main focus these days. 

In 2024, the Tour has two individual time trials for the riders to tackle, the first on stage seven at 25km long from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, and the second on the final stage from Monaco to Nice, at 34km long.

When does the Tour de France start?

The 2024 Tour de France starts on June 29 in Florence, Italy, with a road stage. There will be three full stages in Italy, before the fourth heads into France. The race finishes in Nice three weeks later.

The 2024 edition of the race runs from 29 June - 21 July, covering 21 stages. 

Wout van Aert back on drop bars as he says he’s 'almost professional again' in Strava post

Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs in a high speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Jonas Vingegaard leaves hospital after Itzulia Basque Country horror crash

Danish rider underwent surgery to repair broken collarbone; too early to know whether Tour de France return will be possible

By Tom Thewlis Published 16 April 24

New study reveals impact of chest fairings in time trials - and it’s big

Objects stuffed in skinsuits offer ‘significant’ drag reduction and can save seconds against the clock

By Tom Davidson Published 10 April 24

Will the Tour de France be won by the last man standing?

With Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič hitting the deck at Itzulia Basque Country, all three now face battle to get their seasons back on track

By Adam Becket Published 9 April 24

Tom Pidcock unable to bear weight on right leg after Itzulia Basque Country crash

British rider crashed during recon of opening stage time trial last weekend and injured his right hip

By Tom Thewlis Published 3 April 24

Mark Cavendish to miss Scheldeprijs as illness continues to affect schedule

Cavendish will ride Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye later this month, Astana Qazaqstan confirms

By Tom Thewlis Published 2 April 24

Mathieu van der Poel not intimidated by Tadej Pogačar’s form ahead of Milan-San Remo clash

Dutchman starts his 2024 road season at Italian Monument on Saturday

By Tom Thewlis Published 15 March 24

'We're thinking about it' - drone filming might be used at the Tour de France this year

France Télévisions to discuss drone broadcasts with Tour stakeholders

By Tom Davidson Published 11 March 24

'I pulled it off and turned everything around' - Brandon McNulty on the ride that changed him

US star grabbed his first ever Grand Tour win at last year’s Giro d’Italia

By Tom Thewlis Published 8 March 24

British bid to host Tour de France Grand Départ in 2026 abandoned

UK Sport confirms that Tour Grand Départ is now merely an "opportunity" in 2027

By Jeremy Whittle Published 5 March 24

Useful links

• Giro d'Italia
• Vuelta a España

Buyer's Guides

• Best road bikes
• Best gravel bikes
• Best smart turbo trainers
• Best cycling computers
• Editor's Choice
• Bike Reviews
• Component Reviews
• Clothing Reviews
• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Cycling Weekly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Remco Evenepoel's Tour de France ambitions back on track after high-speed Itzulia crash

T hree weeks on from fracturing collarbone and scapula at Itzulia Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) is back in training in preparation for his debut at the Tour de France . 

The Belgian star posted the first activity to his Strava account since the horrific crash, which also left two-time defending Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) with a pneumothorax, broken collarbone and ribs.

“On my way back,” Evenepoel titled a 98.7km ride near into Flanders from home to the west of Brussels. 

Evenepoel's injuries are not as severe as Vingegaard, who only got out of hospital in Spain last week. He was swiftly back in Belgium for collarbone surgery and recovered quickly, convinced that he can still be ready for the Tour de France Grand Depart on June 29.

The ambitious, but realistic 24-year-old, stated earlier this season that reaching the Tour de France podium in Nice at the end of July "would be a dream come true".

Evenepoel enjoyed a final day of recovery with a trip to Britain to see Arsenal football match in London. The time trial World Champion then completed a near-three hour 98.75km ride around Schepdaal, where he grew up, at a solid average speed of 34.7km/h. 

The next step on the “#RoadToFrance” as his caption read will see him head to Sierra Nevada for an altitude camp with Soudal-QuickStep. Following this, he will be off to either the Critérium du Dauphiné or Tour de Suisse, depending on fitness, to regain his race rhythm and punch before the Tour kicks off in Florence.

Vingegaard in contrast has been ruled out of attending Visma-Lease a Bike’s upcoming training camp with an appearance at the Tour still in doubt unless he is at his best according to the Dutch team.

If the Dane is to miss out, Evenepoel and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), who also crashed out of Itzulia but without any fractures, would become the top contenders to challenge the former two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

Evenepoel’s compatriot Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) has similarly been making a return to riding on the road since crashing out of Dwars door Vlaanderen in March. The Belgian pair share the same physiotherapist who has overseen their returns to fitness.

Thijs Hertsens from LAB Antwerp is the man looking after the superstars in Belgium and his work hasn’t gone unnoticed with both men returning to the road this week. 

Van Aert was shown on video turning the pedals for the first time since his high-speed crash on Wednesday.

"After working a lot on his mobility, he [Evenepoel] is already back on track,” Hertsens told Sporza earlier this week, clearly aware of how close Evenepoel was to getting back out on the road.

Van Aert has worked with the physiotherapist since his awful crash at the 2019 Tour de France and Evenepoel since his horror incident at the 2020 Il Lombardia.

"Cyclists are hard workers by nature, so it is very pleasant to guide them,” said Hertsens.

Van Aert's goals have been derailed due to his crash but he will switch focus to the Paris Olympics where he and Evenepoel will lead a top-level Belgian team that will want to claim both the road race and the time trial.

Jonas Vingegaard wins the 2023 Tour de France

Meeus takes final stage in a photo finish with Philipsen

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) sailed through the final stage of the 2023 Tour de France to be crowned overall champion for the second year in a row.

Pogačar added to his reputation as the ' people's champion ', attacking multiple times in the final 40 kilometres but the sprinters teams shut down the cheeky moves. As the rain started to fall on the Champs Elyseés, the race judges decided to take the general classification times with one lap to go.

After a heated and seemingly even battle with Pogačar, Vingegaard put his mark on this edition of the Tour with his dominant performance on stage 16 time trial then twisted the knife on the Col de la Loze .

He tops the final podium by 7:29 ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in a duel that will go down in the history books. Pogačar’s teammate Yates finished third overall at 10:56 back.

“It's a feeling of being proud and happy - we're winning it for the second time now. It's really amazing. Today with all the Danish people here was really amazing. I have to say thanks not only to my team and family but to the whole of Denmark. They support me and I'm really grateful for this.”

“It's been a long journey but it also went by so fast. We race every day and one day takes the other. It's been a super hard race and a super good fight between me and Tadej. I enjoyed it all the way.”

Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory on the Champs-Elysées, beating Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) to the line on stage 21 to take his first stage victory of the Tour de France.

Alpecin-Deceuninck may have led the way around the final corner, but Meeus was well positioned, surfing wheels. The neophyte Tour rider, edged out the green jersey at the line by less than a wheel length to win after a chaotic sprint.

“I knew in the previous sprints that there was more possible than the result I showed so far. Today everything went perfect and I'm super happy to finish it off,” said Meeus who finished top ten in three of the previous sprint stages this year.

“I felt quite good all day. The beginning was easy obviously but from the moment we went full gas my legs felt incredibly good. Then Marco Haller did a perfect job with positioning and he was also there. I had the wheel of Pedersen and I could come out of the slipstream and catch it on the line.”

“It's my first Tour and it was a super nice experience so far. To take the win today is just an indescribable feeling.”

For the third year in a row, Pogačar swept up the white jersey, with Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) finishing as runner-up in the young rider's classification.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) claimed the polka-dot jersey beating Felix Gall (AG2R Citroen) by 14 points to the climber's award.

Philipsen had nonetheless secured the green jersey before the final stage, beating Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) by 119 points at the top of the points standings. Finally, Jumbo-Visma won the team competition ahead of UAE Team Emirates, and Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) claimed the super-combativity award after an aggressive three weeks of racing.

How it unfolded

In what is effectively a two-wheeled photo shoot on the 115.1-kilometre stage starting from the velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, a nod to the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games, to the usual finish on the Champs-Élysées, team after team took their turn on the front of the slowly pedalling bunch for the cameras.

Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) jumped off the front at the flag drop to celebrate being awarded the super-combativity trophy. He quickly sat up with a smile and rejoined the peloton.

The opening 60.6 kilometres saw the peloton pass in front of the Château de Versailles before heading to Paris via Meudon and Issy-les-Moulineaux, tackling the final climb of the race, the fourth-category Côte du Pavé des Gardes, after 42.8 kilometres.

Celebrating his polka-dot jersey, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) received a slow lead out from his Lidl-Trek teammates to take to the lone KOM point of the day.

After that – the final 54.5 kilometres of the stage once the riders pass through the finish line for the first time – the racing began in Paris, with eight laps of the finishing circuits left to decide the winner of stage 21.

The Jumbo-Visma team rode on the front gradually amping the pace as the peloton made its way to the final circuits.

The first two laps of the Champs-Élysées circuit saw a flurry of attacks from the peloton. First up the road was Pascal Eenkhoorn then his Lotto Dstny teammate Frederik Frison as each took their chance to escape.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked multiple times in the final 40 kilometres. The first time, he was joined by Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma) who sat on his wheel, refusing to work. More riders tried to jump across to the Slovenian's wheel but the lack of cooperation doomed the moves.

Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) launched the next big move, at 30 kilometers to go. He was soon joined by Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Frison. Working well together, the trio pushed their gap up to 18 seconds before being reeled in 20 kilometres later.

No organisation at the front of the peloton led to more short-lived attacks in the final lap, with speeds hitting 64 km per hour. The Jumbo-Visma team sat up to celebrate their overall victory with three kilometres to go, leaving the sprinters' teams to fight out the stage victory.

A mixture of teams – including Alpecin-Deceuninck, Lidl-Trek, Jayco-AlUla and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty – were up front heading into the final two kilometres, with no one team able to wrest control and establish a full lead out at the front.

Not done with racing, Pogačar led the final sprint onto the Champs Elysées. He was overtaken by Mathieu van der Poel leading out Philipsen. Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) went early and hit the front, forcing Philipsen to go along the barriers.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), meanwhile, went down the middle but Meeus was on his wheel and came late with a perfect bike throw to the line. He rode it perfectly, with a bike throw, while Philipsen was forced to come late and from behind.

Results powered by FirstCycling

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites. 

Belgian Waffle Ride: Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafañe win in California

Tour of the gila: wilmar paredes takes gila monster road race win, a team on fire - ben o'connor leads decathlon ag2r's search for more success at giro d'italia, most popular, latest on cyclingnews.

RideLondon Classique past winners

Pogacar could target historic Grand Tour treble in same year, says Contador

• Medium Text

Sign up here.

Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by Toby Davis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Britain's track bike for the Paris Olympics pushes technological boundaries and will give the team the best chance of continuing its domination, according to one of the design partners for the new machine officially unveiled on Monday.

Sports Chevron

Stars take Game 4, knot series with Golden Knights

Jake Oettinger made 32 saves and Ty Dellandrea scored the go-ahead goal as the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series Monday night in Las Vegas.

Football agent Saif Rubie has been found not guilty of demanding a six-figure commission for the transfer of French defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham United, British media reported on Monday.

Official games

2023 Edition

• Stage winners
• All the videos

Tour Culture

• Commitments
• key figures
• Sporting Stakes
• "Maillot Jaune" Collection
• The jerseys

Come to the Tour

Accreditations

Privacy policy, your gdpr rights.

Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel Were the Top Earners of the Spring Classics

However, stark differences in prize money distribution highlight the gender pay gap in pro cycling.

Close behind Vos and Van der Poel in earnings were Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) with €35,081 ($38,589 USD), and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) with €60,400 ($66,440 USD).

The third top earner for the women was Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek). The Italian won the Tour of Flanders and rode consistently all season. She had a payout of €31,892 ($35,081 USD) in total. She was followed by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who earned €27,970 ($30,767 USD).

On the men’s side, Van der Poel and Philipsen were followed by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who earned €41,000 ($45,100 USD), and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who earned €34,400 ($37,840 USD).

GCN reported that the prize money riders win is usually shared among teammates and members of staff. “With that in mind, one glance at the results shows that Alpecin-Deceuninck will be one happy team, with Van der Poel and Philipsen at the top of the prize money standings, collectively earning €144,900 for the team.”

And if it seems like there’s a frustratingly huge difference between what the top men make and what the top women make, there is. According to GCN , “The top 20 men earned €417,750 in prize money in the Classics. The top 20 women earned €253,076 across the same period—that’s before considering the difference in base salaries.”

But progress is (slowly) being made. Two years ago, Flanders Classics announced that they would award equal prize money to men and women at the Tour of Flanders. Then, a year later, they extended the deal to all races under their umbrella. This means that equal prize money was awarded to Vos and Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike) at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The same was true for both Wiebes and Pedersen at Ghent-Wevelgem, as well as Longo Borghini and Van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders.

Unfortunately, other organizers have yet to follow suit. According to GCN , “The biggest disparity was at Strade Bianche, where Lotte Kopecky’s winning ride earned her a measly €2,256 relative to Pogačar’s €16,000. It was a similar tale at Paris-Roubaix, where Kopecky was awarded €9,000 less than Van der Poel, and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) won €12,500 to Pogačar’s €20,000.”

Top 20 male earners in the Spring Classics

• Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €84,500
• Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €60,400
• Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): €41,000
• Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): €34,400
• Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates): €22,100
• Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers: €20,300
• Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike): €17,600
• Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech): €16,250
• Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike): €16,000
• Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla): €11,300
• Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): €11,200
• Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €10,400
• Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek): €10,200
• Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny): €9,900
• Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek): €9,700
• Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): €8,800
• Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): €8,800
• Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates): €8,500
• Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ): €8,400
• Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike): €8,000

Top 20 female earners in the Spring Classics

• Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike): €38,173
• Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime): €35,081
• Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek): €31,892
• Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): €27,970
• Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek): €24,130
• Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM): €23,226
• Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ): €12,500
• Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €9,645
• Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek): €8,094
• Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime): €7,628
• Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck): €5,586
• Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ): €4,505
• Ingvild Gåskjenn (Liv AlUla Jayco): €4,175
• Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ): €3,468
• Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €3,425
• Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny Ladies): €2,900
• Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM): €2,371
• Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ): €2,191
• Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck): €2,061
• Arlenis Sierra (Movistar): €2,030

Micah Ling is a freelance writer who lives in the mountains of Colorado. She splits her free time between mountain biking and trail running.

.css-1t6om3g:before{width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem;margin:0 0.625rem -0.125rem 0;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-background-size:1.25rem;background-size:1.25rem;background-color:#F8D811;color:#000;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-position:center;background-position:center;}.loaded .css-1t6om3g:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/bicycling/static/images/chevron-design-element.c42d609.svg);} Women's Cycling

Demi Vollering’s Future Remains Uncertain

How to Watch La Vuelta Femenina 2024

Kopecky Won’t Be Racing the Tour de France Femmes

Kristen Faulkner’s Olympic Hopes

Should We Worry About the Tour de France Femmes?

Sofía Gómez Villafañe No Es una Soñadora

Can Lightning Strike Twice for Alison Jackson?

Ellen van Dijk's Return to Racing Postpartum

Elisa Balsamo Clinches Second Trofeo Binda Title

Lotte Kopecky Wins Nokere Koerse

Separate Starts For Women at Life Time Grand Prix