In cycling – for both men and women – there has never been as much money as there is now, noted the portal Cyclingnews in its analysis. This is despite the fact that the European economy is not going through its best period and cycling remains a European-centric sport.
Last year, the average budget for World Tour teams was 25 million euros, compared to 18 million in 2019. The average World Tour cyclist earns 501,000 euros per year, or nearly 42,000 euros per month, according to the international governing body UCI. The emergence of the first millionaire in women's cycling is anticipated, although some believe it has already happened.
According to UCI data, the 18 World Tour teams spent a total of 226.5 million euros on salaries last year, with an average of 12.6 million of each team's budget (maximum limit of 30 riders) allocated to wages. The richest team, UAE Team Emirates XRG, contributed 27.3 million to salaries, while Rein Taaramäe's former employer, Intermarché-Wanty, maintained the most modest line with 5.2 million.
This year, the numbers have increased as several stars have renewed their contracts. According to Cyclingnews, Tadej Pogačar, who won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France last year and was crowned world champion, now earns 8 million instead of 6 million, and Remco Evenepoel's salary rose from 2 million to 4.5-5 million. Jonas Vingegaard earns 5 million, Mathieu van der Poel 4 million, and Wout van Aert and Primož Roglič 3.5 million annually.
"Every team has at least two riders with an annual salary of one million euros, some have seven or eight men," said João Correia, an agent from Corso Management. He added that there are a total of 75-100 riders in the teams who earn at least a million per year, and 30 men who receive at least 2 million.
Alex Carera, a representative from A&J All Sports, adds: "We have 22 major clubs, and each team has an average of three riders who earn a million annually. So, we have a total of about 65 riders with salaries of one million euros."
These millionaires are the ones driving up the average salary of 501,000 euros; according to agents, the median salary ranges between 250,000-300,000 per year.
