Win the Tour de France and you get a check for Tour de France 2026 prize money of 500,000 euros. That’s the headline.
Here’s the catch: the winner barely keeps a cent of it.
Below is exactly who won what in 2026, and where all that money actually goes.
How Much Pogačar, Evenepoel and Del Toro Won
Tadej Pogačar rolled into Paris with his fifth Tour title, equaling the all-time record. For the overall win he banked the yellow-jersey prize of 500,000 euros (about $540,000).
Remco Evenepoel took second and 200,000 euros (roughly $216,000). Isaac del Toro rounded out the podium in third for 100,000 euros, plus another 20,000 euros for winning the white jersey as best young rider.
But those GC figures only tell part of the story. Add in stage wins, days spent in yellow, and special climb prizes, and the real totals climb higher. Pogačar personally racked up 611,980 euros across the three weeks. Evenepoel accrued 247,800 euros, and del Toro 155,450 euros.
Here’s how the top of the general classification paid out:
| Place | Rider | GC prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | €500,000 |
| 2 | Remco Evenepoel | €200,000 |
| 3 | Isaac del Toro | €100,000 |
| 4 | Paul Seixas | €70,000 |
| 5 | Lenny Martinez | €50,000 |
| 6 | Mattias Skjelmose | €23,000 |
| 7 | Juan Ayuso | €11,500 |
| 8 | Richard Carapaz | €7,600 |
| 9 | Tom Pidcock | €4,500 |
| 10 | Jordan Jegat | €3,800 |
The drop-off is steep. First place earns almost a quarter of the entire prize pot on its own.
The Jersey Prizes: Green, Polka-Dot and White
The yellow jersey isn’t the only shirt that pays. Each of the other classifications comes with its own reward.
Mads Pedersen took the green jersey as the fastest, most consistent sprinter and earned 25,000 euros. Richard Carapaz won the polka-dot jersey as King of the Mountains for the same 25,000 euros, then added 20,000 more for the overall combativity award. Del Toro’s white jersey was worth 20,000 euros.
| Jersey | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| Green (points) | Mads Pedersen | €25,000 |
| Polka-dot (mountains) | Richard Carapaz | €25,000 |
| White (young rider) | Isaac del Toro | €20,000 |
Then there are the daily rewards. Every stage winner pockets 11,000 euros, and simply wearing the yellow jersey pays 500 euros a day. Pogačar wore it for 16 days and won five stages, so the small prizes stack up fast.
Read more: How fast does the peleton really go?
Which Team Won the Most: UAE’s €832,750 Haul
Prize money at the Tour isn’t really an individual contest. It’s a team one, and one squad crushed everyone.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG hauled in 832,750 euros (about $900,000), more than a third of the entire pot and over three times the next team down. That total came from Pogačar’s 500,000-euro win, del Toro’s 100,000 for third and 20,000 for the white jersey, six stage victories at 11,000 euros each, and a chunk of team-classification cash.
The full pot handed out was 2,300,600 euros, split across all 23 teams by results. Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe finished a distant second on 288,160 euros, most of it from Evenepoel’s runner-up ride. Lidl-Trek took third with 204,870 euros.
| Team | Prize money |
|---|---|
| UAE Team Emirates-XRG | €832,750 |
| Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe | €288,160 |
| Lidl-Trek | €204,870 |
| Decathlon CMA CGM | €165,530 |
| EF Education-EasyPost | €124,160 |
| Alpecin-Premier Tech | €87,840 |
At the other end, Picnic PostNL went home with just 12,770 euros for three weeks of racing.
Does the Winner Actually Keep the Money?
So does Pogačar actually pocket that half a million? Mostly, no.
The money the race organizer, ASO, pays out doesn’t go to the rider. It goes to the team, then gets shared out. In cycling the tradition runs deep: the pot is split not just among the riders but among the support staff too. The mechanics, the soigneurs, the domestiques who spent three weeks burying themselves in the wind.
Read more: How do pros pee during the TdF?
On top of that, Grand Tour winners traditionally give up their own share entirely. It’s the champion’s thank-you to the crew who built the win, and reporting on Pogačar’s winnings frames them exactly that way.
So the domestique who never once raised his arms still goes home with a slice of the yellow jersey. That’s the part the prize tables never show. The 500,000-euro check is real, but by the time it’s shared, taxed, and handed around, the guy on the podium often keeps the least.
Tax, Salary and Why €500,000 Isn’t That Much
Even before it’s shared, the headline number shrinks. Prize money is taxable income, subject to French withholding on the day plus whatever the rider owes back home. Nobody banks the full sticker price.
And for a superstar, 500,000 euros is small change. Pogačar’s annual salary is reported in the multiple millions, so his Tour prize is a rounding error next to his paycheck. The trophy and the fifth title mean far more to him than the money.
For a domestique or a team mechanic, though, the math flips. A share of an 832,750-euro team haul is a serious bonus on top of a modest salary. That’s why the sharing tradition matters so much, and why nobody grumbles about it.
The Smaller Prizes You Never Hear About
The peloton chases cash all day long, not just at the finish line. A whole web of small prizes keeps riders attacking.
- Combativity award: 2,000 euros per stage, plus 20,000 for the overall “super-combatif” (Carapaz)
- First over the Tourmalet and Galibier: 5,000 euros each (Pogačar and Carapaz)
- Intermediate sprints: 1,500, 1,000 and 500 euros for the top three
- Best teammate: 3,000 euros
- First rider to 50 mountain points: 5,000 euros
None of it is life-changing on its own. But it’s why you’ll see a rider bury himself to be first over a summit that has nothing to do with the overall win.
Common Questions
How much did Tadej Pogačar win at the 2026 Tour de France?
Pogačar earned 500,000 euros for winning the general classification, the headline yellow-jersey prize.
Counting his five stage wins, 16 days in yellow, and climb bonuses, his total prize accrual reached 611,980 euros.
In practice, that money is shared with his UAE team rather than kept personally.
Do Tour de France riders keep their prize money?
Usually not much of it.
Prize money is paid to the team, then traditionally split among all the riders and support staff, including mechanics and soigneurs. Grand Tour winners typically give up their own share to the teammates who helped them win.
How is Tour de France prize money divided among the team?
Race organizer ASO pays each team based on results. The team then divides the pot internally by its own custom, spreading it across riders and staff.
The exact split isn’t set by the race, so it varies from team to team.
Is Tour de France prize money taxed?
Yes. Prize winnings are treated as taxable income, subject to French withholding when paid out and to each rider’s own tax obligations at home.
The amount a rider actually banks is lower than the headline figure ASO announces.
