There is a huge pay gap at the sharpest peak of the professional cycling world - one man will skim the cream, exceeding the budget of the entire 30-member team of seven WorldTour teams in 2024.
That man is, of course, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who has won nine monuments, four Grand Tours and almost 100 victories, and whose base salary is 8.2 million euros. The 26-year-old Slovenian's base salary exceeds that of the next highest-earning cyclists by more than 3 million euros. However, this does not include victory bonuses, personal sponsorship deals or other fees.
Cyclingnews has compiled a comprehensive review of the top 10 highest-earning cyclists based on research. This year, the total budget of 35 professional men's cycling teams is expected to exceed €730 million, of which an estimated 45%, or €330 million, is spent on rider salaries. The average annual salary of a WorldTour rider is around €250,000, but unofficial figures suggest that over 60 riders earn a million-euro salary, with around half of them earning at least €2 million a year.
"Top riders' salaries haven't doubled, but they have increased significantly in recent years," said one agent.
The gender pay gap is still a serious problem in cycling - among the 60 cyclists who earn over a million euros per year, there are no known female cyclists.
It should also be noted that the minimum salaries for male and female WorldTour riders still differ significantly. A female rider can earn €62,320 compared to a male rider’s total of €72,404. Meanwhile, the minimum salary for female WorldTour riders with a contract is €38,000, while for men it is €44,150. The higher up the pay scale you go, the wider this gap becomes.
The estimated amounts below refer only to the riders' base salaries and do not include additional sponsorship contracts and entry fees.
TADEJ POGACAR, UAE Team Emirates-XRG: €8.2m
While he previously earned a basic salary of €6 million (as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport in January 2024), according to Cyclingnews, Pogačar has now reached €8.2 million per year.
Pogačar also has sponsorship deals with footwear brand DMT, the I feel Slovenia tourist board and Slovenian water company Jana. Some of these deals are estimated to bring him over €100,000 a year, and he can also charge similar amounts for participating in criterium races, such as the Singapore Criterium of the Tour de France, which he rode last November.
REMCO EVENEPOEL, Soudal-QuickStep: €5m
Soudal-QuickStep is known in cycling circles as a frugal team, but after Evenepoel won two Olympic gold medals last summer and finished third in his first Tour de France, the Belgian team realized it had to act to keep its superstar.
Moreover, Belgian media reported that Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe was willing to pay up to 10 million euros to buy Evenepoel out of his contract, and offer QuickStep significant compensation.
Evenepoel eventually signed a new contract with his current team, increasing his annual salary from 2.8 million to 5 million euros, with a portion of the salary coming from Specialized. However, he did not renew the contract for a fixed term, and his current contract expires at the end of the 2026 season.
Like others, Evenepoel also earns additional income from a number of personal sponsorship deals. He has become Specialized's main brand ambassador following Peter Sagan's retirement, has a deal with Pizza Hut in Belgium, and is provided with a car from a local Audi dealership.
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL, Alpecin-Deceuninck: €4.8 - €5m
The only man to consistently beat Tadej Pogačar in one-day races has also received a pay rise over the past year. His salary rose in March when he extended his contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck until 2028, taking his salary from €4 million to almost €5 million per year, according to Cyclingnews. At the same time, the Dutchman signed a ten-year deal with Canyon, but it is not known how much of his salary will come from the German bike brand.
The multi-discipline star, who holds seven world cyclo-cross titles, has been a long-time ambassador for Oakley sunglasses and has been endorsed by luxury watch brand Richard Mille since January. His partnership with sports car brand Lamborghini is reportedly purely financial - no money is exchanged, but he is given a free car.
Like Pogačar, Van der Poel can command six-figure fees for sponsorship deals and participation in criteriums, meaning his total annual income could exceed the €6 million mark.
