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Tour de France 2014 Results: Final Standings, Overall Winner and Payout Details

Nick Akerman@NakermanX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistJuly 28, 2014

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 27:  Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Astana Pro Team celebrates victory in the yellow jersey on the podium following the twenty first stage of the 2014 Tour de France, a 138km stage from Evry into the Champs-Elysees, on July 27, 2014 in Paris, France.  (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Vincenzo Nibali enjoyed a memorable Tour de France win in Paris on Sunday night, a triumph that is set to make a lasting impression on the Italian rider's bank account.

Having previously finished third in 2012 before missing last year's centenary edition, Nibali took the Yellow Jersey ahead of Jean-Christophe Peraud. It was the largest gap between the top two since Jan Ullrich beat Richard Virenque by more than nine minutes in 1997, per BBC Sport.

To recap, let's take a look at the final standings at this year's event, which began in Leeds, England, and finished with its memorable jaunt along the Champs-Elysees:

2014 Tour de France General Classification
PositionRiderTeamTime
1Vincenzo NibaliAstana89:58:46
2Jean Christophe PeraudAG2R+7:52
3Thibaut PinotFDJ+8:24
4Alejandro ValverdeMovistar+9:55
5Tejay van GarderenBMC+11:44
6Romain BardetAG2R+11:46
7Leopold KonigNetApp+14:41
8Haimar ZubeldiaTrek+18:12
9Laurens ten DamBelkin+18:20
10Bauke MollemaTrek+21:24
LeTour.com

While the margin of victory doesn't impact on Nibali's total earnings, each rider's monetary gain is defined by both their overall success and performances throughout individual stages.

The jersey winners understandably pocketed a healthy sum for their extra efforts, as we can see below:

2014 Tour de France: Jersey Winners and Payouts
JerseyWinnerTeamPayout
YellowVincenzo NibaliAstana€400,000
GreenPeter SaganCannondale€25,000
Polka-DotRafal MajkaTinkoff-Saxo€25,000
WhiteThibaut PinotFDJ.fr€25,000
Super CombativeAlessandro De MarchiCannondale€20,000
Best TeamAg2r-La Mondiale-€50,000
roadcycling.co.nz

Nibali's winning total of €400,000 is added to by his four stages victories throughout the tour. Each landed him a further €8,000, with his second-place finish on Stage 14 adding another €4,000.

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 27:  Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and Astana Pro Team in action during the twenty first stage of the 2014 Tour de France, a 138km stage from Evry into the Champs-Elysees, on July 27, 2014 in Paris, France.  (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

His trio of third-place finishes earned €2,000 each, while Nibali's fourth on the penultimate stage topped him up with another grand.

Finishing 20th or above lands riders a minimum of €200 per day—something Nibali managed four times when outside the top quartet—reported by Road Cycling.

He also held the polka-dot jersey at the conclusion of Stage 13, producing another €2,000 payout for his work on the mountains. As such, Nibali earned well over €445,000 before his 20th-5th finishes are considered (for reference, Nibali's full results can be found here).

Understandably, the 29-year-old pinpoints the moment overall victory was confirmed as his highlight of the gruelling race, reported by LeTour.com:

Those past few days, when I was asked which one was my best moment of the Tour, I anticipated that no feeling of happiness could be compared to what we feel on the podium at the Champs-Elysees. It's even more beautiful than what I could imagine. I want to dedicate this victory to my team and my family.

LE TOUQUET-PARIS-PLAGE, FRANCE - JULY 08:  Chris Froome of Great Britain and Team Sky chases back to the peloton after being involved in a crash just afte the start of stage four of the 2014 Le Tour de France from Le Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille on July 8
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Nibali now joins an exclusive club of six riders who have captured all three Grand Tours.

His 2010 victory at the Vuelta a Espana initiated a hat-trick of victories that also saw "The Shark" push himself to success during last year's Giro d'Italia.

He has progressed solidly since entering the 2007 Giro—his first attempt at landing the major prizes—where he finished a modest 19th.

Detractors will certainly suggest the Tour de France result would have been different had Nibali's major competitors not fallen by the wayside.

Defending champion Chris Froome's crash on Stage 5 allowed Nibali a real burst of confidence between Ypres and Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, consolidating the lead before dropping it just once on Stage 9.

Bradley Wiggins' failure to make the Team Sky selection and Mark Cavendish's opening-stage crash also indicated this year's race would be open to those who could evade unnecessary trouble, something Alberto Contador will vouch for after he accumulated a fractured tibia during Stage 10, per Tom Cary of the Telegraph.

Despite crashing into a spectator's phone during Stage 18, Nibali kept it together to ease home, per NBC Sports (via Yahoo). Such incidents highlight the unpredictability of a tour that can just as easily be ended by overzealous fan interaction as a collision with other riders.

William Fotherington of the Guardian highlights Nibali's alert nature, saying he "still has the look of a young man in strange surroundings, not quite trusting those around him," a factor that perhaps made the difference.

Nibali certainly has tougher Tour de France challenges ahead of him—especially when Froome and Contador return—but he took advantage of the situation to underline himself as one of the sport's modern stars.

With the treble under his belt, he can now expect the aforementioned payout to continue rising as sponsors flock his way.