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Prize money payouts meant that Mathieu van der Poel was the big winner across the spring classics in more ways than one.
Not only did MVDP win three big races across his abbreviated, six-race spring racing calendar, he also brought home the bacon.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck star was the spring king in prize money as well, topping a list across the spring classics that ran from late February through this weekend’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
According to Sporza, which added up the prize pots across the major races, the world champion pocketed nearly 80,000 euros (about $85,000) this spring. Not bad for six days of work.
Everyone knows that most top pros earn most of their money on salaries and sponsorship deals. Van der Poel recently penned a long-term deal worth well into seven figures that will make him one of cycling’s highest-paid riders in the men’s WorldTour.
Yet prize money still counts.
With victories at E3 Saxo Classic (16,000 euros), Tour of Flanders (20,000 euros), and Paris-Roubaix (30,000 euros), not to mention other top placings, including third at Liège and second at Gent-Wevelgem, Van der Poel will have some extra ching in his bank account.
Will he buy another super-car? That remains to be seen.
Mathieu van der Poel in the Monuments:
4-13-10-6-1-5-2-3-3-1-9-1-2-1-10-1-1-3
— CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) April 21, 2024
Jasper Philipsen, a winner at Milan-San Remo (20,000 euros) and Brugge De Panne (16,000 euros), along with podiums at Paris-Roubaix, Scheldeprijs, and Danilith Nokere Koerse, earned about $70,000 this spring.
A few strong rides can help fill the vault. Nils Politt enjoyed his best spring of the past few seasons, and won about $25,000 with podiums in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Tour of Flanders, and fourth at Paris-Roubaix.
Looking further down the prize list, a few star riders didn’t help the cause very much this spring, with Julian Alaphilippe, hampered with injury, only earning 1,000 euros, and Arnaud De Lie, also sidelined with injuries, cashing in 1,150 euros.
Equal pay in classics is growing
The top women riders also brought home some very nice paychecks across the past few weeks.
With Flanders Classics, the organizers of the top Flemish classics, committed to equal or raise prize money at their events, that means that the prize money payout in the one-days is significant for the women’s peloton.
Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), who hit the top-6 in every race this spring except for Gent-Wevelgem, enjoyed a big spring that saw her cashing some nice checks. She won Flanders (20,000 euros) and Brabantse Pijl, hit second at Liège (3,000 euros) and Strade Bianche, and hit the top-5 across the excellent spring campaign.
World champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) brought home 20,000 euros for winning Paris-Roubaix Femmes, and Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) won 12,500 euros Sunday in Liège.
Flanders Classics to offer equal prize money in all its spring races https://t.co/k3CzFGoIFy pic.twitter.com/ZgcteJdGeL
— The Cycle Collective (@cyclecollective) February 23, 2023
Relegations proved costly in more ways than way. Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) was relegated in a controversial decision from second on the Tour of Flanders podium to last in the first group. That jury ruling cost him 10,000 euros.
Prize money also reflects top performances.
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) punched into the top-10 earner’s list wit a haul of 17,600 euros in the spring classics, a number that does not include prize money from winning Paris-Nice in March of an additional 16.000 euros.
In cycling, prize money is typically split among teammates, with staffers, mechanics, and soigneurs also receiving a cut.
There’s a long tradition of the big winners forfeiting their entire prize pot to be shared out among the team, meaning that everyone shares a bit of financial payoff for what’s a team effort behind every singular winning performance.
Tour de France remains cycling’s biggest paycheck
How do the spring classics compare to the Tour de France?
Both the men’s and women’s edition of the “grande boucle” boast the biggest prize pots in elite racing.
In the men’s Tour, the overall winner of the maillot jaune wins €500,000, with runner-up taking home 200,000 and third receiving 100,000. The major classification winners in the Points, King of the Mountains, and the young rider’s jerseys each win 25,000 euros, and the top team’s classification earns 50,000. The total purse in 2023 was about $2.5 million.
Again, the women’s purse is lighter. For its second year in 2023, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift packed 250,000 euros ($265,000) in the total prize purse, with the overall winner earning 50,000, with second at 25,000 and third earning 10,000 euros. The Tour Femmes packs the biggest payout on the women’s WorldTour calendar.
Of course, a men’s grand tour is three weeks long, so the prize purse will naturally reflect more race days.
Top earners in the 2024 men’s spring classics
1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 79,500 euros ($84,270)
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 66,035 euros
3. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), 41,000 euros
4. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), 33,900 euros
5. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), 23,830 euros
6. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates), 22,100 euros
7. Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), 20,300 euros
8. Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), 18,905 euros
9. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), 17,600 euros
10. Stephen Williams (Israel Premier Tech), 16,000 euros