Earlier we looked at what an athlete actually earns when winning an Olympic medal, but now we take a look at the Tour de France. Even though Belgian Wout van Aert didn’t win the yellow jersey – he wasn’t aiming for that either of course – he was perhaps the most successful rider of the past three weeks. But apart from all the jerseys and victories, what did he actually earn in terms of prize money?
His three day victories alone earned him a total of 33,000 euros. Because he wore the green jersey for no less than nineteen stages, he could add another 5,700 euros. He eventually won that green jersey as well and that earned him another 25,000 euros. The three days he rode around in the yellow jersey were good for 1500 euros and because Van Aert finished fifth in the mountain classification, he collected another 3500 euros.
Van Aert’s fighting spirit was also well-rewarded; having been named the most combative rider of the past Tour de France, the Belgian received another 20,000 euros. In addition, Van Aert earned 1,500 euros each for several intermediate sprints won, was also named most combative rider on some days (2,000 euros each) and earned some more money with several top 10 finishes.
In total, Van Aert earned, purely in prize money, more than 130,000 euros during the Tour de France.
