Tour de France prize money: Chris Froome has already earned €22,000 this year in pursuit of biggest ever reward of €500,000
The largest monetary reward in Tour de France history is on offer to this year’s cyclists, with €500,000 from a €2,295,850 prize money pool is paid out to the overall winner.
The Tour has increased its winners’ reward for the first time this decade, boosting the total take home by €50,000 from €450,000.
As well as dishing out rewards to racers based on their overall classification, prize money is awarded after each stage when a winner will receive €11,000.
Largely thanks to the heroics of Chris Froome who won the Tour for a second time, Team Sky earned a total of €556,630 last year.
Froome himself was paid the bumper €450,000 prize, but prize money earned by racers is usually shared amongst the team who help lift them to the podium.
Read more: Tour de Farce — Froome extends lead despite being forced to run
The 31-year-old British Olympian has already earned €21,160 from single stage prize money alone and is holder of the yellow jersey, meaning he leads the general classification.
Whoever holds the yellow jersey receives €500 for every day they do so while €300 is paid to the owners of the green jersey — awarded to the leader on points and currently held by Pete Sagan of Tinkoff — and the white and red polka-dot jersey — awarded to the best mountain climber and currently held by — Thomas De Gendt of Lotto Soudal.
The overall winner on points and the ultimate king of the mountains will both be paid €25,000.
Froome has held the yellow jersey since winning stage eight, despite appearing to lose it after falling off his bike in a crash on stage 12 and being forced to run for a portion of the race.
A race jury later awarded Froome the same time as Bauke Mollema who had been involved in the crash but could continue cycling.
Froome increased his lead at the top of the general classification on stage 13 with a second placed finish that gives him a one minute and 47 second lead ahead of Mollema.