Tour De France Prize Money 2014

A gruelling cycling race like the Tour de France has to be riden out of a love and passion for the sport. 198 riders will start the 2014 Tour de France with various different objectives for individual and team glory.

The complexity of cycling as a team sport means that a rider might not have the opportunity to be successful everyday. Especially if they're working as a domestique for a team leader who's in a position to win one of the prestigious jerseys. Some days a rider will be working for the team but on some occasions they may have the opportunity to go for personal glory.

As with any huge international sporting event, the Tour de France has a large pot of prize money for it's various competitions.

During a 3 week long Grand Tour like the Tour de France there will be 21 days of racing. At the end of each stage there has to be a victor whether the stage ends up in a bunch finish where the strongest of sprinter can be victorious. Or atop a high mountain pass where the best climbers are in their element.

The 2014 Tour De France has a total prize pot for stage wins of €475,000 which breaks down to €22,500 for each road stage and €25,000 for the team time trial. This prize money goes down on a sliding scale based on race positions to €200 for 20th spot on the day.

For many riders the pinnacle of their career might be just one stage win at the Tour de France. They could be a loyal domestique who has been allowed a day off from protecting their team leader or simply an opportunistic rider who gets into the right breakaway on the right day.

If you've slaved your way through the Tour de France you get a small bonus of €400 and the knowledge that you've survived arguably the toughest, most grueling sporting event on the planet.

The main battle in the Tour de France is the quest to win the general classification. The Yellow Jersey as the leader of the Tour de France is one of the most recognisable sporting vests the world over.

Officially the winner of the general classification in Paris will receive € 450,000 as the overall winner. However traditionally the rider never pockets this money. It is given to his team by the winning rider in lieu of the efforts and work done to achieve their status as the victor. The winner of the Tour de France will have the opportunities to make a significant sum of money more than this figure in endorsements, sponsorship and post Tour win exhibition events.

The winner received €450,000 and the prize money goes down on a sliding scale down to the 19th place rider earning €1,000 for their efforts.

The yellow jersey of the Tour de France is sponsored by LCL- Le Credit Lyonaise.

The prestigious sprinters green jersey is a target for riders like Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish who are specialists when a stage ends in a bunch gallop at speeds around 50 miles an hour.

The overall winner of the green jersey at the Tour nets €25,000 for their efforts with riders achieving a €300 bonus for every day they spend in the green jersey and €800 for every intermediate sprint win on the roads to Paris.

The Green Jersey competition is sponsored by PMU, the French national betting organisation.

For the riders that thrive when the roads of France snake upwards in the Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central, the king of the mountains classification might be a goal within their reach. The iconic red dots on a white background is instantly recognisable in the bunch. Points for this classification are awarded atop some of the iconic climbs of France and at finishes at the top of hills and mountains.

The overall winner of the mountains classification earns a prize of €25,000 with prizes on a sliding scale down to 8th position in the rankings. Riders can also earn up to €800 euros per classified climb for being the first rider over the top.

The Polka Dot Jersey is sponsored by the Carrefour supermarket chain.

The White Jersey is awarded to the best placed rider under 26 years of age based on their general classification ranking. The prize for winning the White Jersey for young riders is €20,000 euros.

The combativity award is a subjective award that is presented to the rider deemed to be the most aggressive who has animated a particular day of racing. The jury for the award is made up of a number of specialists and former racers. An award of €20,000 euros is presented to the most aggressive rider in the whole race with daily prizes of around €500 to the most combative rider on each day.

The combativity award is sponsored by Antargaz and is showcased by riders sporting a red number instead of the standard white the following day to showcase their previous riding.

Another classification which is looked upon strongly by many teams in the Tour de France is the Team Classification. The positions are calculated using the best three riders' times from each stage with the exception of the team time-trial event.

The winning team earns themselves €50,000 with decreasing scales to lower placed teams. The team prize is sponsored by RAGT Semences this year.