"This prize money with 5 million TV viewers..." - Former Cofidis manager outraged by the "pocket-money" awarded to teams at Tour de France Femmes
CyclingTuesday, 11 August 2026 at 09:00
The 2026 Tour de France Femmes was once again a tremendous organizer success with record-breaking figures in TV traffic and generated income.
Race director Marion Rousse was pleased with how the race has turned out, referring to the peak traffic of over five million spectators at the same time during the Mont Ventoux queen stage.
But with these figures in mind, former Cofidis manager Cédric Vasseur was in a loss of words for the prize money distribution published by ASO. In particular, the marginal sums of money moving to the teams; in total a little over quarter million of euros - a tenth of what was awarded during men's Tour de France.
The Frenchman did not write up a lengthy paragraph to highlight the apparent disparity, all he needed was to point it out with a brief X post "Prize money with 5 million TV viewers..." accompanied by some laughing emojis to underline the absurdity.
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The absolute winners of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes were FDJ - SUEZ with overall winner Demi Vollering cashing in €77,080. But already 8th of 21 participating teams Movistar does not even hit five figures, making the entire trip to France hardly profittable for two thirds of teams.
Five teams; Ma Petite Entreprise (€760), Liv-AlUla-Jayco (€750), Picnic PostNL (€340), Lotto Intermarché Ladies (€300), VolkerWessels (€250) have barely made enough for a pocket change.
And then there is the extreme case of French team Mayenne Monbana My Pie which finished without earning a single euro during the nine stages...
#TDFF2026 - Prize money pic.twitter.com/mpJSSxMkaQ
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) August 9, 2026
For comparison, even the worst teams of men's 2026 Tour de France have still walked away with a little over €10,000 in prize money at the end of the three weeks.
Something has to change
Vasseur's underlying message therefore is that, if a competition can attract, as reported five million viewers, he finds it difficult to accept that the amount allocated to the teams remains at just over a quarter of a million euros.
Of course, the 2026 prize money were calculated based on 2025 marketing performance. With ever-growing popularity of the women's Tour, we can only hope that the ladies will be rewarded even more generously in years to come.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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