Who are the world’s highest-paid cyclists in 2026? Pogacar on top; INEOS overpaying; Seixas far from the top
Cycling
The cycling market continues to move millions, and the salaries of the peloton’s leading stars show just how much the sport’s financial landscape has changed. Tadej Pogacar tops the 2026 list of the 50 highest-paid riders, with an estimated gross annual salary of €8.2 million, putting him well ahead of the rest.
The Slovenian once again confirms his status as the sport’s leading figure, both on the road and commercially, in a discipline that demands ever-greater investment.
The ranking compiled by How to Turn Pro lists gross base salaries for the 2026 season, before tax and excluding bonuses, prize money and income from personal sponsors - they are estimates. It also distinguishes between published figures, media estimates and amounts calculated using models, an important detail when interpreting the differences between riders. Not all contracts are equally transparent, so some figures should be treated as approximations.
Beyond Pogacar’s dominance, the list highlights the financial differences between the leading World Tour teams, the importance of long-term contracts and the value teams place on particular rider profiles.
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Netcompany INEOS each have several riders among the best paid, while other teams have also made major investments in young talent.

Tadej Pogacar ranks as the best paid rider in the peloton currently
Pogacar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard lead the million-euro elite
Tadej Pogacar holds an almost unassailable position at the top of the ranking. The UAE Team Emirates XRG leader earns €8.2 million gross per season and is under contract until 2032. His lead over second-placed Remco Evenepoel is €1.6 million.
The Belgian earns €6.6 million at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and is contracted through 2028, making him the peloton’s second-biggest financial draw. Both riders combine top-level performances with strong media appeal and enormous commercial value for their teams.
Jonas Vingegaard occupies third place, earning €5 million a year at Visma | Lease a Bike under a contract that runs until 2028. The Dane’s results in Grand Tours and status as Pogacar’s main rival over three weeks secure his place among the sport’s top earners.
Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Aert and Primoz Roglic follow on €4 million each. The Dutchman is contracted to Alpecin-Premier Tech until 2028, while the Slovenian earns the same amount at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe under a deal that expires in 2026. Van Aert has a lifetime deal with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
INEOS features many of the best paid in the peloton
Netcompany INEOS, according to the estimate, has eighth of the best paid 50 riders in the peloton, despite only placing eighth in the in the UCI rankings. Oscar Onley ranks out as the team's top rider, earning €3.1 million euros. Both Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodríguez, two riders who have not performed over the past few years as they had in the past, earn €2.5 million euros a year.
Filippo Ganna, who is now departing the team mid-contract towards Lidl-Trek, would be earning €2 million a year. Similarly, the also mid-contract departing Sam Welsford would've been earning up to €1.4 million a year and is part of the Top50.
Aside from these, several others riders featuring in the list, with Dorian Godon and Magnus Sheffield (who is leaving towards Uno-X Mobility) earning €1.4 million a year alongside Welsford; Whilst Thymen Arensman is also part of the Top50 with €1.3 million a year.
Paul Seixas not part of the rankings
Paul Seixas signed a deal with Decathlon CMA CGM Team at the start of 2025, and hence his salary is not reported as being part of the Top50, taking into consideration how his potential at the time was nowhere near his current position in the peloton. An estimate, but Seixas should enter the rankings immediately with a position in the Top5 once there is an update on the numbers.
His teammates Olav Kooij and Tobias Lund Andresen are very prominently features however, as two of the best paid sprinters in the peloton, having signed with the French team with salaries of €3 and €1.8 million euros respectively.
Matthew Brennan’s position also stands out. At just 21, he ranks 23rd on €2.2 million. Visma - Lease a Bike has secured his future until 2029, a deal that underlines the importance of retaining young talent before it reaches its sporting peak. Isaac del Toro is another example: he ranks 21st among riders by team and 31st overall, earning €2 million and contracted to UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2031. The Mexican is one of the peloton’s brightest prospects, and his salary reflects the expectations surrounding his development, which came to fruition in 2026.
Among the specialists, Jasper Philipsen also stands out in seventh place on €3.2 million, while Mads Pedersen earns €2.5 million at Lidl-Trek. Filippo Ganna earns €2 million, as does Biniam Girmay at NSN Cycling Team. Other riders, including Jonathan Milan (€2.3 million), Florian Lipowitz (€2.2 million), Lenny Martinez (€2 million) and Felix Gall (€1.8 million), complete a line-up of established winners, young prospects and riders yet to fulfil their potential. By team, Netcompany INEOS has eight representatives in the top 50, while UAE Team Emirates XRG and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe also feature prominently.
The standings show where professional cycling’s biggest investments are concentrated, but they do not directly reflect results on the road. Some contracts reward long careers, others reflect future potential, and several account for the commercial value of high-profile riders.
Differences between published salaries and market estimates also mean the figures should be treated with caution. Pogačar dominates both on and off the road, but the situations behind him are far more varied. The question remains: does the list of the 50 highest-paid riders in 2026 really show who the peloton’s best riders are, or does it also reflect expectations, potential and each rider’s marketing power?
Read also
The 50 biggest WorldTour contracts
| Position | Rider | Team | Age | Salary | Contract |
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 28 | €8.2m | 2032 |
| 2 | Remco Evenepoel | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 26 | €6.6m | 2028 |
| 3 | Jonas Vingegaard | Visma | Lease a Bike | 29 | €5m | 2028 |
| 4 | Mathieu van der Poel | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 31 | €4m | 2028 |
| 5 | Primož Roglič | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 37 | €4m | 2026 |
| 6 | Wout van Aert | Visma | Lease a Bike | 32 | €4m | — |
| 7 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 28 | €3.2m | 2028 |
| 8 | Oscar Onley | Netcompany INEOS | 24 | €3.1m | 2029 |
| 9 | Olav Kooij | Decathlon CMA CGM | 25 | €3m | 2028 |
| 10 | Juan Ayuso | Lidl-Trek | 24 | €3m | 2030 |
| 11 | Christophe Laporte | Visma | Lease a Bike | 33 | €2.8m | 2029 |
| 12 | Adam Yates | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 34 | €2.7m | 2028 |
| 13 | Egan Bernal | Netcompany INEOS | 29 | €2.5m | 2029 |
| 14 | Carlos Rodríguez | Netcompany INEOS | 25 | €2.5m | 2027 |
| 15 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl-Trek | 30 | €2.5m | 2029 |
| 16 | Tao Geoghegan Hart | Lidl-Trek | 31 | €2.5m | 2026 |
| 17 | Jai Hindley | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 30 | €2.5m | 2028 |
| 18 | João Almeida | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 28 | €2.5m | 2028 |
| 19 | Richard Carapaz | EF Education-EasyPost | 33 | €2.3m | 2028 |
| 20 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl-Trek | 26 | €2.3m | 2028 |
| 21 | Jonathan Milan | Lidl-Trek | 26 | €2.3m | 2029 |
| 22 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 26 | €2.2m | 2029 |
| 23 | Matthew Brennan | Visma | Lease a Bike | 21 | €2.2m | 2029 |
| 24 | Jhonatan Narváez | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 29 | €2.2m | 2029 |
| 25 | Sepp Kuss | Visma | Lease a Bike | 32 | €2.2m | 2027 |
| 26 | Lenny Martinez | Bahrain Victorious | 23 | €2m | 2027 |
| 27 | Filippo Ganna | Netcompany INEOS | 30 | €2m | 2027 |
| 28 | Biniam Girmay | NSN Cycling Team | 26 | €2m | 2028 |
| 29 | Aleksandr Vlasov | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 30 | €2m | 2027 |
| 30 | Maxim van Gils | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 26 | €2m | 2027 |
| 31 | Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 22 | €2m | 2031 |
| 32 | Ben O'Connor | Jayco AlUla | 30 | €1.9m | 2026 |
| 33 | Brandon McNulty | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 28 | €1.9m | 2030 |
| 34 | Tobias Lund Andresen | Decathlon CMA CGM | 24 | €1.8m | 2028 |
| 35 | Felix Gall | Decathlon CMA CGM | 28 | €1.8m | 2026 |
| 36 | Enric Mas | Movistar Team | 31 | €1.7m | 2029 |
| 37 | Axel Zingle | Visma | Lease a Bike | 27 | €1.7m | 2027 |
| 38 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 34 | €1.7m | 2028 |
| 39 | Arnaud de Lie | Lotto Intermarché | 24 | €1.7m | 2026 |
| 40 | Paul Lapeira | Decathlon CMA CGM | 26 | €1.7m | 2027 |
| 41 | Orluis Aular | Movistar Team | 30 | €1.6m | 2028 |
| 42 | Kaden Groves | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 27 | €1.5m | 2026 |
| 43 | Laurence Pithie | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 24 | €1.4m | 2027 |
| 44 | Benoît Cosnefroy | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 31 | €1.4m | 2028 |
| 45 | Magnus Sheffield | Netcompany INEOS | 24 | €1.4m | 2026 |
| 46 | Dorian Godon | Netcompany INEOS | 30 | €1.4m | 2028 |
| 47 | Sam Welsford | Netcompany INEOS | 30 | €1.4m | 2026 |
| 48 | Tim Wellens | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 35 | €1.3m | 2027 |
| 49 | Matthew Riccitello | Decathlon CMA CGM | 24 | €1.3m | 2028 |
| 50 | Thymen Arensman | Netcompany INEOS | 26 | €1.3m | 2027 |

Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
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- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- TADEJ POGAČAR !!! "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness looks like: We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating smelly mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling "fans" that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- Ayuso has had enough time. He's always going to be a mediocre to good cyclist... nothing special or astonishing. But he does have many excuses, just like Remco, but Remco delivers good wins on occasions, Ayuso doesn't. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- I agree, Johan Bruyneel made big mistakes, he was involved in the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports... BUT NEVERTHELESS... Bruyneels analysis on bike racing and cyclists is among the best. That's a fact... period!!! I love listening to Spencer Martin and Johan on WEDU-THE MOVE PODCAST, but I don't care about Armstrong and Hincapie. They are both american bull shi***s who like to exaggerate and talk nonsense.PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
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