The Tour de France Femmes in numbers: stunning stages but some unimpressive wages
There’s lots to be excited about…as long as you look past the prize money and riders' wages
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Eight stunning stages, 144 riders, the richest prize purse of the year, and world-wide coverage.
The 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is shaping up to be a great showcasing of women’s cycling, and one we’ve been pushing for since the last official women’s Tour de France was discontinued after 1989.
As we’re counting down the final hours until the women’s peloton rolls from the Eiffel Tower start line, here are some facts and figures — both good and cringe-worthy.
The Good
- 8 beautiful stages, containing both flat sprint and mountain top finishes, cobbles and gravel sectors, city streets and country lanes. Making up the tour are:
- 4 flat stages
- 2 hilly stages
- 2 mountain stages
- 1033.6 kilometers in total with
- 23 climbs and a total elevation gain of 13,140 meters
- 1,336 meters = the altitude of Grand Ballon, the highest point of the Tour de France Femmes
- 175.6 kilometres (109.1 miles) = the longest stage — stage 5 — and also the longest professional women's road race stage in modern history.
- 144 riders from 24 teams
- 32 riders vying for the white Best Young Rider jersey
- 300 staff, including
- 8 female Sports Directors: Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx), Ina Teutenberg (Trek-Segafredo), Jolien D’Hoore (AG Insurance NXTG), Lieselot Decroix (Jumbo-Visma), Joanna Kiesanowski (Human Powered Health), Heidi van der Vijver (Plantura-Pura), Alexandra Greenfield ( Uno-X), Charlotte Bravard (St. Michel Auber 93).
- 5 continents and 190 countries will have live broadcasting, offering
- 2.5 hours of daily coverage
- 100% of the Skoda fleet of cars is electric or hybrid
The Grey Area
- €250,000 in prize money. While this may be the richest prize purse of the year for the women’s peloton, it pales in comparison to the men’s €2.2 million prize pot.
- The men's winner alone — likely Jonas Vingegaard— will walk away with €500,000, while the women's winner on the top of La Planche des Belles Filles at the end of stage 8 will get a mere tenth of that: €50,000.
- The races traverses across just 3 regions —Ile-de-France, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte — making it more of a Tour of Northeast France rather than a full country tour. But on the bright side, that means no long transfer days either.
The Bad
Out of the 24 teams on the start line, 14 of them are official UCI WorldTour (WWT) teams. The others are UCI Pro Continental teams.
In women's cycling, the UCI dictates that WWT must pay their riders a minimum salary of €27,500 ( for employed) or €45,000 (for self-employed a.k.a independent contractors). Continental teams, however, have no such obligations and many riders in the pro peloton remain unpaid.
With that in mind, Cycling Weekly spoke to The Cyclists' Alliance, an international independent union for female cyclists that provides holistic support to female cyclists during and after their careers. The entity also conducts an annual, anonymous survey on salary, contracts and working conditions of professional female cyclists.
The latest survey collected salary data across more than 40 road cycling teams in 2022, many of which —if not all— will be at the starting line on Sunday.
Cycling Weekly was told that while some Continental team riders do receive a salary that matches the minimum wage requirements of a Women’s World Tour, that percentage is rather small.
Only 10 to 15 percent of Continental riders received a salary that was equivalent to the WWT minimum salary. Based on their survey results, around 60 percent of non- WWT professional cyclists do not get paid at all.
With a look at the start list for the Tour de France Femmes specifically, it's safe to extrapolate that 40 percent of the Continental teams in the TdFF appear to pay their riders less than a living minimum wage. Many of these riders pay less than €15,000, less than €5,000 or nothing at all.
Now these sobering numbers aren't meant to dampen anyone's celebration of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. If anything, they're meant to inform and raise awareness about the need for more big scale and widely broadcasted women's events such as this. It's also why this race is being touted so much by teams, sponsors and media alike.
The Tour de France is the most recognizable and celebrated cycling event in the world. For the women's peloton this is their moment to shine and showcase their talent, dedication and expertise. More importantly, it's a huge opportunity for exposure, which is crucial in attracting more sponsorship funding (for better salaries!), future talent and fans.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.
Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist.
-
-
Developing great bike racers and good people - Jonathan Vaughters and Rusty Miller have big goals for the EF Education-ONTO junior program
In partnering with the ONTO Junior Racing Program, EF Education becomes the only WorldTour program with a junior team.
By Jessica Alexander • Published
-
Wout van Aert v. Mathieu van der Poel - a truly rare and iconic sporting rivalry
As the duo continue to trade blows on the biggest of stages, their rivalry will go down in history as one of cycle racings greatest
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Women’s WorldTour calendar 'a mess' and 'a nonsense' says Movistar boss
The UCI must invest in the bottom of the pyramid to ensure the sport’s future says Sebastián Unzué
By Owen Rogers • Published
-
No win for Jonas Vingegaard? Cycling Weekly's bold predictions for the 2023 season
With under a fortnight until the WorldTour kicks off this year, it is time to take a look into our crystal ball
By Adam Becket • Published
-
From the World Championships to Paris-Roubaix: Cycling Weekly's wins of 2022
It is hard to look past Annemiek van Vleuten, but we tried, so here is the best win of the year, plus nine more
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Annemiek van Vleuten to target Vuelta-Tour-Giro treble again next season
The Dutchwoman plans to retire at the end of 2023
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
13 years, 956km and 59 minutes: The Tour de France 2023 routes in numbers
The facts and the figures behind the men's and women's races next summer
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Don't miss these three stages of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes
The eight-stage route promises high drama, no more so than on these three days
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Annemiek van Vleuten ready for time trial and Tourmalet on 2023 Tour de France Femmes route
"I’m happy that there is no gravel" says defending champion
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Tour de France Femmes 2023 route reaches new heights with Tourmalet and time trial
The HC climb headlines the route, with an individual time trial introduced for the first time
By Tom Davidson • Last updated