The Finances of Professional Road Cycling

Although cycling races are won by individuals, race organizers invite teams, not individual riders, to their events. Consequently, professional cyclists need to be part of cycling teams to secure access to the races they are interested in. This chapter focuses on the finances of the cycling teams. We first demonstrate how budgets of professional road cycling teams have increased substantially over the past twenty years. Then we discuss in detail cycling team costs (e.g. rider salaries, logistics) and sources of revenue (e.g. sponsorship, prize money).