Tour de France Femmes: Equal rights?

Demi Vollering can handle disappointment. Shortly after losing the Tour de France Femmes last year by just four seconds in arguably the most dramatic finish in the Tour's 122-year history, she answered reporters' questions. "It was very painful when I realized it wasn't enough," Vollering said at the time , bursting into tears shortly afterward , only to recover seconds later and add that her mind was on a cancer support initiative during her fight for the yellow jersey and that, because of that, she "will never give up."

Never before has the Tour de France been decided by such a close margin, either for men or women, as it was last year between Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and the Dutchwoman Vollering, but the latter has long been looking ahead. After her victory at the Vuelta a España in May, which she dedicated to all those struggling with mental health issues , she is already looking ahead to the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday and which she is determined to win again after her triumph in 2023. A second Tour de France victory is her "most important goal this season."

But there's another issue that concerns her: inequality. Compared to their male counterparts, female professional cyclists earn significantly less, and this irks the Dutchwoman from Team FDJ-SUEZ. At the spring classic Milan-Sanremo, Vollering criticized the fact that the prize money was "only eleven percent of that of the men": "That's a huge difference, and that's very disappointing. There's still a lot to be done."

The Tour winner receives ten times as much as the Tour winner

This difference also exists in the Tour de France: The winner receives 500,000 euros in prize money , while the female winner receives only 50,000 euros . When asked about this, the director of the Tour de France reacted defensively. "The question about prize money has been with me since the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, and to be honest, it's a bit annoying," Marion Rousse said in a DW interview.

"It's difficult to compare a race with 21 days of racing with one with nine days," argues Rousse, pointing to the additional revenue from sponsorship and TV money generated by longer stage races. "If you compare the Tour de France Femmes with men's races of similar length, the picture is different: Compared to Paris-Nice or the Critérium du Dauphiné, the prize money for the women's Tour is higher than for the men's." In fact, the prize money for these similarly long men's races is lower: In both Paris-Nice and the Critérium du Dauphiné , the winner receives €16,000.

Top earners: Pogacar is said to earn 8.2 million euros, Vollering around 900,000

Salary inequality is especially prevalent. Male cyclists can earn significantly more than female cyclists. According to information from the website Cyclingnews, there is a significant gap between women and men among the top earners alone.

The top 3 highest-earning men in cycling are:

1. Tadej Pogacar: 8.2 million euros
2. Remco Evenepoel: 5 million euros
3. Mathieu van der Poel: 5 million euros

The top 3 highest-earning female professional cyclists are:

1. Demi Vollering: over 900,000 euros
2. Lotte Kopecky: 900,000 euros
3. Elisa Longo-Borghini: a good 800,000

However, the salaries of the top female riders have apparently risen significantly recently. The fact that the women's race is being upgraded is also evident in the number of stages: The Tour de France Femmes has become longer and now spans nine days instead of eight for the first time – but this still includes less than half the 21 stages of the men's Tour. A first step, but not enough, some criticize: Many female riders have long wanted an even longer, two-week Tour de France Femmes and generally longer race distances , similar to the men's.

Marion Rousse, head of the Tour de France Femmes, nevertheless sees the one-day extension as "a strong message to women's cycling." "Our race is still very young, it's only its fourth edition. But you can already see the development; the Tour is getting harder."

Ricarda Bauernfeind agrees. "A lot has happened. We now have nine stages, and they're getting longer and more challenging. And we're riding on famous mountains; we're riding through almost all of France. I think we're getting closer to the men. This development is very, very positive," the 25-year-old German from Team Canyon-Sram zondacrypto told DW. The mountain specialist, who will be a key supporter for defending champion Niewiadoma-Phinney, had her breakthrough at the Tour de France when she won a stage in 2023. "That was my greatest success. I simply associate so many emotions with it, because it's the biggest race in women's cycling."

Ricarda Bauernfeind: "The gap is simply still too big"

However, Ricarda Bauernfeind argues that the Tour should also take on this pioneering role in terms of prize money. "Sure, the men ride longer and therefore achieve more. But the Tour de France serves as a role model for all other races. And only ten percent of the prize money compared to the men's race – the gap is simply still too big." Other races, such as the Tour of Flanders, are already further ahead in this regard because the organizers have equalized the prize money between women and men .

Media presence has always been an important financial factor. TV and streaming minutes create an advertising environment. Higher ratings and social media reach generate revenue and make the event attractive to additional sponsors. While the women's and men's Tour de France are broadcast in 190 countries, a closer look reveals significant differences: French television shows around 20 hours of the Tour de France Femmes live on television , but a good 100 hours of the men's race .

This is not only due to the longer race, but also to the fact that the Tour de France is broadcast in its entirety, while the coverage of the Tour de France Femmes only begins during the race. From Ricarda Bauernfeind's perspective, this has very concrete consequences: "The smaller teams don't get any TV time because sometimes only the last hour or hour and a half is shown. With a broadcast from the beginning, smaller teams can also show themselves and present their sponsors. That would be enormously beneficial for the team and also for the riders' pay."

Rousse: "Moved behind the trucks"

At least the Tour de France Femmes is catching up in terms of ratings. While the men's Tour de France reaches peak ratings of 6.3 million viewers in the host country, the women's race reached a whopping 3.5 million viewers for the dramatic finale in 2024 up to Alpe d'Huez . And interest from host cities and towns along the route is also increasing significantly, reports Marion Rousse: "Now, in 90 percent of cases, we receive applications from cities applying for both races in the same letter: the men's and the women's Tour. This is a change that is taking place; we are truly on the right track."

Another important step in the development of women's cycling was the introduction of a minimum wage: Female cyclists in the top league (World Tour) must receive at least €38,000 per year, while new professionals receive just under €32,000. The gap between men and women is smaller, with the minimum wage being €42,000 there and €34,000 for new professionals. For Marion Rousse, it's all a matter of perspective.

When she was a professional cyclist a good ten years ago, she earned nothing from cycling ; it was purely a hobby: "Back then, we changed behind the trucks; we didn't have a bus for that. We didn't sleep in hotels, but in schools, barracks, or even a fire station," she recalls. Thanks in part to the Tour de France Femmes, women's cycling is "light years away from the sport I once did." Nevertheless, one thing is clear to her: "We have to keep fighting. It will take a few more years to develop women's cycling financially. But we will do it."