The Grande Boucle is organized by Amaury Sport Organization, which is part of the Amaury group (publisher of L’Equipe and France Football, among others). ASO has seen its revenues grow considerably in recent years, increasing from 180 million in 2013 to 235 million in revenue, with which it closed the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018 (the latest available): a large portion of this comes from the Tour de France.
According to estimates, the Grande Boucle generates between 100 and 150 million in revenue each year. A significant part comes from TV rights (between 50% and 55%), followed by sponsorships (between 40% and 50%), and finally, from the communities and places that invest to host the race. For a direct comparison, RCS Sport, the company organizing the Giro d’Italia, achieved a turnover of 60 million euros in 2018.
In France alone, TV rights are worth around 25 million euros per year under the contract with France Télévision, minor sponsorships are valued between 250,000 and 300,000 euros, and there are those who, like LCL, sponsor the yellow jersey since 1987, paying ASO about 10 million euros annually. Not to mention the Tour caravan, the parade of advertising vehicles that precedes the race: it’s about 40,000 euros for four vehicles, with an additional 6,300 euros per extra vehicle.
Those who perhaps benefit less from such an economic force are the actual protagonists of the race, the cyclists. The prize money for the riders in 2019 amounted to a total of 2.3 million euros, to be distributed not only based on stage victories but also across the different rankings (general, points, mountain, young riders).
Considering the number of kilometers covered by the cyclists, (about 3484), one might say that the effort may not be that well rewarded.
