In the eighth year of its annual rider survey, The Cyclists’ Alliance has found that even as salaries overall look to have stabilised as the professionalisation of the sport continues at the top, those riders not covered by the mandatory minimum salaries of the Women’s WorldTeams and ProTeams are falling behind.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress in the women’s side of the sport. If you compare the data from our early surveys to now, it’s really positive the growth that we’ve seen,” said The Cyclists’ Alliance president Grace Brown.
All up the report said that across the tiers, 58% of riders received an income of more than €20,000, the top group of those being the 11% who earned more than €100,000.
While 6% of riders didn’t disclose their salary, more than a third of the riders, 36%, who took the survey said they earned less than €20,000. The vast majority of those riders were, of course, from Continental teams given that minimum salaries are in place for the 363 Pro and Women’s WorldTour riders, starting at €16,720 for a new ProTeam professionals and €20,000 for others. In a Women’s WorldTour team that bar is set at €31,768 and €38,000.
The survey of 202 female professional cyclists from across 43 cycling teams, found that 80% of those outside the two top tiers earned less than €20,000, compared with 64% respondents in 2024. That widening gap has only brought home the increasing divide which also comes at a time when the number of Continental teams, and therefore opportunity, is also plunging.
“This year’s survey results show that the sport is at a critical point,” said the report. “There are many signs of progress and professionalisation at the top, but the talent pathway below continues to face challenges and the gaps are widening.
Among the riders outside those top two tiers, where the vast majority had an income of under €20,000, 17% of riders received no salary at all while…
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