How Can I Participate In The Tour De France Internationally?

Last Updated on March 17, 2024 by Emmanuel

So you are a professional cyclist living in a country other than France and wondering how you can participate in the Tour de France internationally.

We feel compelled to share in-depth content covering this topic’s ins and outs so you can better prepare the TdF; the most appreciated cycling competition.

Why Are the Cycling Teams in the Tour de France?

Professional cyclists must be organized in terms of participating in the Tour de France. Otherwise, organizers will not accept or register your candidate.

Indeed, Amaury Sport organizes the Tour de France (TdF) steps each year but only the most competitive professional teams wordwide are entitled to participate.

The TdF participant’s teams typically come across Europe, Asia, and the United States; we are unaware if the African content is represented but we have seen a few professional African cyclists in European teams.

Also, it is worth mentioning that the TdF has twenty-one stages that require adequate organization and logistics for teams to accommodate it.

Besides, professional teams participate annually in the most famous cycling races attracting millions of admirers.

How Are the Teams in the Tour de France Organized?

For example, twenty-two teams were averaging eight riders each in the Tour de France 2022; thus a total of 176 participants.

Many had predicted that Tadej Pogacar from the UAE Team Emirates who won the TdF 2020 and 2021 could regain the yellow jersey but it didn’t happen.

Jonas Vingegaard under the rival Jumbo-Visma team jersey was the best performing to win the yellow jersey; Jonas did it again in 2023.

Back to how teams work, on the TdF, each team has a leader for whom his teammates aid to win the race.

Also, a team can have many Yellow jersey contenders to maximize the chances of ending the last stage with a yellow jersey.

The TdF teams also have domestic cyclists who help the leaders throughout the competition and lead them to success.

If you had assisted in the TdF 2022, you would have notocided that the belgian Wout van Aert worked for Jonas Vingegaard instead of being selfish to compete with him.

Teams also have sprinters who are the fastest cyclists to win the intermediate sprints. The Tour de France awards a rider who earns the most stage points a green jersey; another best-rated place after the yellow jersey.

Besides, teams have time trail specialists and versatile cyclists who excel on not-too-flat and not-too-steep races.

Let’s end this section by saying that teams have exceptional support staff to handle their logistical needs; they help cyclists get the essentials to perform on the Tour de France which has changed since it started in 1903.

Who Are the Team Sponsors in the Tour de France?

Many say that the Tour de France would generate up to $150m yearly; this figure comes from different sources, including:

• The Amaury Sports that organizes the TdF collects TV broadcasting rights in over 186 countries worldwide.
• They also get advertising, different sponsorships, and other revenues, including those from town hosting and caravan pubs.

That said, a yellow jersey winner receives 500,000 Euros, while the green jersey entitles the winner to 128,000 Euros. 

A professional cyclist who wins a stage earns €11,000; the most aggressive cyclist is awarded €56,000. 

However, we don’t know how organizers of the Tour de France distribute other revenues to the participant teams.

Some professional cyclists earn up to six million US dollars annually, believing that teams have other sources of income.

How Much Does it Cost to Sponsor a TDF Team?

Unless otherwise, cycling teams don’t typically reveal the right amount of money they get from their sponsors yearly.

We can only tell that in 2012, the USADA found that Lance Armstrong and other teammates had been doping.

The doping discovery in the cyclist industry made some sponsoring companies stop their sponsorships; other bike sponsors stepped in to fill the gap and teams got increased revenues rather than the opposite.

Also, the doping scandals decreased in the early 2000s, brands changed their strategies to produce mass road bikes.

Most bike manufacturing companies decided to promote their road bikes through cycling races and the TdF benefited from such advertising strategies.

Brands like Cannondale, Giant, Specialized, etc. started to provide significant sponsorships to the Tour de France teams to the point that the amount increased to around $2.6 million per team.

Let’s also mention that the Union Cyclist International (UCI) started to use the Formula 1 motor racing’ sponsoring concepts, which led to increased revenues for cycling competitions.

How Much Can a Quality Tour de France Bike Cost?

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team uses the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 at $14,250.

Bauke Mollema and his teammates from the Trek Segafredo team use the Trek Emonda SLR 9 bikes, which cost around $13,000 each.

Also, some TdF team cyclists ride the costly Cannondale, BMC, Giant, and Santa Cruz road bikes.

The Content Final Thoughts.

That’s what we can tell about how you can participate in the Tour de France internationally; we hope this content is helpful.

Also; professional cyclists must ride for the teams entitled to compete in the Tour de France; many enjoy the Champs Elysées at the final stage.