The average budget of UCI WorldTour teams will reach 33 million euros in 2026, according to data from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The figure represents growth of more than 26% compared with the previous two seasons and lifts the total budget of the men’s peloton to 664 million euros, confirming a sustained upward trend at the top level of professional cycling.

The scale of this growth becomes clearer when looking at recent seasons. In 2022, the average budget per team stood at 26.2 million euros, rising to 31.2 million in 2025. The projected jump for 2026 consolidates a period of continuous growth that has accelerated in recent years, alongside the recovery of the international calendar and the strengthening of commercial structures across several teams.

This economic expansion is not limited to the men’s peloton. In the women’s WorldTour, the total budget has risen from 43 million euros in 2023 to a projected 80 million in 2026, almost doubling in just three seasons. The increase reflects new structural requirements set by the UCI, the progressive professionalisation of the calendar and the arrival of sponsors with greater financial capacity.

The economic gap between the biggest teams and the rest

The rise in the average budget does not translate into uniform growth across the peloton. The figure is clearly influenced by the presence of several teams operating with financial structures far above the norm, widening the gap between the leading groups and those with more limited resources. While the average reaches 33 million euros, the median budget sits several million lower, confirming that growth is concentrated among a small group of teams with significantly greater financial power than the rest of the WorldTour.

At the top end stands UAE Team Emirates, with a budget close to 60 million euros. They are followed by teams such as Ineos Grenadiers and Visma-Lease a Bike, both operating at around 55 million. A second tier includes structures like Lidl-Trek, with approximately 35 million euros, alongside several teams clustered around the 30 million mark.

In the mid-to-lower range of the peloton, teams such as Movistar Team, Groupama-FDJ and Alpecin-Deceuninck work with budgets close to 25 million euros, while other structures, including Intermarché-Wanty, operate at around 18 million. Compared with 2022, all teams have grown in absolute terms, but the relative distance between the biggest budgets and the rest has remained stable or even widened.

Rising salaries and a highly uneven peloton

Budget growth has also fed through to rider salaries. According to the UCI, the average salary of a men’s WorldTour rider will be around 349,000 euros in 2026, an increase of 5.6% year on year. While this rise mirrors the overall budget trend, it once again highlights the sharp internal inequality between the sport’s elite and the bulk of the peloton.

That gap is most evident at the very top. Tadej Pogačar earns around 8.2 million euros per year, a figure that on its own accounts for a significant share of his team’s total budget. Behind him, riders such as Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel command salaries close to 5 million euros, while Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič are in the region of 4.5 million.

The key role of sponsorship

Underlying this budgetary growth is an economic model that remains heavily dependent on sponsorship. For most WorldTour teams, the main title sponsor contributes between 60% and 80% of the total budget, making commercial stability a decisive factor in sporting planning. Teams backed by major corporations or institutional entities enjoy greater room to sustain high salaries and larger organisational structures.

The duration of sponsorship agreements also creates clear differences. Teams with long-term contracts can commit to sustained investment in riders, technology and staff, while those relying on shorter renewals tend to operate more cautiously. The absence of a salary cap or a formal financial control system reinforces this landscape, allowing teams with stronger financial backing to further extend their competitive advantage.