Market benchmarks
The peloton's pay scale, organized by team budget bracket. Each bracket groups WorldTour teams by their UCI Team World Ranking — the strongest objective proxy for budget. Top earners in each bracket give a sense of what a leader on that tier of team can command. Useful for agents, riders evaluating offers, and fans curious about market rates. See the Rubric for how the brackets are constructed.
Bracket 1 · Top bracket — championship contenders
UCI Team Rank 1–4 · top-rider ceiling €8.0M · domestique floor €80K · 112 riders
| Top earner | Team | UCI Rank | 2026 Earnings1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tadej Pogačar 🇸🇮 | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | #1 | €8.0M |
| Remco Evenepoel 🇧🇪 | Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | #4 | €6.6M |
| Jonas Vingegaard 🇩🇰 | Visma–Lease a Bike | #2 | €4.5M |
| Primož Roglič 🇸🇮 | Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe | #39 | €4.3M |
| Wout van Aert 🇧🇪 | Visma–Lease a Bike | #11 | €4.0M |
| Paul Seixas 🇫🇷 | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | #8 | €3.1M |
| Adam Yates 🇬🇧 | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | #31 | €2.7M |
| Tobias Lund Andresen 🇩🇰 | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | #14 | €2.6M |
Bracket 2 · Second bracket — strong WT operations
UCI Team Rank 5–10 · top-rider ceiling €4.0M · domestique floor €60K · 166 riders
| Top earner | Team | UCI Rank | 2026 Earnings1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱 | Alpecin–Premier Tech | #9 | €4.0M |
| Oscar Onley 🇬🇧 | Netcompany INEOS | #33 | €3.0M |
| Juan Ayuso 🇪🇸 | Lidl-Trek | #51 | €3.0M |
| Mads Pedersen 🇩🇰 | Lidl-Trek | #19 | €2.5M |
| Carlos Rodríguez 🇪🇸 | Netcompany INEOS | #268 | €2.5M |
| Egan Bernal 🇨🇴 | Netcompany INEOS | #31 | €2.5M |
| Jasper Stuyven 🇧🇪 | Soudal Quick-Step | #38 | €2.2M |
| Lenny Martinez 🇫🇷 | Bahrain Victorious | #24 | €2.2M |
Bracket 3 · Third bracket — middle of the WT
UCI Team Rank 11–15 · top-rider ceiling €1.5M · domestique floor €50K · 139 riders
| Top earner | Team | UCI Rank | 2026 Earnings1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauro Schmid 🇨🇭 | Jayco AlUla | #16 | €2.3M |
| Tobias Halland Johannessen 🇳🇴 | Uno-X Mobility | #20 | €1.3M |
| Iván Romeo 🇪🇸 | Movistar Team | #89 | €1.3M |
| Luke Plapp 🇦🇺 | Jayco AlUla | #47 | €1.3M |
| Biniam Girmay 🇪🇷 | NSN Cycling Team | #37 | €1.3M |
| Natnael Tesfatsion 🇪🇷 | Movistar Team | #101 | €1.3M |
| Arnaud De Lie 🇧🇪 | Lotto–Intermarché | #10 | €1.1M |
| Brady Gilmore 🇦🇺 | NSN Cycling Team | #182 | €1.1M |
Bracket 4 · Bottom bracket — relegation fighters
UCI Team Rank 16–18 · top-rider ceiling €750K · domestique floor €40K · 83 riders
| Top earner | Team | UCI Rank | 2026 Earnings1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romain Grégoire 🇫🇷 | Groupama–FDJ | #15 | €2.6M |
| Alex Baudin 🇫🇷 | EF Education–EasyPost | #73 | €1.3M |
| Georg Steinhauser 🇩🇪 | EF Education–EasyPost | #167 | €961K |
| Pavel Bittner 🇨🇿 | Team Picnic PostNL | #54 | €926K |
| Axel Huens 🇫🇷 | Groupama–FDJ | €833K | |
| Ewen Costiou 🇫🇷 | Groupama–FDJ | #171 | €783K |
| Clément Braz Afonso 🇫🇷 | Groupama–FDJ | €753K | |
| Harry Sweeny 🇦🇺 | EF Education–EasyPost | #207 | €712K |