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                How does the world’s most prestigious cycling race make money? Who sponsors the teams? And how does financing impact the riders’ strategy?
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                <h2 style="font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 25px;">
                 <strong>
                  The economics of the Tour de France
                 </strong>
                </h2>
                <p style="color: #737373; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-height: 120%; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px;">
                 How does the world’s most prestigious cycling race make money? Who sponsors the teams? And how does financing impact the riders’ strategy?
                </p>
                <p style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 120%; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 24px;">
                 <strong>
                  BY
                  <a style="color: #D62829; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">
                   Zachary Crockett
                  </a>
                 </strong>
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
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               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Right about now, more than 150 of the world’s most elite cyclists are charging up Col de la Hourcère in the French Pyrenees.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Over a 3-week period from August 29th to September 20, these aerobic beasts will traverse some 2,165 miles up and over 8 mountain passes. They’ll spend more than 4,800 minutes in the saddle, and reach speeds of up to
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   63 MPH
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 . They’ll vie to bring their countries, teams — and sponsors — glory.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The Tour de France is a historic and global phenomenon. Each year, fans from more than 180 countries turn in to watch the race.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But despite this popularity, the economics of the sport are largely shrouded in secrecy.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 How does the Tour de France — an event that is free to the public — make money? How does the sponsorship model of a professional cycling team work? And how does this all affect how the riders choose to compete?
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  How the Tour de France makes money
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Cycling’s most important race was born out of financial necessity.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 At the turn of the 20th century, a French newspaper called
                 <em>
                  L’Auto
                 </em>
                 was struggling to stay afloat. The paper’s staff was asked to come up with ways to increase circulation — and Géo Lefèvre, a 26-year-old sportswriter, suggested putting on the biggest cycling race the country had ever seen.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Launched in 1903, the Tour de France was an immediate success.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In its first year, the Tour nearly tripled
                 <em>
                  L’Auto
                 </em>
                 ’s circulation from
                 <strong>
                  25k to 65k
                 </strong>
                 newspapers per day — enough to kill off their main competitor,
                 <em>
                  Le Vélo
                 </em>
                 . Over the next 3 decades, this figure would see a
                 <strong>
                  34x
                 </strong>
                 increase.
                </p>
               </td>
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                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Flauto_20200906004000.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
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                 A front-page L’Auto story in 1903, announcing the arrival of the newly-created Tour de France (L’Equipe)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 During WWII, the Tour was put on hold. When peacetime resumed,
                 <em>
                  L’Auto
                 </em>
                 — which had been taken over by a consortium of pro-Nazi Germans — was shuttered and ownership of the Tour was shifted to a successor paper,
                 <em>
                  L’Équipe
                 </em>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Up until the 1960s, the newspapers had monetized the tour in a number of ways:
                </p>
                <ol style="font-size: 16px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  They
                  <strong>
                   auctioned off stops on the route
                  </strong>
                  to the highest-bidding cities.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  They charged companies a fee to follow riders in logo-plastered
                  <strong>
                   publicity “caravans”
                  </strong>
                  and throw out swag to spectators.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  They rented out
                  <strong>
                   physical ad space
                  </strong>
                  along the route.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  They allowed local brands to
                  <strong>
                   sponsor the tour
                  </strong>
                  .
                 </li>
                </ol>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The Tour’s revenue streams were largely focused on monetizing the large crowds that gathered along the route. And early on, there were concerns that an overabundance of brands and sponsors would
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   corrupt
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 the purity of the sport.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 "This caravan of 60 gaudy trucks singing across the countryside…is a shameful spectacle,” the French journalist Pierre Bost
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   wrote
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 of the caravans. “It bellows, it plays ugly music, it's sad, it's ugly, it smells of vulgarity and money."
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Despite this diversification of revenue streams, the Tour still operated with a deficit.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But this changed when the race was taken over by its present-day owner, the privately-owned French sports organizer,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   <strong>
                    Amaury Sport Organisation
                   </strong>
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 <strong>
                  (ASO)
                 </strong>
                 , in 1965.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The ASO pounced on advances in TV broadcast technology and focused on building out the Tour’s global audience. Between 1980 and 2010, revenue
                 <strong>
                  increased by 20x
                 </strong>
                 — and TV rights became a central part of its business model.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Today, the Tour de France’s revenue breakdown looks something like this:
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
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                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  Town hosting fees
                 </strong>
                 (5% of revenue) are no longer a significant income source, but locales still shell out big bucks to be included on the route, which changes year to year. Denmark reportedly spent
                 <strong>
                  $3.9m USD
                 </strong>
                 to
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   host
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 3 stages of another major race, the Giro d’Italia.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  Sponsorships
                 </strong>
                 (40%) are still critical to the race’s bottom line and have significantly evolved. Among them:
                </p>
                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Publicity caravans
                  </strong>
                  : Some 33 brands reportedly pay
                  <strong>
                   $250k to $600k each
                  </strong>
                  to be in the caravan. During the 21-day race, they collectively hand out
                  <strong>
                   15m
                  </strong>
                  items to fans — t-shirts, laundry soap, keyrings,
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    meat sticks
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  . The procession of 250 vehicles is 12 miles long and takes
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    45 minutes
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  to pass by.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Special jerseys
                  </strong>
                  : In the Tour, there are
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    4 special jerseys
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  worn by riders: yellow (overall leader), green (best sprinter), polka dot (best climber), and white (best young rider). The bank LCL
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    spends
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  <strong>
                   ~$12m per year
                  </strong>
                  to put its name on the yellow jersey; carmaker Skoda drops
                  <strong>
                   $4m
                  </strong>
                  on the green jersey.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Dozens of misc. partnerships
                  </strong>
                  : These range from
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    Century 21
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  (real estate firm) running house giveaway promos, to
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    Tissot
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  (watchmaker) sponsoring time trials.
                 </li>
                </ul>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  TV broadcasting rights
                 </strong>
                 (55%) have now been sold in
                 <strong>
                  186
                 </strong>
                 of the world’s 195 countries. Streaming the race
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   requires
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 260 camera people, and 35 vehicles, and 6 aircraft. One major deal with France Télévisions is reportedly
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   worth
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 <strong>
                  ~$25m per year
                 </strong>
                 alone.
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fpics_20200906004316.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
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                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Top: Romain Bardet charges through Alpe d'Huez during the 2018 Tour de France (Pool/Getty Images); Bottom: The peloton are cheered on by the crowd during stage 9 of the 2013 Tour (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 So, how much money does the Tour de France bring in per year?
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The ASO is incredibly secretive about its finances. But over the years, researchers and French journalists have managed to piece together bits of data from public filings.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Sources
                 <em>
                  The Hustle
                 </em>
                 spoke with estimate the Tour’s revenue to be somewhere between
                 <strong>
                  $60m and $150m per year
                 </strong>
                 — about
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   50%
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 of the ASO’s total annual income. Based on
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   historical revenue data
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , the ASO has ~21% profit margin. So, a
                 <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                  <em>
                   very
                  </em>
                 </u>
                 rough estimate would be that the organization enjoys a
                 <strong>
                  $12m to $30m
                 </strong>
                 annual profit from the race.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “The Tour de France exists to make money,” says
                 <strong>
                  Jean-François Mignot
                 </strong>
                 , a demographer who has
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   studied
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 the economics of cycling. “It’s a commercial race, and it’s owned by people whose main goal is to make money off of it.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But the organizer is only one moving part of the Tour de France: a second thriving economy has been built around the teams and riders who compete there.
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  The business of professional cycling teams
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This year’s Tour features
                 <strong>
                  178
                 </strong>
                 cyclists on 22 different professional teams.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Like the Tour itself, there’s a
                 <em>
                  fiscal omertà
                 </em>
                 (code of silence) surrounding these teams’ budgets. But a 2016
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   research volume
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 laid out some insight from 3 past teams:
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fcost%2520chart_20200906004340.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                </a>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Note: Figures not adjusted for inflation to give a true sense of budgets at the time (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Rider salaries account for the bulk of a team’s budget — but gear costs are no joke.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 A
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   video
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 posted by Team Sky (since renamed Ineos Grenadiers) in 2016 outlined an absurd list of resources required for 9 riders during the Tour de France, including:
                </p>
                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   34
                  </strong>
                  staff members (mechanics, drivers, sports doctors, nutritionists)
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   55
                  </strong>
                  bikes (6 per rider), at
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    <strong>
                     ~$13k
                    </strong>
                   </u>
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    each
                   </u>
                  </a>
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   80
                  </strong>
                  spare wheels,
                  <strong>
                   82
                  </strong>
                  spare cassettes, and
                  <strong>
                   57
                  </strong>
                  spare chains
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   4,360
                  </strong>
                  energy gels and bars +
                  <strong>
                   3,300
                  </strong>
                  water bottles
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   40
                  </strong>
                  bottles of massage cream
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   100
                  </strong>
                  rolls of bar tape (changed every 4 days)
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   5
                  </strong>
                  air purifiers,
                  <strong>
                   9
                  </strong>
                  AC units, and
                  <strong>
                   9
                  </strong>
                  dehumidifiers
                 </li>
                </ul>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 All in, today’s top-level cycling teams can easily exceed a
                 <strong>
                  $20m
                 </strong>
                 annual budget.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But these teams
                 <strong>
                  don’t
                 </strong>
                 get any piece of the Tour’s revenue. They
                 <strong>
                  don’t
                 </strong>
                 sell tickets (the event is free to the public). They
                 <strong>
                  don’t
                 </strong>
                 even have their own merchandise.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 How do they fund all of this?
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Cycling teams have a very strange — if not deeply flawed — financing model: they have to
                 <strong>
                  rely on sponsors or donors to survive
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Teams have all kinds of sub-sponsors for their bikes, gear, and nutrition. But
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   ~70%
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 of their budget comes from the
                 <strong>
                  title sponsor
                 </strong>
                 , which pays a pro team somewhere in the range of
                 <strong>
                  $5m to $15m
                 </strong>
                 to name the team and plasters its logo all over the uniforms.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The TV time these sponsors get often comes with healthy dividends: the sports intelligence firm, Repucom,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   analyzed
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 325 professional cycling sponsors in 2012
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   WorldTour
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 (a series of 38 races including the Tour de France) and found that the average team was worth
                 <strong>
                  $88.4m in media exposure
                 </strong>
                 to a title sponsor.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Take a look at the title sponsors of this year’s 22 Tour de France teams:
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fsponsors_20200906004411.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                </a>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Zachary Crockett / The Hustle
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The corporate sponsors of today’s cycling teams are almost exclusively boring (but stable) conglomerates: insurance companies, telecommunications firms, commercial manufacturers. And there’s a reason for this.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Until the
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   mid-1950s
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , only bicycle companies were permitted to sponsor teams. But when bike sales tanked in the ‘60s, a potpourri of local products — alcohol, cigars, face creams, hazelnut spreads — hopped in to fill the void.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The rise of live broadcasting drew in international corporations that saw value in reaching a broader global market. The UCI (cycling’s governing body) also implemented a new professional licensing system that drove up costs.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Between 1992 and 2014, the average pro-level cycling team budget
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   increased
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 from
                 <strong>
                  $3.6m to $15.5m
                 </strong>
                 . The little guys were priced out.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Now, the sport is now seeing a new
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   trend
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 : a rise in wealthy benefactors and oil-rich countries that infuse teams with
                 <strong>
                  up to 3x the capital of corporations
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In 2019, for instance, the English industrialist
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Jim Ratcliffe
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 (net worth $21.4B)  purchased Team Sky and renamed it after his chemical firm, Ineos. He’s since infused the team with a
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   reported
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 <strong>
                  ~$47m
                 </strong>
                 annual budget — heads and shoulders above any other pro team.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Team
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Israel Start-Up Nation
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 depends on money that comes directly from Sylvan Adams, a Canadian real estate tycoon. Likewise, Mitchelton-Scott relies on cash infusions from the Australian millionaire Gerry Ryan.
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fsuccess_20200906004435.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                </a>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 A study from the blog Cycling Tips mapped out the correlation between sponsor money and financial success at the 2016 Tour de France (Data: Cycling Tips; Graphic: Zachary Crockett / The Hustle)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This dependency on one rich individual can implode: when Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov stepped away from funding his team,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Tinkoff
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , in 2015, it folded.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But some say it also causes a competitive imbalance that erodes the marketability of the sport.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “[They’re] purchasing the ability to win,” pro cycling manager Jonathan Vaughters
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   told
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 the
                 <em>
                  Daily Mail
                 </em>
                 . “You’re looking at an almost impenetrable wall of money. You can go and buy all the best riders. The question for the sport is, ‘If they are all on one team, is it fun for spectators to watch?’”
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  And what about the riders?
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 For most of the first half of the 20th century, pro cyclists were not paid a salary and had to scrape together an income by winning races. Prize money was their lifeblood.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 If that were still the case today, most riders would be screwed.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   total prize money
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 at the Tour de France is relatively small, at ~
                 <strong>
                  $2.7m
                 </strong>
                 (€2.3m). The overall winner (yellow jersey) gets the bulk of that —
                 <strong>
                  $595k
                 </strong>
                 (€500k) of that — and each subsequent overall placing gets a diminishing amount, down to
                 <strong>
                  $1.2k
                 </strong>
                 for 20th to 160th place.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Winners of other jerseys (green, polka dot, white) take home between
                 <strong>
                  $24k (
                 </strong>
                 €20k)
                 <strong>
                  to $30k
                 </strong>
                 (€25k) each. And various smaller sums are given out for each stage for sprints, time trials, categorized climbs, and “combativity” (aggressiveness).
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Let’s, for a second, assume this was riders’ only source of income.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The first few individual finishers would do okay for themselves — but bottom-tier finishers
                 <strong>
                  would make more working in retail for 3 weeks
                 </strong>
                 than racing in one of the most prestigious cycling races in the world:
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fhour_20200906004501.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                </a>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 (Data: John MacLeary / The Telegraph; Graphic: Zachary Crockett / The Hustle)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In reality, this prize money isn’t an important factor in racers’ income. In fact, the winner customarily shares it with the whole team.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Today, their livelihood hinges on sponsorship dollars.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The mandated
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   minimum wage
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 for a pro cyclist who participates in the Tour de France is
                 <strong>
                  ~$35k.
                 </strong>
                 But many pros make 5-10x that — and the top dogs, like
                 <strong>
                  Peter Sagan
                 </strong>
                 and 4-time Tour winner
                 <strong>
                  Chris Froome,
                 </strong>
                 command salaries of
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   <strong>
                    $6m+
                   </strong>
                  </u>
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   per year
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This dependency comes at a cost: riders must formulate their Tour de France strategy around
                 <strong>
                  maximizing visibility for sponsors
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Winning the tour is fantastic — but not necessary — for brand exposure. Often, you’ll see lesser-known riders break away from the pack to give sponsors
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   media time
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , even if it isn’t technically the best thing to do.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “The entire Tour is about getting eyes on the company on your jersey,” an ex-pro who wished to remain anonymous told us. “Because if the sponsor isn’t happy and cuts funding, your team is probably shit out of luck.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">
                 <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fthdaily.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com%252Fpics2_20200906004527.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ0aGRhaWx5LnMzLSJ9:1kXMQO:0E4zd8jDQZduh-U6dnst_DVTXI4Z4hcVO9ROjO89-2c" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                </a>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 The pack during the 2nd and 3rd stages of the 2020 Tour de France (Marco Bertorello / AFP, via Getty Images)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The pandemic has strained not just the ecosystem of cycling sponsors, but the sport at large. Some riders have taken pay cuts, or deferred as much as
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   70% of their salaries
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , in a bid to keep their teams afloat through the crisis.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Many in the cycling community feel that it’s due time to reevaluate the sport’s business model.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “At the end of the day, race organizers make money and sponsors sell more products,”
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   writes
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 <strong>
                  Chris Williams
                 </strong>
                 , a pro cyclist from Australia. “But teams fight for existence.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
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                <h2 style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: 800; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 20px 0 0px;">
                 <strong>
                  Want grass-fed ground beef for life?
                 </strong>
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                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 No, you didn’t just win the world’s weirdest email sweepstakes (
                 <em>
                  damn
                 </em>
                 ).
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                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 You got something even sweeter -- one of
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  ButcherBox’s best offer
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                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  s, ever
                 </a>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 With this promo, you can score 2 lbs of delicious, grass-fed, grass-finished ground beef in every box for the
                 <em>
                  entire life of your subscription
                 </em>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  And here’s the kicker: The average cost is less than $6 per meal.
                 </strong>
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 So, a brief rundown:
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Amazing quality meat
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  sourced from farmers and fishermen who surpass quality standards
                 </a>
                 ?
                </p>
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                 <strong>
                  Yup.
                 </strong>
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                 A focus on sustainability (like eco-friendly, 100% recyclable boxes) so you can feel good while you chow down?
                </p>
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                 <strong>
                  For sure.
                 </strong>
                </p>
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                 Options for other appetites, including chicken, pork and seafood?
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  You bet.
                 </strong>
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Well, you’ve got us sold. Claim this
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  extra-beefy ButcherBox offer
                 </a>
                 for a limited time right here:
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                 Eat good, feel good →
                </a>
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