The sky is the limit for the richest teams in cycling. 📸 SWpix.
Hi Subscribers,
Last week I was provided with a well-researched wage bill for one of the biggest teams in the men’s WorldTour. The calculations examined the provisional top seven riders on the team for 2027, and the figure was an eye-watering €17.5 million.
That number was based on retaining a Grand Tour leader, a Spring Classics specialist, a promising sprinter, two super mountain domestiques, a solid all-rounder, and a second Grand Tour leader as insurance should Plan A fail.
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With the average WorldTour budget sitting at roughly €33 million, spending more than half of that on just seven riders raises an uncomfortable question: has cycling’s transfer market become unsustainable for most teams?
In a world where transfer fees and compensation packages are rare, smaller teams simply cannot compete when it comes to retaining talent, let alone recruiting it.
The pressure on teams below the ‘super-rich’ tier of UAE, Decathlon, Lidl-Trek, Red Bull, possibly Netcompany, and perhaps even ambitious ProTeams such as Tudor Pro Cycling and Pinarello Q36.5 has almost reached a tipping point. Sponsors already investing millions are increasingly struggling to see a worthwhile return on investment.