Tadej Pogačar remains the highest-paid rider in the men’s WorldTour, according to a report by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian newspaper reports that Pogačar’s €6 million per year earnings put him top of the list, ahead of compatriot Primož Roglič and Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard.
Roglič, who left Jumbo-Visma for Bora-Hansgrohe, has a reported salary of €4.5 million per year, while La Gazzetta estimates Vingegaard’s income from Visma-Lease A Bike to be €4 million.
World champion Mathieu van der Poel is joint third on La Gazzetta’s list on €4 million a year, with his rival Wout van Aert earning an estimated €3.5 million.
Remco Evenepoel lies sixth on an estimated €2.8 million per season, ahead of Tom Pidcock and Adam Yates, whose earnings are both estimated at €2.7 million per year. The list is completed by two more Ineos riders, Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez (€2.5 million).
La Gazzetta notes that its estimates refer only to the salaries paid to riders by their teams and their report does not calculate additional earnings from sponsorship and appearance fees.
In addition to his salary from UAE Team Emirates, Pogačar also has endorsement deals with DMT shoes, Met helmets, Enervit nutritional products, Croatian water brand Jana, American home tech company Plume and the Slovenian tourism board.
Pogačar’s agent Alex Carera told La Gazzetta that his client would also open Chinese social media accounts in 2024, though he reportedly turned down a sponsorship offer from a Chinese telecommunications company late last year.
“No athlete in my career has had such a strong appeal to brands,” Carera said. "In cycling, Pogačar can be seen as the most universal, the most versatile, the one with the greatest communicative reach.”
After winning the Tour of Flanders, Il Lombardia, Paris-Nice, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne in 2023, Pogačar will target the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this season before racing the Paris Olympics and the World Championships in Zürich.
