Top XC racer`s salary

bluedave

Hey all

I was hoping someone could settle an discussion/argument! We were discussing the cost of footballers... anyway got onto how much cyclist got paid. It was generally agreed that road cyclists could earn quite a bit but what about the XC guys!?

Does anyone know what the top XC guys are paid and roughly how much. Do they just get by or is it a comfortable living? Since XC racing became an Olympic Sport in 96 is more funding now available?

Obviousily these guys don`t do it for the money but they can`t all be born into money and need to get by somehow.

If you can shed some light on this please comment.

z000m

theyre probably self employed and it has to be a comfortable living or they wouldnt do it,
im not saying they dont do it for the love, but love doesnt put food on the table.

ride_whenever

there was an article in the magazines a while back don't have them to hand though

jayson

Most of the top guys are pro team sponsored riders so i would imagine they must get a comfortable living from it plus all of the bikes/equipment/servicing they ever need thrown in.

cjw

OK, not MTB but top road cyclists; http://caliradocyclist.blogspot.com/2007/03/but-where-does-meat-go.html

1) Alejandro Valverde - $3.8M
2) Paolo Bettini - $3.3M
3) Tom Boonen - $2.6M
4) Alessandro Petacchi - $2.2M

I would expect MTBers to earn a fraction of these (less popular sport, less sponsorship etc) and we'd probably be surprised at how little they earn... pure guess on my part!

strodey

Roadies get paid more so they can afford all the pills they need to stay competeive

saintadolf

and so that they dont have to think about what idiots they look like with their lycra and silly streamlined helmets on

rockstarracing

abslom aparently gets a million euros a year from orbea.

streako

You would have to be a top racer in this country to make anything. Many are semi-pro, so they have a proper job, whilst being sponsored for racing. Any earnings will be more towards covering the costs of competition rather than a living salary.

Chaka Ping

As a wild stab in the dark, I'd guess the very top UK guys might be on £25-35k.

As the previous poster said, I just can't see how anyone below the top tier would get a decent wage out of the sport while it's still a relatively minority interest.

Look at the number of pro riders supplementing their income with skills classes and the like now, that suggests they could stand to earn a bob or two extra.

Maybe I'm way out though.