Tour De France 2015 Prize Money: Purse Payout Distribution for Final Standings

Chris Froome capped off the 2015 Tour de France in style Sunday, riding to the finish line in Paris to become the first British cyclist in history to win the sport's biggest spectacle twice.

Froome, who won his first Tour de France in 2013, defeated Nairo Quintana by 72 seconds. Quintana had made the race far more competitive earlier this weekend, pulling within 32 seconds on Friday. However, Froome was able to push his lead back beyond a minute Saturday to all but clinch the race heading into its final stage—largely a victory lap around Paris.

"At some moments it was hard to believe I’d hang on," Froome said, per Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail. "I was on my absolute limits. It was difficult to stay calm."

Founded in 2010, Team Sky is now arguably the most successful racing brand on the circuit. The team's original goal was to merely win a Tour de France within its first five years of existence. Now, six years in, Froome has given Team Sky their third Tour victory already. (Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour in 2012 while with Team Sky; Froome was second.)

Froome will bring home 450,000 euros for his win, translating to $493,000. Here is a look at the cash payouts for each top-10 rider:

Pos	Rider	Time	Prize Money (Dollars Rounded)
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky	83:19:15	€450.000/$493.000
2	Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team	00:01:12	€200.000/$219.000
3	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team	00:05:25	€100.000/$109.000
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team	00:08:36	€70.000/$76.000
5	Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo	00:09:48	€50.000/$54.000
6	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo	00:10:47	€23.000/$25.000
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing	00:15:14	€11.500/$12.000
8	Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling	00:15:39	€7.600/$8.000
9	Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale	00:16:00	€4.500/$4.900
10	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	00:17:30	€3.800/$4.100

His triumph completes an impressive comeback after a 2014 failure that saw Froome crash out of his title defense in the fifth stage. No Team Sky rider so much as finished in the top 10, and they were seventh in the team classification. This year, Team Sky moved up to second in the team classification, bested only by Movistar Team. Movistar features a number of high-profile Spanish riders and blew out the competition by nearly one hour.

“We attacked looking for the best moment to get good time and to distance Froome but it wasn’t enough for what we thought. We were missing the finishing touch,” Movistar's Quintana said earlier this week, per Sadhbh O'Shea of Cycling News. “We did what we could and Froome is very strong. At least we’ve tried.”

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

Alejandro Valverde, another Movistar Team member, finished in third place. Astana's Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador of Tinkoff-Saxo rounded out the top five. It was a strong showing overall for the pre-race favorites, as a majority of them wound up in contention until the Tour's final week.

Froome's triumph is made all the more impressive thanks to his dominance on the mountain stages. As noted by Infostrada Sports, he is one of a select few to win the general classification and mountain classification:

By riders and fans, Stage 10 will likely be remembered as the one that decided things for Froome. It was the only stage of the race that he managed to win outright, but it gave him a minute cushion over Quintana and a sizable lead over Nibali and Contador. 

“There was only one stage, to Pierre Saint-Martin [Stage 10] where I really made a mark," Froome said, per Michael Hutchinson of Cycling Weekly. "The others were about chipping away and being as close to the front as possible. The team kept me in the right place at the right time. Last year I learned what happens when you get caught in the wrong place.”

Froome is the 20th multitime Tour de France winner, excluding the likes of Lance Armstrong, who had his seven titles stripped. Given the state of the sport overall, it's no surprise Froome has seen his fair share of speculation about performance-enhancing drug use. He was berated by fans throughout the Tour and even had items thrown on him during the race. He's even faced questions from the legends of the sport, most notably American cyclist Greg LeMond.

But until proved otherwise, Froome is well on his way to establishing himself as the greatest British cyclist in history.