The Tour de France is one of the most romantic events in sport. The mountains. The yellow jersey. The crowds lining the roads. Three weeks across France.
But behind that image sits one of the strangest business models in global sport.
Twelve million people watch from the roadside for free. The race reached 1.173 billion cumulative viewers in 2025. Yet the teams producing the racing receive none of the Tour’s media rights revenue and still depend on sponsorship for 87% of their income.
ASO has built a business where host cities pay to stage the race and then fund much of the local delivery themselves. Sponsors pay for rights while some also provide vehicles, tyres and technology. The Tour carries a €2.3 million prize fund, while the 2026 men’s WorldTour peloton spends a combined €663 million competing for the exposure the race creates.
These are all part of the same economic structure.
This report breaks down how ASO built one of sport’s most powerful event businesses, why the teams around it remain financially fragile, and why more than $250 million of Saudi backed capital tried to build an alternative to the system.