800,000 euros divided between the 29 skippers
In 2016, Armel le Cléac'h, winner of the Vendée Globe, won 160,000 euros. This is a far cry from the result bonuses in other professional sports such as football, tennis or Formula 1. "A quarter or an 1/8 finalist at Rolland Garros who gets knocked out wins the same thing when he spends 4 times 3 hours there, we make 74 days." explained the winner at his arrival press conference.
By way of comparison, if the Euro is won, each player of the French football team pockets 300,000 euros. The winner of the Tour de France wins 500,000 euros, and the winner of Rolland Garros wins 2 million euros!
In total, the Vendée Globe skippers are looking for a total prize money of 800,000 euros. This year, the edition has increased the prize money by 200,000 euros, as for the last edition, the finishers had to share out 600,000 euros. The top ten will therefore win 40,000 euros more than in the previous edition. But not all are equally well placed. Here is how the winnings are distributed:
Winner 200,000 euros (+ 40,000 euros than in 2016/2017)
2e 140,000 euros (+ 40,000 euros)
3e 100,000 euros (+ 25,000 euros)
4e 80,000 euros (+ 25,000 euros)
5e 50,000 euros (+ 10,000 euros)
6e 40,000 euros (+ 10,000 euros)
7e 30,000 euros (+ 5,000 euros)
8e 25,000 euros (+ 5,000 euros)
9e 20,000 euros (+ 5,000 euros)
10e 15,000 euros (+ 5,000 euros)
From the 11th, the competitors ranked 11th will receive the remaining 100,000 euros of the overall prize money in equal parts, but their share may not exceed the 10th skipper's 10,000 euros bonus. If there is still a remainder, it will be divided and redistributed in equal parts starting from the 4th ranked skipper.
In the event that 10 or less Skippers are ranked, the remaining amount of the undistributed prizes will be divided equally among all the ranked Skippers.
Notoriety and a bright future
The victory bonus awarded by the organization is not the only one that can be pocketed by the winner. Indeed, the winner usually receives a bonus from his or her sponsor. However, victory or a skipper's good results also enable him to strengthen the loyalty of his partner, but also to find another sponsor more easily.
For example, Armel le Cléac'h was able to count on the support of Banque Populaire for the construction of a new maxi-trimaran. That was also the case for François Gabart, who after his victory in the 2012 Vendée Globe, moved on to the Ultim with the construction of the trimaran Macif.
Others are well known, without even winning the Vendée Globe, but with a lot on their minds. That is the case of Jeremie Beyou, who signed with Charal after the end of his partnership with Maître Coq, at the finish of the race.
