The winner of the women's race will receive 20,000 euros on Saturday, thirteen times more than the 1,535 euros paid last October to Briton Lizzie Deignan, winner of the first edition.

The joy of Briton Lizzie Deignan, lifting her cobblestone-shaped trophy, after winning the 1st women's edition of Paris-Roubaix, October 2, 2021 FRANCOIS LO PRESTI AFP / Archives

The total prize pool will reach 50,000 euros, to be compared with the 90,000 euros for the men's race on Sunday (30,000 euros for the winner).

"In 2021, we based ourselves on the International Cycling Union's price scale for races, at the same level as the Tour of Flanders", explained Franck Perque, the manager of Paris-Roubaix Women, during the presentation. of the race in Denain (North).

"The scale has remained the same but we have decided to increase it".

Faced with the criticism that had swept over the organizers because of the low prices, ASO stressed "being in an economic logic to set up the race in a sustainable way".

"We are currently investing in women's cycling, with Paris-Roubaix Women and the launch in July of the Tour de France Women, in addition to our usual races like the Flèche wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège", explained Thierry Gouvenou, race director of the Tour de France.

"We placed Paris-Roubaix Women on Saturday to have a full-fledged competition over one day. This generates additional costs because there are less economies of scale but the TV visibility is much higher".

Paris-Roubaix thus joins the Tour of Flanders, the winner of which received this year an equivalent sum (20,000 euros), moreover identical to that of the winner of the men's race.

Last Sunday, the classic Dutch Amstel Gold Race also chose to align the prizes equally for the men's and women's races, at a lower level, however (16,000 euros for the winners).

The Paris-Roubaix women's race, which will bring together 24 teams, will be run on Saturday over the distance of 124.7 kilometers, slightly increased compared to last year.

Seventeen cobbled sections, for a total of 29.2 kilometers (the same as in 2021), are on the program.

© 2022 AFP