But why do they bother sprinting?

One question that has come up several times is why riders are trying for the various competitions, stage wins, etc. if they don't have a chance of winning the General Classification. Of course there is the pride of winning a stage, sprint, climb, etc... but I'm sure the prize money doesn't hurt.

The winner of each days stage wins E8000 (I don't know how to make the Euro symbol)

The winner of each intermediate sprint gets E800, while the holder of the Green jersey at the end of each day gets E300 in addition. Whoever wins the Green jersey at the end of the tour gets E25,000.

The polka-dot is a bit more complicated because it had to do with the difficulty of the climb, anywhere from E200-800, with an additional E300 for the daily holder each day. The final winner gets E25,000.

The white jersey (best young rider) gets E500 each day, and E20,000 for winning the jersey at the end of the Tour.

There is also an award each day for the most aggressive rider, generally a rider that leads a breakaway or in other ways makes the race exciting. The award is E2000 each day. Apparently there is a super combative award, but I'm not sure if that is a cumulative thing, or if they vote at the end of the race. The award is E20,000.

This year there are two special prizes at the top of the Tourmalet (we'll talk more about that next week) in honor of the original race organizers. The prizes combine to E10,000 for teh first to summit the Tourmalet.

Finally the overall winner of the Tour, the overall yellow jersey, walks away with E450,000. Not a bad haul.

Keep in mind that cycling is a team sport. I'm sure the specifics differ with each team, but my understanding is that some percentage of prize money is shared with the team. And of course it isn't all about the money. The final individual prize money drops off pretty quickly past the top 3, and the majority of the riders will walk away with E500 as a reward for a grueling 3 weeks of pain and suffering. Not the sort of thing you do for the money.