The sports director of a team

What is a sports director?

He is the manager of a sports team. It represents the strong point of this sports structure by ensuring the connections between the different components of this whole, whatever the sport practiced.

This job as a sports director requires having useful skills. These skills are acquired by obtaining the “higher state diploma in youth, popular education and sport” called DESJEPS, of course within the framework of the chosen activity. This diploma is at level II, equivalent to Bac + 3.
The average salary is around €36,000 gross with progression, especially in the event of success. Logically, this salary varies between a regional structure and a professional national structure.

The role of the sports director is to ensure the proper functioning of the entire structure, both administrative and managerial, in collaboration with the other members: the directors of marketing, technique, logistics, medical service, nutritionists, osteopaths, etc.

The sports director of a professional cycling team:

You should know that a professional cycling team only exists through sponsors who invest very large sums. For example, the Groupama-Française des jeux team has an annual budget of 25 million euros distributed 55% by Groupama and 45% by Française des jeux. Other teams have larger budgets like Bora-Hansgrohe with 30 million euros and even more like the UAE Team Emirates with 60 million euros.
The French teams Cofidis and Arkéa have a slightly lower budget of around 20 million euros. The new Decathlon-Ag2r team has 26 million for 2024.

The riders' equipment turns out to be extremely expensive; you just need to know that a bike equipped with a “Tour de France” is worth around €12,000 and that some “big riders” ride on even more expensive machines, and particularly for time trials.
A professional cycling team is made up of 10 to 25 or even 30 riders, and these riders have several bikes... do the math, not to mention all the useful equipment.
There are also workshop trucks to transport equipment, maintain bikes, repair them, etc. ….As well as the washing machines and dryers and the cars of the sports directors with mechanics who follow the races to help the runners.
The “highlight” is the bus to transport the runners. It is a magnificent transformed bus which has armchairs, massage table, shower, kitchen, toilet, television etc… its cost is around €500,000.
The salaries of the riders are also taken into account. There are big differences depending on the victories and the track record of each rider, Tadej Pogacar from the UAE EMIRATES team remains the most expensive rider in the professional peloton with an annual salary of 6 million euros. He is followed by the French Julian ALAPHILIPPE (double world champion) who receives an annual salary of 2.3 million euros and the Danish VONGEGAARD from the Jumbo-Visma team (winner of 2 Tours de France) receives 2.3 millions of euros. On the other hand, there are not only the well-off, there are also those we call minimum wage workers: a model team member receives around €300,000 per year and a “water carrier” receives €41,000 per year. This is the minimum salary provided that the team is classified in the WORLD TOUR, the highest category in professional cycling. Budgets and salaries are much lower for continental or national teams.

The role of the sports director within these structures:

The sports director maintains a constant relationship with the general manager, and must also plan for contract renewals or the recruitment of new riders.
The sports director plays a fairly complex role. In addition to being in contact with the different members of the structure, he is in permanent contact with the runners, it is said that he is the eye and the ear of the runner. He is also a confidant and must be able to quickly resolve any problems they encounter.
The sports director also prepares pre-season training plans and those during the season between racing periods.
  He must form a team for each race taking into account the profile and difficulties of the terrain and monitor the fitness of the couriers. He also organizes pre-race briefings to establish race strategies, which requires him to know the routes perfectly and possibly carry out reconnaissance.