Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First), winner of the Tour of Flanders, often described the large difference in prize money between men and women as a "shame" and admitted that winning the Monument Classic has significantly increased his income and how it has He admitted that he tries not to think about the impact it will have on his life.

The 26-year-old Italian's income has increased significantly since his solo attack on Quaremont in the Tour of Flanders and his first professional win. He had always been considered a talented one-day rider, but on April 7 his life changed dramatically.

He had recently moved from Tuscany to Lugano, Switzerland, and in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine, he revealed that his personal reward for winning the Tour de Flanders was a new set of wheels on his car that cost 500 euros. He is trying to stay grounded, focused on the race, and hungry.

"If I stop thinking about how much I earn, I will stop riding my bike," he suggested during a visit to component sponsor FSA near Milan, pointing out the huge difference in prize money between men and women.

A growing number of races offer full gender parity in terms of prize money, but Bettiol highlighted the difference in the 2019 Tour de Flanders, where she shared the podium with women's winner Marta Bastianelli.

"You need to be mentally strong and focused to win, so we want to keep our minds free, as we did with our big win. We earn a lot from our contracts, but the prize money is very low. The winner of the Tour of Flanders only gets 20,000 euros. The women's race is even worse. Marta Bastianelli's prize money for winning the Tour of Flanders is only 1,265 euros. She suffered as much or more than I did, and women's cycling is now an established reality.

Bettiol measures the value of her Tour de Flanders victory in a different way.

"It gave me confidence that I could compete with the best in the world.

"I was able to give back, at least partially, to my family, my team, and the people who have always supported me.

"I like competing and racing against other people, and I know that training and preparation is the path to success. But if I didn't have the talent, I wouldn't know if I could keep going because I would have to sacrifice so much."

"I'm not sure I would be able to do it if I didn't have the talent.

After his victory in the Tour of Flanders, Bettiol finished second in the Italian time trial championship and third in the road race championship, but was unable to win again.

He rode the Tour de France with EF Education First, but had a quiet second half of the season, with the Road World Championships in Yorkshire being his last race of the 2019 season. on November 7, he won the Tour de He resumed training exactly seven months after his victory in Flanders.

After his first professional victory in one of the sport's biggest one-day classics in 2019, he set new goals for 2020.

"To find the consistency I have been lacking," he said modestly, eager to experience the excitement that money cannot buy.

"I want to keep winning and stay at the highest level. I want to keep winning, I want to stay at the highest level, I want to ignite people's emotions, I want to move them. That's probably the most exciting thing for me."

"Away from racing and events, I would love to return to Flanders one day, see the roads and breathe the air.