Tour de France jerseys: Explainer

The Tour de France sees the best riders in the world contest the most prestigious event in cycling and the eventual winner claims one of the most famous items of clothing in all of sport, the yellow jersey.

The yellow jersey is awarded to the leader of the general classification, but there are three other jerseys on offer at the Tour de France – the green jersey for the points classification, the polka dot jersey for the king of the mountains classification and the white jersey for the best young rider classification.

Read our explainer to understand how the jerseys of the Tour de France are awarded and won. 

The yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, is awarded to the rider who leads the general classification - ie. the rider who has completed the course to that point in the shortest aggregate time. 

Although the Tour de France began in 1903, the idea of a distinctive race leader’s jersey was only implemented in 1919. Tour founder Henri Desgrange decreed that the race leader should be distinguishable to crowds on the roadside. Yellow was chosen as L’Auto, the organising newspaper, was also published on yellow pages at the time. 

Eugene Christophe is officially the first rider to don the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, though three-time winner Philippe Thys claimed that he had declined Desgrange’s request to wear a yellow jersey back in 1913.

The yellow jersey quickly established itself as cycling’s greatest prize – “a symbol of excellence, prestige and victory,” per Tour de France organiser ASO – and a single day in the garment can be the defining moment of a rider’s entire career.

Eddy Merckx has the record for most days in the yellow jersey, with 96, while fellow five-time winner Bernard Hinault is second on 75 days. In the current peloton, Chris Froome (59) has the most days in the yellow jersey, while Tadej Pogačar has spent 40 days in yellow and Jonas Vingegaard has enjoyed 27 days in the jersey.

Bernard Hinault has the distinction of wearing the yellow jersey in eight different Tours – ie. in every Tour in which he competed – while Fabian Cancellara (29) has the record for most days in the yellow jersey without winning the overall title.

In 2025, time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds will be awarded to the first three riders on each road stage. This time is removed from the riders’ aggregate overall times. The yellow jersey is manufactured by Santini and sponsored by LCL, while the letters ‘HD’ in honour of Henri Desgrange are placed near the hem.

The green jersey or maillot vert is awarded to the rider who leads the points classification each day. The points classification is calculated by awarded points to riders based on their finishing position on each stage, while there are additional points on offer at the intermediate sprint on each road stage.

The points on offer vary according to the terrain, with more points awarded on flat stages (50 for the winner) than on hilly and mountainous days (20 for the winner). This weighted points system has more often than not made the green jersey a target for the sprinters, though all-rounders have also carried the maillot vert to Paris over the years.

The points classification and its green jersey were introduced on the Tour’s 50th anniversary in 1953, with the colour chosen for sponsor La Belle Jardinière. Fritz Schär was the inaugural winner. Sean Kelly became the first rider to win four green jerseys in 1989, but he was passed by Erik Zabel, who went on to wear green in Paris on six occasions.

Peter Sagan is the current record holder in the classification, as he won the green jersey seven times between 2012 and 2019. Sagan also has the record for most days in the green jersey (130) ahead of Zabel (89).

The green jersey is currently manufactured by Santini and sponsored by Skoda, while the shade switched from light to dark green ahead of the 2024 Tour de France. Biniam Girmay became the first African winner of a Tour de France classification when he carried the green jersey to Nice.

The king of the mountains classification – Grand Prix de la Montagne in French – is calculated by awarding points to the first riders to the summit of selected climbs along the route of the Tour de France. The leader is awarded the polka dot jersey, or maillot à pois.

Mountain points are awarded on every classified climb in the race, and the climbs are divided into five distinct categories, ranging from the easiest category 4 hills to the toughest hors catégorie (‘beyond category’) mountain passes. In the event of a tie, the polka dot jersey is awarded to the rider with the most first place finishes on hors catégorie climbs or summit finishes.

In the early years of the Tour of the France, the organising newspaper L’Auto awarded the honorific of Meilleur grimpeur to the best climber in the race. The king of the mountains classification as we know it today began only in 1933, with Vicent Trueba picking up the most points.

The distinctive polka dot jersey was introduced only in 1975 at the behest of sponsor Chocolat Poulain. Tour de France co-director Felix Levitan chose this colour scheme in honour of pre-war track rider Henri Lemoine.

Richard Virenque holds the record for most the king of the mountains titles with seven, claimed between 1994 and 2004, while Lucien Van Impe and Federico Bahamontes won the classification six times apiece. Virenque has the record for most days in the polka dot jersey with 96.

Eight riders have won the Tour de France and mountains classification in the same year, with Jonas Vingegaard the most recent to achieve the feat in 2022.

The points allocated to each category of climb are as follows:

Hors catégorie: 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2pts 

1st category: 10, 8, 6, 7, 5, 1pt 

2nd category: 5, 3, 2.

3rd category: 2, 1

4th category: 1 point

The points will be doubled on the Tour’s highest mountain, the Col de Loze, with 40 points for the first rider to the top and 30 for the second. The first rider to the summit will also receive the Souvenir Henri-Desgrange.

The white jersey or maillot blanc, is awarded to the best ranked rider under the age of 25 each day on the Tour de France. In 2025, the competition is open to riders born from January 1, 2000 onwards.

The classification was first introduced to the Tour de France in 1975, with Francesco Moser the winner of the white jersey in his one and only appearance in the race. In 1983, Laurent Fignon became the first rider to win both the Tour de France itself and the best young rider classification in the same year. The feat has since been repeated by Jan Ullrich (1997), Alberto Contador (2007), Andy Schleck (2010), Egan Bernal (2019) and Tadej Pogačar (2020, 2021).

The white jersey was not awarded between 1989 and 1999, though the best young rider classification remained a fixture on the Tour. The maillot blanc was reintroduced at the turn of the millennium.

Pogačar holds the record for most victories in the category (four), having carried the white jersey to Paris in 2022 and 2023 while finishing second overall at the Tour de France. Pogacar also holds the record for most days leading the classification, with 75. The Slovenian led the classification from start to finish for three straight Tours in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Ullrich has the second most days in the lead on 55, though the German never wore the white jersey as his three wins in the classification came between 1996 and 1998.

Remco Evenepoel won the white jersey on his Tour de France debut in 2024, and the Belgian is eligible for the best young rider classification once again in 2025.

The white jersey is produced by Santini and sponsored by optical lens manufacturer Krys. 

There are two additional Tour de France competitions for which jerseys are not awarded. The team classification is calculated by adding the times of the three highest-placed riders from each team in each stage. 

The leading team in the classification wears yellow race numbers and they also have the right to wear yellow helmets, though they are not obliged to do so. The team classification has been in existence since 1930. Between 1973 and 1989, there was an additional team points classification.

On each road stage of the Tour de France, the combativity award is presented to the rider deemed to have displayed the greatest fighting spirit. The winning rider wears a red race number on the following stage. At the end of the Tour de France, an overall ‘Super Combativity’ prize is awarded to the rider judged to have been the most aggressive of the entire race. Richard Carapaz was given the honour in 2024.