Tour de France mountain classification: How does the polka dot jersey work?

The competition is also called the King of the Mountains classification, or KOM classification. It is one of the most recognisable and fiercely contested competitions at the Tour de France.

Here is how the mountain classification, its points system and the polka dot jersey work.

The mountain classification is a points competition for the categorised climbs included in the Tour de France route.

Riders earn points by being among the first to cross the summit of a climb. The rider with the most mountain points after each stage leads the classification and wears the polka dot jersey on the following day.

The rider who has the most points after the final stage wins the Tour de France mountain classification.

The competition is not based on a rider’s total climbing time. A rider can win the polka dot jersey without being the fastest rider on every mountain. What matters is collecting points consistently throughout the race.

KOM stands for King of the Mountains.

The term is used for the mountain classification and for individual categorised climbs. During a Tour de France broadcast, commentators may refer to KOM points, a KOM summit or the battle for the KOM jersey.

The official Tour de France jersey is more commonly called the polka dot jersey.

The system is relatively simple:

1. The organiser selects and categorises climbs along the route.
2. Mountain points are awarded to the first riders over each summit.
3. Harder climbs award more points and reward more riders.
4. The points from every eligible climb are added together.
5. The rider with the highest total leads the classification.

Riders can collect points on short hills during flat stages as well as on famous mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees.

Tour de France climbs are divided into five categories:

HC stands for hors catégorie, a French term meaning “beyond category”.

There is no single public formula that automatically decides the category of a climb. The Tour organiser considers factors such as:

1. The length of the climb
2. The average and maximum gradients
3. The altitude of the summit
4. The climb’s position within the stage
5. The amount of climbing completed earlier in the stage
6. The overall difficulty of the road and route

The same climb can therefore receive a different category depending on which side the riders approach from or where it appears in the stage.

For the 2026 Tour de France, mountain points are distributed according to the category of each climb.

Winning an HC climb is therefore worth twenty times as much as winning a Category 4 climb.

This means the mountain classification can change dramatically during the most difficult stages. A rider who has collected points on smaller hills may lose the jersey when the race reaches the Alps or Pyrenees.

Summit finishes do not automatically award double points.

A mountain finish awards the points associated with its official climb category. An HC summit finish normally offers the regular HC points, while a Category 2 finish offers the regular Category 2 points.

The organiser can introduce a special points rule for a particular climb or edition. Any exceptional rule is announced in the regulations for that year.

This makes it important to check the official stage information rather than assuming that every finish at altitude is worth double points.

There are two common ways to win the mountain classification.

Attacking from breakaways
A climbing specialist can join breakaways on stages containing several categorised climbs.

Because the breakaway reaches the climbs before the peloton, its riders can compete for the available mountain points. A rider may target several early climbs and then conserve energy once the main objectives for that stage have been achieved.

This strategy requires careful planning. Riders and teams study the route to identify stages offering the largest possible number of points.

Dominating the major mountain stages
General classification contenders can collect large numbers of points while competing for stage victories and the yellow jersey.

The biggest climbs and summit finishes usually appear late in mountain stages. These are often the same places where the strongest overall riders attack each other.

A dominant Tour contender can therefore win the yellow and polka dot jerseys during the same edition.

Not necessarily.

The mountain classification rewards points rather than total climbing performance. The strongest overall climber may focus on winning the Tour and allow breakaway riders to collect points on earlier climbs.

A specialist can win the polka dot jersey by choosing the right breakaways and targeting the right summits, even when that rider is not competing for the general classification.

However, general classification riders often score heavily on the hardest climbs. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard have both won the mountain classification while also winning the Tour de France overall.

When two riders have the same number of points, the result is decided by their performances on the most difficult climbs.

The first deciding factor is the number of victories on HC climbs and HC summit finishes. If the riders are still tied, victories on Category 1 climbs are considered, followed by Categories 2, 3 and 4.

If the riders still cannot be separated, their positions in the general classification are used.

A rider must complete the Tour de France to be included in the final mountain classification.

The Tour de France introduced its mountain classification in 1933, but the leader did not initially wear a special jersey.

The white jersey with red polka dots was introduced in 1975. According to the Tour de France, its distinctive appearance was inspired by Henri Lemoine, a successful French track cyclist who raced in a similar design.

Joop Zoetemelk became the first rider to wear the new jersey during the 1975 Tour. Lucien Van Impe was the first rider to win the final mountain classification while the polka dot jersey was in use.

The design quickly became one of the most recognisable symbols in professional cycling.

Richard Virenque holds the record with seven Tour de France mountain classification victories.

Federico Bahamontes and Lucien Van Impe each won the competition six times. Both riders became famous for their performances on the most demanding mountain passes of their eras.

Pogačar won both the general classification and the mountain classification in 2020, 2021 and 2025. Vingegaard achieved the same combination in 2022.

Carapaz followed a different route to victory in 2024. He used breakaways and aggressive riding to collect mountain points ahead of the main general classification contenders.

The yellow jersey remains the Tour de France’s biggest prize, but the polka dot jersey has special status among climbers.

Winning it requires strength, tactical awareness, recovery and the courage to attack repeatedly. Riders often have to join difficult breakaways before competing for points on several climbs during the same stage.

The competition also creates racing throughout mountain stages. Even when the battle for the yellow jersey is temporarily quiet, riders can still be attacking for mountain points further up the road.

A rider can lead both competitions, but cannot wear two jerseys at the same time. The yellow jersey has priority. The rider placed second in the mountain classification then wears the polka dot jersey during the stage.

Will the battle for the polka dot jersey be decided by pure climbers on the attack, or will the GC contenders sweep up the points in the high mountains? Read our preview for the mountain classification.