 Yellow Jersey
The winner of the General Classification is the rider with the lowest cumulative time over the entire race. Since 1919, the leader on the GC has worn a yellow jersey on the following day’s stage, the colour derived from the colour of the newspaper that sponsored the event at the time. Each day, GC results are shown with the total time of the leader
and the amount of minutes and seconds the following riders are behind. The jersey is sponsored by Crédit Lyonnais, hence Lance’s kids’ huge toy lion collection. A rider may improve on GC by gaining bonus seconds at the finish in a mass start stage (usually 20 seconds for a win, 12 for second and eight for third) or at the intermediate sprints. All riders who cross the finish line in a group are credited with the same time, unless there are gaps in the group. In the event of a crash within three kilometres of the finish, all riders in that group before the crash are credited with the same time as the rest of the group, provided they finish the stage. Aggressive riders in all-day breaks can gain the intermediate sprint bonuses. Strong sprinters compete for the yellow jersey in the first week of the Tour – often the time gap between first and last place on the GC can be less than a minute. But the greatest time gains are made on
the decisive stages where the draft effect is significantly lessened (mountains) or where it’s disallowed (time trials). When we reach the mountains and time trials, much larger time gaps open up. Then only a few riders
will fight for GC honours. So, the Tour is really only decided on seven of the 20 stages.
 Green Jersey
Points Competition
The green jersey is often fiercely fought out right up to the line in Paris, long after the GC has been decided. Winning it is considered the greatest possible achievement for a sprinter. To win it, riders must earn the most points.
These are allocated based on the order of finishing in each stage. The winner of a stage earns up to 35 points with lesser places logically earning less, all the way down to 20th place. Also, a handful of points are also awarded at
each of the intermediate sprints. In the past, this competition has sometimes been more exciting
to watch than the overall competition.
 Red Polka Dot Jersey
The King of the Mountains
Introduced in 1975, the most eye-catching jersey in the peleton is often the most sought after. Riders have been known to sacrifice a good overall result for a win in this category. Over three weeks, the route rolls over a
number of mountain passes. Key stages finish at summits in the Pyrenees or the Alps and points are awarded at each of the major climbs along the way – the tougher the climb, the more the points. Climbs are categorised.
Category 4 is easy, Category 1 is longer, higher and steeper, and slopes like the Galibier, Mont Ventoux, the Tourmalet and the Alpe d’Huez are classed as ‘Hors Categorie’ or ‘outside of category’.
For reference: within
the context of the Tour, Suikerbossie wouldn’t
even be considered for categorisation!
 White Jersey
Best Young Rider
Many Tour greats have worn this jersey before trading up to the grown-up’s yellow tricot, like Indurain, Lemond, llrich but not Merckx, he went straight into yellow). It’s given to the highest-placed GC rider under the age of 25.
Other Competitions
Team Competition
Based on the total time of the first three riders on each team (exclusive of bonuses) per stage.
Red Number
This is a purely subjective assessment by the race officials to determine who is the leader in the Most Aggressive Rider competition. Attributes like stubbornness, bravado and aggression are a must for this award.
Lanterne Rouge
It’s an unofficial competition, for the honour of being the last-placed rider on GC. And we mean honour; the lanterne rouge is hero-worshipped!
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