Tour de France Jerseys Explained

Previous: Race Format and Strategy

Introduction:

The Tour is a complicated tapestry of rules and regulations, rich traditions, and fancy French vocabulary all woven together with blood, sweat, and tears. Sorting it all out can be a little intimidating and confusing to those who are new the colorful world of cycling fan-dom.

We have enlisted the help of our good friend Demian Bigelow, a cycling enthusiast, quasi-retired bike racer, and person who has actually attended the Tour de France to help you gain a better understanding of this seemingly uber-complex World Series of Cycling event. 

Then there's the different jerseys?

What's up with all those different colored jerseys we're always hearing about?

DB: The yellow jersey is worn by the rider who has the lowest cumulative time so far. This is "the leader". The winner at the end of the last day is the overall winner.
 

Then there are additional special jerseys that represent three different races-within-a-race:

The green jersey acknowledges the sprint leader. To keep things interesting on the mostly flat days, there are sprint bonuses along the way. The sprint leader is the rider who has accumulated the most sprint points.

The polka dot jersey is worn by the climbing leader, as in hill or mountain climbing. Like the green jersey, there are points to be won on some days at the peaks along the course.

And last, but not least, the white jersey is the youngest rider under 26 years old in the highest overall place.
 

So while the whole race is about the yellow jersey, there are many riders that know they will not win it. They race for the other jerseys or in support of a teammate that may win one of those jersey. Lastly, there is no jersey for it, but everyday there is a stage winner. So there are many races going on at the same time. When a rider makes a move, his motivation may be multi-purpose. It's as if there are 10 different chess matches being played at 30+ mph resting on only 20mm of rubber. Yeah, that's exciting.

ST: Wow! There are so many exciting layers of racing going on out there! It's no wonder that we newbie cycling fans find The Tour a little overwhelming and confusing at times! And leave it to the French to make recognizing cycling bad-assery a fashion statement! We will certainly be keeping our eyes peeled for the yellow, green, polka dot, and white jerseys as we track The Tour this year. And it will be so much more fun now that we understand what all of the various colors represent!

See original art from the Tour de France series

Quick Navigation:

• An Introduction to the Tour de France
• Race Format and How to Win
• What Those Jerseys Really Mean
• Thinking in Cyclist Terms