Tour de France Jersey Colours and Prizes for Winners

Tour de France Jersey Colours and Prizes for Winners

1. Yellow jersey

Awarded to the rider with the lowest aggregated time after each stage. 

Along the way, yellow jersey favourites will have to avoid crashes and beware of traps set by rival teams in crosswinds or over tricky terrain. Unlike the Giro d’Italia, there are no time bonuses awarded for winning stages.The final overall winner of the yellow jersey will take home €450,000, which is typically split among his teammates.

2. Green jersey

The green jersey points competition was established 60 years ago, for the most consistent finisher. Competition rules mean it’s weighted towards sprinters – more points are on offer on flat stages than medium mountain, high mountain and individual TT stages. 

On a sprint stage, the winner collects 45 points; on a medium mountain stage, 30 points; in the high mountains and individual time trial stages, just 20 points. Points are awarded on a sliding scale down to 15th place. Additionally, green jersey points are awarded at intermediate sprints, to 15 riders – 20 points for first place down to one for the 15th rider.

The competition structure means strategy is just as key as pure speed – contenders can gamble all and target the finales of the seven flat sprint stages, or try to escape the peloton and hoover up points on intermediate sprints. It’s an intriguing battle that begins on the very first day and can last right up to the final sprint on the Champs-Élysées. 

The winner will collect €25,000.

3. Polka dot jersey

Red polka dots denote the best climber, defined by the rider who accumulates the most points cresting hills and mountains at the front of the race. Summits are classified according to difficulty – fourth category climbs are mild, HC climbs are leg breakers. As with the green jersey, points are awarded on sliding scales for lesser-placed finishers.

In a further twist, polka dot points are doubled on the four summit finish days. The battle for the jersey will likely burst into life on stage 15’s Mont Ventoux finale, and two subsequent HC finishes at Alpe d’Huez and Annecy-Semnoz.

The probable route to the €25,000 prize lies in targeting category one (10 points for the winner) and HC climbs (25 points) and being very close to the front on days when points are doubled. It’s an open competition but the structure means someone well-placed in terms of general classification stands a good chance.

4. White jersey

Awarded to the best young rider in the general classification. To be eligible for the €20,000 prize, riders must be aged 25 or under.

5. Team competition

The battle for best team is an underrated one that usually simmers for three weeks. The competition is based on adding the times of each team’s first three finishers at every stage finale. The winning squad will have with the lowest accumulated time, and take home €50,000.

6. Most aggressive rider

Watch out for a rider wearing a red race number (dossard rouge) – it denotes that they were the most aggressive rider the previous day, based largely on the amount of time they spent in breakaways. However, it also has a subjective element, and an eight-person jury of cycling experts conclude on winners. 

At the end of the 21 stages, the jury awards €20,000 to the ‘super-combative’.

Credit to: BikeRadar