The Tour de France 2026 will take place from July 4 to July 26, 2026. A total of 23 teams with 8 riders each will compete, meaning 184 professional cyclists. However, only four of them wear a special jersey on each stage – the classification jerseys. They are the most visible status symbols of the race and instantly show who is leading in each category.
The Yellow Jersey – Maillot Jaune
The Yellow Jersey is the most famous jersey in cycling – and one of the most iconic pieces of sports clothing in the world. It was introduced in 1919 by Tour founder Henri Desgrange, who wanted the race leaders to be clearly visible to spectators along the roadside. The yellow color was no coincidence: it matched the color of the paper on which his sports newspaper “L'Auto” was printed. At the end of the Tour, the Yellow Jersey is awarded to the overall winner. It is the ultimate goal for every general classification rider.
The Green Jersey – Maillot Vert
The Green Jersey has been awarded since 1953 and rewards sprinting strength and consistency. Points are awarded at designated intermediate sprints and at stage finishes – the number varies depending on the type of stage. Flat stages offer more sprint points than mountain stages. The green color, by the way, goes back to the original sponsor: the French clothing store “À la Belle Jardinière,” which regularly used green in its advertising campaigns. Typical wearers of the Green Jersey are pure sprinters such as Mark Cavendish or Marcel Kittel, but all-round riders can also win it over the course of the race.
The Green Jersey is considered the jersey of the fastest men in the peloton.
The Polka Dot Jersey – Maillot à Pois
The Polka Dot Jersey – white with red spots – is the “King of the Mountains” jersey. It has been awarded since 1933, with the current polka dot design introduced in 1975. The red dot pattern is a tribute to French cycling champion Henri Lemoine, who wore a similar design in the 1920s and 1930s. The steeper and more difficult a climb, the more points are awarded – and the more riders are eligible: on an HC (Hors Catégorie) climb, the first eight riders at the summit score points, while on a category four climb only the first rider does. Since the 2000s, points on certain climbs have been doubled, for example on the final ascent of a stage featuring an HC summit finish.
Whoever wears the Polka Dot Jersey is the Tour’s climbing specialist – often a lightweight climber who has worked for weeks on the cols to move up through the mountains classification.
The White Jersey – Maillot Blanc
The White Jersey is the award for the greatest young talent in the field. It was introduced in 1975, then disappeared from the race between 1988 and 2000 – and has been part of the Tour ever since. It rewards young riders who are already competing at the level of the very best. Those who wear the White Jersey often have the potential to fight for the Yellow Jersey in the years to come. Riders like Vingegaard, Pogačar, and Evenepoel have all worn it – before going on to win the Yellow Jersey.
The White Jersey is therefore something like a calling card for the next generation of cycling stars.
The Golden Race Number
In addition to the four classification jerseys, there is another daily award that many fans are not aware of: the golden race number. After each stage, it is awarded by a panel of experts – consisting of race officials, sports journalists, and former professionals – to the most combative rider of the day. This is not based on a points system, but on a purely jury-based decision.
The awarded rider is allowed to wear the golden race number in the following stage. At the end of the Tour, a so-called “Super-combatif” is also chosen: the most combative rider of the entire race.
The Team Classification
In addition to the individual classifications, there is also a team classification. In this ranking, the times of the three best-placed riders from each team are added together after every stage. The team with the lowest cumulative overall time leads the classification. If a team starts with fewer than three riders, it is automatically excluded from the classification.
From a German perspective, Team Telekom and its successor T-Mobile won the team classification a total of five times (1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006) – a record that remains unmatched by any German team to this day.
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