"lion en peluche"" - to each day's winner as a play on its name. In 2007, sponsorship of the jersey was credited to LCL, the new name for Crédit Lyonnais following its takeover by another bank, Crédit Agricole. General classification in the Tour de France The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey ( ). The winner of the first Tour de France wore a green armband, not a yellow jersey. After the second Tour"
"effectively all the cyclists rode as individuals, wearing grey jerseys. The lack of team colours made riders indistinguishable and lead to the introduction of the leader's jersey. Cyclists were divided in an A-category (professional) and a B-category (amateurs). In previous years, cyclists had to take care of their own food during the race. In 1919, the tour organisation took care of this. The first stage was won by Belgian Jean Rossius. However, he was penalized with 30 minutes for illegally helping Philippe Thys (handing him a water bottle) , therefore Henri Pélissier was leading the race. It had not helped"
"Mountains classification in the Tour de France The mountains classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1933. It is given to the rider that gains the most points for reaching mountain summits first. The leader of the classification is named the King of the Mountains, and since 1975 wears the polka dot jersey (), a white jersey with red polka dots. The first Tour de France crossed no mountain passes, but several lesser cols. The first was the col des Echarmeaux (), on the opening stage from Paris to Lyon, on what is now"
"explanation is that other colours were not available in the post-war shortage. Previoisly the leader would wear a green armband. Christophe was not happy with his yellow jersey, and other cyclists called him a canary. At that point in the race, it was likely that Christophe would stay the leader until the end of the Tour de France, because he remained in that yellow jersey after the Pyrénées and the Alps. In the penultimate stage, Firmin Lambot, who was in second position, more than 28 minutes behind, attacked. Christophe, still leading the race, chased him, but broke his fork close"
"The first Tour de France started almost outside the Café Reveil-Matin at the junction of the Melun and Corbeil roads in the village of Montgeron. It was waved away by the starter, Georges Abran, at 3:16 p.m. on 1 July 1903. ""L'Auto"" hadn't featured the race on its front page that morning. Among the competitors were the eventual winner, Maurice Garin, his well-built rival Hippolyte Aucouturier, the German favourite Josef Fischer, and a collection of adventurers including one competing as ""Samson"". Many riders dropped out of the race after completing the initial stages as the physical effort the tour required"
"in teams, but most of them rode with an individual sponsor. Two of the cyclists—Catteau and Lootens—were Belgian, all other cyclists were French. Leading up to the start of the Tour, Wattelier, Trousselier, Pottier and Augereau were all considered the most likely contenders to win the event. Despite the rule changes, there were still protesters among the spectators; in the first stage all riders except Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq punctured due to 125 kg of nails spread along the road. The first stage was won by Louis Trousselier. Trousselier was serving the army, and had requested his commander leave for the Tour"
"the leader still did not wear a yellow jersey. There is doubt over when the yellow jersey began. The Belgian rider Philippe Thys, who won the Tour in 1913, 1914 and 1920, recalled in the Belgian magazine ""Champions et Vedettes"" when he was 67 that he was awarded a yellow jersey in 1913 when the organiser, Henri Desgrange, asked him to wear a coloured jersey. Thys declined, saying making himself more visible in yellow would encourage other riders to ride against him. He said: He spoke of the next year's race, when ""I won the first stage and was beaten"
"went to Paris anyway to meet the race director, Géo Lefèvre. There were few entrants from the south and Lefèvre, a Parisian, was entranced by Dargassie's country ways and his marked southern accent. He recounted the meeting in ""L'Auto"": Dargaties was the blacksmith's real name. Lefèvre misheard it. Jean Dargaties became known as Jean Dargassies. Lefèvre asked: ""Tell me, have you ever actually ridden a cycle race?"" Dargassies replied: ""No, but I've ridden from Grisolles to Montauban and back and I didn't even have to try. I'm a blacksmith; I'm not worried about tiredness."" The first Tour de France started"
"included a confessor, one equerry, two secretaries, eight ""hangers-on"", six footmen, four pages, two Swiss guards, five coachmen, five postilions and 24 runners. He had embroidered coats, and entered Paris dressed with a jacket laced with a habit of Christ and buttons in diamonds, along with a large hat. Even his pages were dressed in gold velvet robes, with gold, tissue cuffs, and silver embroidery. On their shoulders were gold ribbons, and embroidered silver mesh, their hats decorated in silver with white plumes and white ribbons. The five coaches were pulled by eight large, black Frisian horses each. The first"
"the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey. Nicolas Frantz wore the yellow jersey from the start of the race to the end of the race. Since the introduction of the yellow jersey in 1919, this has only happened in 1924, 1928 and 1935. As the winner of the previous year, Frantz also wore the yellow jersey during the first stage; he is the only cyclist to wear the yellow jersey during an entire Tour de France. The Alcyon team had all the podium positions. Since 1928, it has never happened again that one team had all the podium positions."
"of leader as far as Nice. There he passed it on to Pélissier, who won with the prediction: ""Bottecchia will succeed me next year."" Such was the reaction in Italy that the ""Gazetta dello Sport"" asked a lire from each of its readers to reward him. Mussolini was first to subscribe. In 1924 Bottecchia won the first stage of the Tour and kept his lead to the end, the first Italian to win. He wore his yellow jersey all the way to Milan in the train – travelling third class to save money. Bottecchia won the Tour again in 1925"
"retained the yellow jersey as a result), but had broken his collarbone in the crash and did not start stage 7. Chris Froome became the overall leader with Martin's non-start. The yellow jersey on the first day of the Tour is traditionally permitted to be worn by the winner of the previous year's race; however, wearing it is a choice left to the rider, and in recent years has gone out of fashion. If the winner does not ride, the jersey is not worn. The previous year's winner traditionally has race number ""1"" (with his teammates given the other single-digit"
"Tour de France was similar to other Tours before 1926 that started in Paris, only some stages had been split, making the average stage shorter, from 338 km per stage in 1926 to 221 km per stage in 1927. In the first stage, the Alcyon-team suffered twenty punctures. The Dilecta-Wolber team won the first stage, led by Francis Pélissier, who was the first leader of the general classification. In the sixth stage, Francis Pélissier abandoned sick. His team mate Ferdinand Le Drogo became the new leader. In the seventh stage, Le Drogo was in the yellow jersey in the region"
"de France. After the 1923 Tour de France, the winner Henri Pélissier had said that the runner-up Bottecchia would go on to win the race. In 1924, there was a rule that the cyclists had to finish with everything they started with, and the officials suspected that Pélissier would start in the cold morning with many jerseys, and remove them once the day warmed up. The rule had been introduced in 1920, when all the cyclists were sponsored by the combined sponsor La Sportive, to prevent waste of material. Pélissier objected to the rule, on the ground that the jerseys"
"Combination classification in the Tour de France The combination jersey (also known as the multi-coloured jersey or technicolour jersey) was the jersey in the Tour de France worn by the leader of the combination classification. In 1968 the combination classification was introduced in the Tour de France. From 1969 on, the leader was recognized by a white jersey. The jersey was awarded to the cyclists that did best in all other classifications: General, Points and Mountains. It was seen as the classification for the all-round cyclist. Only cyclists ranking in each of the three other classifications were ranked in the"
"lot. He has one leg wrapped in a thick bandage and the poor boy limps markedly. His unhappiness at not having been able to ride the race right to the end, to have abandoned it on the first stage, is without limit. A victory in the first Tour de France wouldn't have crowned his sporting career, because he still has long years in front of him, but it would have been his greatest glory. Console yourself, brave Aucouturier. Perhaps you will win the second Tour de France? The Paris–Roubaix of 1904 was the first to be run without pacers. Until"
"in 1953 and promoted to officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1963. In 2003 he was elevated again to commander of merit of the Légion d'honneur. Apart from the fact that he saw the Tour through some of its trickiest financial times, the legacy that remains from the Lévitan days is the polka dot jersey worn by the leader of the mountains classification. Lévitan chose the design because it had appealed to him when he saw it as a teenager at the Vélodrome d'Hiver. The finish on the Champs-Elysées will also be a memorial. Félix Lévitan Félix Lévitan (12 October"
"when the Tour was for national rather than sponsored teams) by attaching a panel of printed cloth to the front of the jersey by pins. While synthetic material didn't exist in a way to create whole jerseys, synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947, following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn. Riders, especially the Frenchman Louison Bobet (Louis Bobet as he was still known), believed in the pureness of wool. Bobet insisted that cyclists needed wool for their long days of sweating in the heat and dust. It was a matter of hygiene. Artificial"
"remain first until the last day. Vietto, a climber, was less optimistic and lost his first place to Italian Pierre Brambilla after the time trial in stage 19. With only two stages to go, many now believed that Brambilla would win the race. On the very last stage, there was an unexpected attack, and little-known French cyclist Jean Robic captured the lead. Robic had won the Tour de France without ever wearing the yellow jersey during the race, the first time that happened. (In 1953 Robic would lead the race for one more day). After the 1939 Tour de France,"
"incarnation of personal disinterest... showing to perfection the notion of personal sacrifice. He refused the slightest bit of personal glory."" Carrea had the face of a ""wicked fairy and [a] Cyranesque nose,"" said the broadcaster and historian Jean-Paul Ollivier. Carrea was riding for Coppi in the Tour de France of 1952 when a group rode clear of the main field on the way to Lausanne. Carrea went with it to protect his leader's interests. He said: Carrea had no idea until he crossed the line that he had become the race leader. When officials told him, he looked bewildered, then"
"they no longer had any shape. His ears stuck out so far that the Tour organiser, Henri Desgrange referred to him as ""butterfly"". It was as a professional that Bottecchia learned to read, taught by his friend and training partner, Alfonso Piccin. Together they read the Italian sports daily, Gazzetta dello Sport, and clandestine anti-fascist pamphlets protesting at the rule of Benito Mussolini. Bottecchia's success for his new team included winning a stage in the 1923 Tour de France, where he also placed second overall. He led the Tour from Cherbourg after the second stage and wore the yellow jersey"
"a dying man bequeathed them to him more than 30 years later. Some reports say that Christophe broke his forks because he ran into a car on the descent. The historian and author, Bill McGann, says: Christophe became a soldier when France declared war in 1914. He served with a cycling battalion. In 1919 Christophe became the first man to wear the yellow jersey of race leader, though he was destined not to win the race overall. Christophe was riding with a grey La Sportive jersey when, while leading, Desgrange gave him the first yellow jersey. Christophe said: However, Christophe"
"on the second stage and carried that lead all the way to Paris. It is worth noting that Jacques Anquetil predicted he would wear the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification from start to finish in 1961, which he did. That year, the first day had two stages, the first part from Rouen to Versailles and the second part from Versailles to Versailles. No yellow jersey was awarded after the first part, and at the end of the day Anquetil was in yellow. The most appearances have been by Sylvain Chavanel, who rode his 18th and final Tour"
"de France; this was allowed for 24 hours. After he won the first stage and led the classification, his leave was extended until the end of the Tour. From 60 starting cyclists, only 15 cyclists reached the finish line within the time limit; 15 more reached the finish after the limit and the rest took the train. The Tour organizer Desgrange wanted to stop the race, but was persuaded by the cyclists not to do so, and allowed all cyclists to continue with 75 points. In the second stage, the first major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, made its debut. Four"
"Tour de France started on 22 June, and had one rest day in Barcelona. The race started in Germany, and the first stage, ending in Belgium, was won by Belgian Rik Van Looy. On the second stage, run over cobbles, three riders escaped: Bernard Vandekerkhove, Felice Gimondi and Victor Van Schil. Vandekerkhove won the stage, and became the new leader. On the third stage, there was again a group away, including Gimondi and André Darrigade. Darrigade was one of the best sprinters of that time, so Gimondi knew he would not win if it would end in a sprint. Gimondi"
"second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, but was not identified with a jersey. For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that lead this classification wore yellow caps. The combativity award was given to Henri Anglade. 1964 Tour de France The"
"by a tyre by Bossus in the second. On the following stage, the maillot jaune passed to Georget after a crash."" The Tour historian Jacques Augendre called Thys ""a valorous rider... well-known for his intelligence"" and said his claim ""seems free from all suspicion"". But: ""No newspaper mentions a yellow jersey before the war. Being at a loss for witnesses, we can't solve this enigma."" According to the official history, the first yellow jersey was worn by the Frenchman Eugène Christophe in the stage from Grenoble to Geneva on July 18, 1919. The colour was chosen either to reflect the"
"Desgrange, the first organiser of the Tour, sought to popularise competitors by giving them nicknames, he referred to Trousselier as ""the florist"". Trousselier's brothers Léopold and André were also cyclists. After competing in the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier turned professional and rode his first professional race during Christmas 1900. In 1903, Louis Trousselier rode Bordeaux–Paris, which was his first long race. He finished in second place, behind Hippolyte Aucouturier. However, a few days later he was disqualified, because he had taken shelter behind a car during the race. When the newspaper that organized Bordeaux–Paris organized the first Tour de France"
"being adopted by the Kings of France as their heraldic colour. Men wore a tunic, ""cote"" or ""cotte"" with a surcoat over a linen shirt. One of these surcoats was the cyclas, which began as a rectangular piece of cloth with a hole in it for the head. Over time the sides were sewn together to make a long, sleeveless tunic. When sleeves and sometimes a hood were added, the cyclas became a ganache (a cap-sleeved surcoat, usually shown with hood of matching color) or a gardcorps (a long, generous-sleeved traveling robe, somewhat resembling a modern academic robe). A mantle"
"some years on the left, others on the right. They were removed in 1984 to make way for a commercial logo but Nike added them again in 2003 as part of the Tour's centenary celebrations. One set of initials is now worn on the upper right chest of the jersey. In 2013, a nighttime finish on the Champs-Élysées for the final stage was done to commemorate the race's 100th edition. Race leader Chris Froome wore a special yellow jersey covered in small translucent sequins into Paris as well as on the podium to allow him to be more visible under"
"points available for harder climbs. The classification was preceded by the ""meilleur grimpeur"" () which was awarded by the organising newspaper ""l'Auto"" to a cyclist who completed each race. The classification awarded no jersey to the leader until the 1975 Tour de France, when the organizers decided to award a distinctive white jersey with red dots to the leader. The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest number of climbing points. If a rider leads two or more of classifications, the climbers' jersey is worn by the rider in second,"
"""You're ready, ""Monsieur"" Bobet?"", he asked, laying emphasis on the false politeness of the ""monsieur"". ""I'll give you a chance. I'll attack on the Luitel climb. I'll even tell you which hairpin. You want to win the Tour more than I do? Easy. I've told you what you need to know."" There was a prize of 100,00 francs at the top of the col de Lautaret in memory of the race's founder, Henri Desgrange. The Dutchman Piet van Est won it, with Bahamontes behind him. A small group broke clear on the descent and had eight minutes on the rest."
"the ""Dreyfus affair"". ""Le Vélo"" was easily recognised by the green-tinted newsprint on which it was published, so ""L'Auto"" (née ""L'Auto-Vélo"") was distinguished by a yellow tint, and thus the 'Yellow Jersey' worn by the leader of the 'Tour de France'. Pierre Giffard was a French journalist, a pioneer of modern political reporting, a newspaper publisher and a prolific sports organizer. In 1896, he joined his colleague Paul Rousseau at the head of ""Le Vélo"", where he wrote under the name ""Arator"". ""Le Vélo"" was widely considered to be the premier sports newspaper produced in France. He had been a"