The jerseys
The jerseys
The leaders in the four race classifications – overall, points, mountains and youth – are signified by specific jerseys.
The overall classification is based on the aggregate time for completing every stage, with the rider with the lowest leading the Tour de France and wearing the yellow jersey.
Vincenzo Nibali won last year, having led the race for all but two days, while Chris Froome was the champion in 2013 and the two, alongside Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador are the favourites in 2015.
Tour de France 2015: yellow jersey favourites – the form guide
The points classification, traditionally contested by the sprinters, awards points for riders’ finishing positions on each stage and also at intermediate sprints.
More points are awarded for the flatter stages, and a slight reworking of the points system for 2015 has increased the rewards available for winning stages.
Tour de France 2015: green jersey contenders
Britain’s Mark Cavendish won the jersey in 2011 but Slovakian Peter Sagan has won for the last three years thanks to his ability to score points on both the flat and slightly hillier stages.
A white jersey is presented to the best young rider (25 years old and under), which is awarded in the same way as the yellow jersey but only open to riders under the requisite age.
When the rider in the yellow jersey is also eligible to wear the white jersey, the latter is worn during stages – for advertising purposes – by the rider placed second in the classification.
The final jersey, the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey, is worn by the rider to have accrued the most points, awarded to the first riders of each categorised mountain on the route.
The tougher the climb, the more points available and all summit finishes see points doubled.