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Since the first
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
in
1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...
, there have been 2,205 stages, up to and including the final stage of the 2021 Tour de France. Since
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...
, the race leader following each stage has been awarded the
yellow jersey The general classification of the Tour de France is the most important classification of the race and determines the winner of the race. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification has worn the yellow jersey ( ). History For the first t ...
(). Although the leader of the classification after a stage gets a yellow jersey, he is not considered the winner of the yellow jersey, only the wearer. Only after the final stage, the wearer of the yellow jersey is considered the winner of the yellow jersey, and thereby the winner of the Tour de France. In this article first-place-classifications before 1919 are also counted as if a yellow jersey was awarded. There have been more yellow jerseys given than there were stages: In 1914, 1929, and 1931, there were multiple cyclists with the same leading time, and the
1988 Tour de France The 1988 Tour de France was the 75th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 4 to 24 July. It consisted of 22 stages over . The race was won by Pedro Delgado with the top three positions at the end of the race being occupied by special ...
had a "prelude", an extra stage for a select group of cyclists. As of 2021 a total of 2,208 yellow jerseys have been awarded in the Tour de France to 295 riders.


Individual records

In previous tours, sometimes a stage was broken in two (or three). On such occasions, only the cyclist leading at the end of the day is counted. The "Jerseys" column lists the number of days that the cyclist ''wore'' the yellow jersey; the "Tour wins" column gives the number of times the cyclist ''won'' the general classification. The next four columns indicate the number of times the rider won the points classification, the King of the Mountains classification, and the young rider competition, and the years in which the yellow jersey was worn, with bold years indicating an overall Tour win. For example:
Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
has spent 96 days in the yellow jersey, won the
general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...
five times, won the
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...
three times, and won the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...
twice, but never won the
young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...
. He wore the yellow jersey in the Tours of 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 (which he all won) and 1975 (which he did not win). Three cyclists (
Jean Robic Jean Robic (; 10 June 1921 – 6 October 1980)L'Équipe, 9 July 2003 was a French road racing cyclist who won the 1947 Tour de France. Robic was a professional cyclist from 1943 to 1961. His diminutive stature (1.61m, 60 kg) and appearanc ...
in 1947,
Charly Gaul Charly Gaul Sporting Cyclist, UK, undated cutting (8 December 1932 – 6 December 2005)Jan Janssen Johannes Adrianus "Jan" Janssen (born 19 May 1940) is a Dutch former professional cyclist. He was UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, world champion and winner of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, the first Dutch rider ...
in 1968) have won the Tour de France with only two yellow jerseys in their career. Until the results of
Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...
were annulled for cheating in 2012, he was ranked second in this list, leading the Tour for 83 stages from 1999 to 2005.
Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...
was stripped of the yellow jersey and 6 days of wearing it in 2010 Tour de France because he tested positive for doping.
Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss people, Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He is known for being a qual ...
is, as of 2024, the rider with the most yellow jerseys for someone who has not won the Tour with twenty-nine days in yellow. This table is updated to the end of the
2024 Tour de France The 2024 Tour de France was the 111th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Florence, Italy, on 29 June, and finished in Nice, France, on 21 July. The race did not finish in (or near) Paris for the first time since its inception, owing to ...
(i.e. the stage is included).


Number of wearers per year

The largest number of riders wearing the yellow jersey in any year is 8. The smallest is 1.


Notes


Per country

The yellow jersey has been awarded to 25 countries since 1903. In the table below, "Jerseys" indicates the number of yellow jerseys that were given to cyclists of each country. "Tour wins" stands for the number of tour wins by cyclists of that country, "Points" for the number of times the
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...
was won by cyclist of that country, "Mountains" for the number of times the
mountains classification in the Tour de France The mountains classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1933 Tour de France, 1933. It is given to the rider that gains the most points for reaching mountain summits first. The leader of the classification is ...
was won by a cyclist of that country, and "Young rider" for the number of times the
young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...
was won by a cyclist of that country. The "Most recent holder" column shows the cyclist of the country that wore the yellow jersey most recently. The "Different holders" column gives the number of cyclists of the country that wore the yellow jersey.


Yellow jersey retirees

There have been sixteen instances where a rider quit the Tour for any reason while wearing the yellow jersey.


Yellow jersey winners with no stage wins

Usually the winner of the Tour de France also wins at least one stage, but that is not necessary. It is possible to win the Tour de France without winning a single stage, because the overall winner of the Tour de France is decided solely by the total race time. This has happened eight times so far: # 1922 # 1956 # 1960 # 1966 # 1990 # 2006 # 2017 # 2019 Of these eight cyclists, Walkowiak and Bernal are the only ones without a single Tour stage win, although Bernal is still active as of 2024, and was leading solo in the final stages of a stage abandoned due to a landslide on the final kilometres of the course in 2019, the year he won the Tour. Firmin Lambot won stages in the 1913, 1914, 1919, 1920 and 1921 Tours, Gastone Nencini won stages in the 1956, 1957 and 1958 Tours, Aimar won a stage in the 1967 Tour, LeMond won stages in the 1985, 1986 and 1989 Tours, Pereiro won a stage in the 2005 Tour, and Froome won stages in the 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 Tours.
Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...
initially also belonged to this group, when he won the 2010 Tour de France; however, he was later stripped of this title.


Number of Tour winners in a single race

Every Tour de France only has one winner. But a cyclist that has won the Tour de France previously can enter the race again, and a cyclist not winning the race can win the race in a later year. In almost every Tour de France, there were multiple 'former or future' Tour de France-winners in the race. Only seven times, the Tour started without any former Tour de France winner. This happened in 1903, 1927, 1947, 1956, 1966, 1999 and 2006. Only in 1903, apart from the cyclist that won the race, was there no other former or future Tour de France winner. In
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
, a record of seven former Tour de France winners started that year's Tour: # (
1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...
winner) # (
1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...
and
1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...
winner) # (
1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...
winner) # (
1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
winner) # (
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
winner) # (
1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
winner) # (
1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...
winner, who would also win the
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
and the
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
editions) In addition to these seven cyclists, four cyclists in that year's Tour would go on to win a Tour later: # (
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...
and
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
winner) # (
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
winner) # (
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
winner) # (
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
winner)


Winning Tour de France on first occasion

Twelve cyclists won the general classification the first time they entered the competition, including three of the five-time champions. *1903 – in the first ever Tour de France *1904 – *1905 – *1947 – , first Tour after World War II *1949 – , first of his 2 victories *1951 – *1957 – , first of his 5 victories *1965 – *1969 – , first of his 5 victories *1978 – , first of his 5 victories *1983 – , first of his 2 victories *2020 – , first of his 3 victories


Finishing Tour de France career with victory

Five cyclists won the Tour de France the last time they entered the competition: *1906 – , died before next race *1937 – *1939 – , last Tour before World War II *1952 – *2012 – Fausto Coppi is the only cyclist who won the Tour de France in both the first and the last Tour he entered.


See also

* List of Australian cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification * List of Belgian cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification * List of British cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification *
List of Dutch cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification In the Tour de France, one of the three Grand Tours of professional stage cycling, the yellow jersey is given to the leader of the general classification. The Tour de France is the most famous road cycling event in the world, and is held annually ...


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Tour de France database
Official Tour de France history {{Grand Tour Tour de France classifications and awards Cycling records and statistics