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What are classification jerseys in cycling?
Classification jerseys are coloured jerseys worn by the leaders of the different classifications in a stage race, such as overall time, points, mountains and best young rider.
The most important jersey goes to the leader of the general classification. At the Tour de France it is yellow, at the Giro d'Italia pink and at the Vuelta a España red.
Other jerseys reward other skills. The points jersey, green at the Tour, goes to the most consistent finisher and usually suits sprinters. The mountains jersey, the polka-dot jersey at the Tour, rewards riders who score points on categorised climbs. The young rider's jersey, white at the Tour, goes to the best-placed young rider in the general classification.
Leaders wear their jersey on the following stage. If one rider leads several classifications, they wear the most important jersey and the next-placed rider wears the other.
Jerseys come with prize money, both for each day in the lead and for the final classification. Each team also competes in a team classification. Our race pages show prize money for jerseys and stages where the organiser publishes it.