Tour de France: Why the leader's jersey colour is yellow

The yellow jersey, or the Maillot Jaune, is one of the most iconic symbols in sport. It's instantly recognisable as it scales the Alps and Pyrenees or whizzes through French vineyards during theTour de France.

However, many are still puzzled as to why the race leader dons a yellow jersey. This wasn't always the tradition; in the early years of La Grande Boucle, the race leader was given a green armband for journalists to identify him.

It was only in 1919 that the now-famous yellow jersey made its debut. To comprehend why the jersey is yellow, one must understand the origins of the Tour de France. In 1903, French newspaper L'Auto was struggling financially, prompting editor Henri Desgrange to devise an ambitious plan: create and sponsor acycling race.

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That year, the inaugural Tour de France took place, with coverage exclusively in L'Auto's yellow pages. So, when Desgrange decided in 1919 that the race leader needed a more visible jersey, yellow - the colour of his newspaper's pages - seemed the natural choice.

The first person to wear the yellow jersey, which was a woollen jumper back then, was Frenchman Eugene Christophe. But it'sEddy Merckx who holds the record for wearing the yellow jumper the most times - a staggering 96 occasions.

In the 2025 edition of the race, it's Tadej Pogacar who leads in the general classification and looks on course to capture a whopping fourth Tour, and a second consecutive win. While it was Ben O'Connor who won the 18th stage of the race, the Slovenian gained 11 seconds on second-placed Jonas Vingegaard.

He's now four minutes and 26 seconds ahead of his Danish rival as he continues etching his name into the history books of the cyclist. It was only last year when the 26-year-old became just the third male cyclist, and first in 37 years, to achieve the Triple Crown of Cycling in the same year.

Joining an elite club that consists only of Merckx and Stephen Roche, Pogacar dominated the sport in 2024, having won the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the World Championships.

His rivalry with Vingegaard is widely regarded as one of the greatest in cycling history. It was only earlier this month when the Dane - who won the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Tour - was plunged into controversy after his wife, Trine, scolded his Visma-Lease-a-Bike cycling team for overusing him.

Claiming that the team has been working her husband too hard in the pursuit of another Tour triumph, she spoke to Danish outlet Politiken and said: "Knowing Jonas as I do, I’d say Visma is pushing him too far now. I’m afraid he’s burning the candle at both ends. I think people sometimes forget the human being behind the athlete – and how to get the best out of him. It could all backfire.

"Jonas doesn’t recharge on another three-week altitude camp with the team. He needs to be at home in Denmark, with us, to feel truly himself. He’s deeply attached to his routines. Sometimes he needs to reset in the calmest surroundings possible, just with his family. That’s a huge part of who he is and why he’s successful.

"At one point, we decided to renovate the house together. Jonas realised he could rip out a kitchen, install a new one and lay down wooden flooring. The team wasn’t too pleased about that."