[music] Manon: There are many
different jerseys in the world of cycling, but can you name them all? Do you know your maillot jaune
from your maglia rosa? In this video, I'm going to take you through some of the most iconic jerseys
in the world of cycling, what they represent, and where they came from. Let's start with the
most famous jersey in cycling. Even non-cyclists will know that the leader in the Tour de France
will wear the yellow jersey. This is a jersey that pro cyclist's dream of wearing and dedicate
their whole lives to. The Tour de France was the first race to introduce a leader's jersey,
and ever since, most big races will have one, as well as many other categories of jerseys.
It was back in 1919 when the Tour de France was making its comeback after a four-year war-induced
hiatus. Two-thirds into the 5,560-kilometer epic and 325-kilometer stage, the race director Henri
Desgrange decided the race needed to be more distinguished from the rest of its competitors.
Before the 2:00 AM stage start on the 18th of July, 1919, Eugène Christophe of France pulled
on the yellow jersey for the very first time. At that time, it was just a way of physically
marking the race leader, but that moment has proven to establish one of cycling's most famous
jerseys. Why the color yellow? It was chosen because it was a color of the newspaper sponsor
L'Équipe. Now, these days it's not only the jersey that's yellow. Teams will have yellow bikes,
helmets, and bike accessories made for when one of their riders gets to wear the yellow jersey.
The next most identifiable jersey in cycling, and in my opinion the coolest, is the polka dot
jersey, also known as the King of the Mountains jersey. Each significant climb in the Tour will
have points available at the summit. The tougher the climb, the more points will
be awarded. Whoever has the most points at the start of each day will don the polka dot jersey.
The mountain's classification has been around since 1933, but there was no jersey awarded. It
was only in 1975 that the white jersey with the red polka dots was presented. Why polka dots?
What's that got to do with mountains? Nothing. Again, it was down to one of the sponsors,
Chocolat Poulain, that would cover their chocolate bars in polka dots, and that's
where the polka dot jersey came from. Next up is this green little number,
the green jersey also known as the "maillot vert." In the 1952 Tour de France, Fausto
Coppi beat everyone by such a large margin everyone quit. So, as some extra incentive,
the organizers introduced the green jersey, the sprint jersey. Like the polka dot jersey,
riders collect sprints along the route, but not in the mountains, this time at intermediate sprints.
More importantly, there were points awarded at the finish line too. The organizers decided to
celebrate the 50th anniversary in 1953 by integrating the green jersey. The color?
You guessed it. It was one of the lawn-mower sponsors of the Tour, La Belle Jardinière.
The white jersey, also known as the maillot blanc, is essentially the yellow jersey but for
young riders. This is a jersey for the highest placed under-25 in the general classification.
It was back in 1975 that the jersey was first used, but it was only for riders in their first
three years of pro racing. Then in 1983, it was changed to only first-time riders were
eligible. Then, in 1985, it was changed to under-25 riders. From 1989 to 1999,
there was no jersey awarded, but in 2000 it came back and it's been around ever since.
The leader's jersey in the Giro, the maglia rosa. This is essentially the same as the
yellow jersey in the top, but it's pink, and the color pink coming from an Italian sports
newspaper that funded the race and was printed on pink paper. Unlike every other jersey in the Giro,
the pink jersey has remained the same ever since it was first awarded.
In the Giro, the purple jersey is the sprinter's jersey. Again, the same to the green jersey in the
Tour de France, but it's purple. In 1967, the sprint jersey was added. It was a red jersey
back then. In 1969, the organizers decided to change the color of the jersey to purple,
and it was purple all the way up until 2010 where the organizers decided to change it back
to being a red jersey, but in 2017, however, they changed it back to a purple jersey.
The blue jersey, also known as maglia azzurra, is the best climber's jersey. Same but different
to the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France. This is the mountains jersey for the Giro. It
was in 1974 that the jersey was first awarded. Back then it used to be green, all the way up
until 2012 when the jersey classification sponsor Banca Mediolanum, an Italian bank, renewed their
sponsorship, and it was changed back to blue. The Vuelta race leader will wear a red Jersey,
but it hasn't always been like that. When the race first started in 1931, it was orange,
and then in 1941 is switched away for a year, and then it switched back to orange. In 1955,
it then changed to yellow, the same color as the Tour de France, and it stayed yellow all
the way up until 1999 with one exception in 1977 when it changed to orange. It was
in 2010 that the red jersey was adopted. The rainbow jersey. An incredibly special
jersey in the world of cycling and one that so many pro cyclists dream of winning. A jersey
that is awarded to the rider that wins the world championships race throughout
many disciplines of cycling. Unlike all the other jerseys that are worn during the race,
the rainbow jersey is worn all year round until the next championships. Previous race winners can
have the chance to wear the rainbow bands on their jersey, either on their collar or on their sleeve.
In 1927, the rainbow jersey was born. A predominantly white jersey with the UCI
bands from bottom to top, but the colors are green, yellow, black, red, blue. These colors
also appear on the Olympic rings. Much mystery surrounds the origins of the rainbow jersey,
but the original colors were designed by the founder of the Olympic movement,
Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He used the most common colors from the flags around the world to try and
create a symbol of international relevance. Now, very appropriately, last but not least,
the lanterne rouge. This one isn't a jersey, but it's a very important part of the Tour
de France. This is the now unofficial prize that's awarded to the rider that finishes in
last place overall. The name originates from the red lantern that was hung on the back of
carriages. The signalmen would look out for to see if any of the trains had been disconnected.
We hope you enjoyed this roundup of some of the most famous jerseys in the world of
cycling. What's your favorite jersey? Why not head over to the GCN app and have your say on
what the best cycling jersey is and why? That's where the polka dots came from. It was back in
1975 that the jersey was first used, but it was only four riders in their first three years of
pro racing. Then in 1983-- [00:07:35] [END OF AUDIO]