People are just realising why the Tour de France leader wears a yellow jersey
The yellow jersey – or the Maillot Jaune – is one of the most iconic items of clothing in sports.
Donned by the leader of the Tour de France, the yellow jersey is instantly recognisable scaling the Alps and the Pyrenees or flying through a French vineyard. But a lot of people are still unsure as to why the leader is given a yellow jersey.
It hasn't always been that way, and during the formative years of La Grande Boucle, the leader of the race was handed a green armband so journalists could identify him. It wasn't until 1919 that the now-famous yellow jersey was introduced.
READ MORE: Measuring myself up against a Tour de France pro proves they're freaks of nature
To understand why the yellow jersey is, well, yellow, you must first know how the Tour de France came into being.
In 1903, French newspaper L'Auto was struggling to generate revenue – so the editor, Henri Desgrange, came up with the ambitious idea to create and sponsor a bike race. That year the first Tour de France was held, and it was covered exclusively in the yellow pages of L'Auto.
So in 1919, when Desgrange decided the leader needed to be more visible with a jersey, yellow, the colour of the newspaper pages, seemed the obvious choice.
What colour do you think the leader of the Tour de France should wear? Let us know in the comments section below
The first wearer of the yellow jersey, which was a woollen jumper in those days, was Frenchman Eugène Christophe.
However, it is Eddy Merckx who has pulled on the yellow jumper more than any rider in history – an eye-watering 96 times.
Tadej Pogacar is the current undisputed king of the Maillot Jaune, having won the previous two editions of the Tour – and he's well on his way to a third at the tender age of 23, a feat no one in history has managed.
READ NEXT:
Veteran Tour de France icon riding his 11th Tour is the brother of ex-Real Madrid star
Tour de France legend claimed he’d be a ‘loser’ if he'd only slept with 198 women
How do Tour de France cyclists pee during race? Bradley Wiggins explains grim rule
Source: Read Full Article