Mountains classification in the Tour de France

The mountains classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1933. It is given to the rider that gains the most points for reaching mountain summits first. The leader of the classification is named the King of the Mountains, and since 1975 wears the polka dot jersey (maillot à pois rouges), a white jersey with red polka dots.

History
The first Tour de France crossed no mountain passes, but several lesser cols. The first was the col des Echarmeaux (712 m), on the opening stage from Paris to Lyon, on what is now the old road from Autun to Lyon. The stage from Lyon to Marseille included the col de la République (1161 m), also known as the col du Grand Bois, at the edge of St-Etienne. The first major climb—the Ballon d'Alsace (1178 m) in the Vosges — was featured in the 1905 race.

True mountains were not included until the Pyrenees in 1910. In that year the race rode, or more walked, first the col d'Aubisque and then the nearby Tourmalet. Both climbs were mule tracks, a demanding challenge on heavy, ungeared bikes ridden by men with spare tires around their shoulders and their food, clothing and tools in bags hung from their handlebars. The assistant organiser, Victor Breyer, stood at the summit of the Aubisque with the colleague who had proposed including the Pyrenees, Alphonse Steinès. The tour organiser, Henri Desgrange was confident enough after the Pyrenees to include the Alps in 1911.

The highest climb in the race was the Cime de la Bonette-Restefond in the 1962 Tour de France, reaching 2802 m. The highest mountain finish in the Tour was at the Col du Galibier in the 2011 edition.

Since 1905, the organising newspaper l'Auto named one cyclist of the Tour de France the meilleur grimpeur (best climber). In 1933, Vicente Trueba was the winner of this classification. In order to recognize climbers, the Tour de France director, Henri Desgrange, decided that cyclists should receive a bonus for reaching the tops first. From 1934 on, the gap between the first and the second cyclist to reach the top was given as a time bonus to the one reaching the top first. These time bonuses were later removed, but the King of the Mountain recognition remained. Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the distinctive jersey was not introduced until 1975, as the sponsor, Chocolat Poulain, wanted to enhance the visibility of the jersey in the peloton. The Tour's organizer Félix Lévitan decided to use the jersey used by the cyclist Henri Lemoine as a tribute to him. As a consequence, the sponsor, Chocolat Poulain, decided to change its wrappings of chocolate bars and covered them in a polka dot wrapper.

The first rider to ever wear the Polka Dot Jersey, during the 1975 Tour de France, was Joop Zoetemelk, and while he never won the King of the Mountains competition in the Tour De France he is considered to be one of the greatest climbers in Tour de France history. Zoetemelk did win the mountains classification in the 1971 Vuelta a España, as well as the general classification in the 1979 Vuelta a España and the 1980 Tour de France.

Sponsorship
The polka dots originate from sponsor Chocolat Poulain. Between 1993 and 2018, the jersey was sponsored by Carrefour supermarkets, initially under the Champion brand, and later under the main Carrefour brand from the 2009 edition of the Tour. Since 2019, the jersey is sponsored by E.Leclerc supermarkets.

Jerseys ranking
The polka dot jersey is the third most important jersey in the Tour de France, third to yellow and green jerseys. If a rider is the leader in the general and/or points classifications and in the mountain classification he will wear the yellow or green jersey. The second rider (or the following eligible rider) in the mountain classification will wear polka dot jersey with some exceptions:


 * If the second rider also leads the young rider classification, he will wear the white jersey (for example if rider A is first in both the general and mountain classification and rider B is second in the mountain classification but also the leader in young rider classification, then rider A will wear wear the yellow jersey and rider B will wear the white jersey);
 * If the second rider is world champion he will wear the rainbow jersey. If the rider is a continental champion or national champion he will wear the corresponding jersey;

In both case the third rider (or the following eligible rider) will be in polka dot jersey.

Current situation
At the top of many climbs in the Tour, there are points for the riders who are first over the top. The climbs are divided into categories from 1 (most difficult) to 4 (least difficult) based on their difficulty, measured as a function of their steepness, length, location within the stage (near the start or end), and location in the overall race (early in the race or toward the end). A few of the toughest climbs were originally given different individual points scales, and were thus listed as "uncategorised" (Hors catégorie, a term that has since passed into the French language to refer to any exceptional phenomenon); however, since the 1980s, the hors catégorie climbs have been merged into the single scale and have effectively become, despite the name, just a top category above category 1. In 2004, the scoring system was changed such that the first rider over a fourth category climb would be awarded 3 points while the first to complete a hors catégorie climb would be awarded 20 points. Further points over a fourth category climb are only for the top three places while on a hors catégorie climb the top ten riders are rewarded. From 2004 to 2021, points scored on the final climb of the day were doubled where that climb was at least a second category climb. In 2022 and 2023, mountain-top finishes were worth the same number of points as any other climb.

Distribution of points
The points gained by consecutive riders reaching a mountain top are distributed according to the following classification:

If two riders have an equal number of points, the rider with the most first places on the hors catégorie cols, is declared winner. If the riders arrived first an equal number of times, the first places on the 1st category cols are compared. Should the two riders again have an equal number of first arrivals in this category, the organization looks at mutual results in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th category, until a winner is found. If the number of first arrivals in all categories is equal for both riders, the rider with the highest position in the overall list of rankings receives the mountain jersey.

Double points
During of the 2000s, the Tour de France organization decided to double the points awarded at the top of certain ascents:


 * between 2004 and 2010 editions, the last climb of the stage awarded double points if the climb is at last a 2nd category;
 * between 2011 and 2016 editions happened the same but only if the last climb is also the finish line of the stage;
 * between 2017 and 2021 and since 2023, points are doubled on some hors catégorie (also 1st category in 2018) chosen by the organizers:
 * in 2017, hors catégorie also stage finish (only one case) ;
 * in 2018, the last ascension, whether 1st category or hors catégorie, from which stage of the last massif traversed (3 stages in the Pyrenees);
 * hors catégorie climbs higher than 2000 meters (5 climbs in 2019, 1 in 2020);
 * the last climb of the stage if the climb is hors catégorie (3 climbs in 2021);
 * highest point in the Tour de France (1 climb in 2023 and 2024).

For 2020, "Double points will be awarded at the top of passes or at the finish of stage 17 at Méribel Col de la Loze, the highest peak in the 2020 Tour (2,304 masl)". The organisation of the race determines which mountains are included for the mountains classification and in which category they are

Criticism of the system
The system has faced criticism. Six-time winner Lucien Van Impe said in 2010 that the mountain jersey has been devalued, because it goes to cyclists who have no hope of winning the general classification and are therefore allowed to escape and gather points in breakaways by the general classification contenders. According to Van Impe, focusing on the mountain classification was started by cyclists such as Laurent Jalabert and Richard Virenque, but compared to modern mountain classification specialists, "they could really climb, and they could win sprints on hors category climbs or even win the stage". However, in 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2022, the mountain classification winner also won the general classification.

Meilleurs grimpeurs (top climbers)
This list shows the cyclists who were chosen meilleur grimpeur by the newspaper L'Auto. Although L'Auto was organising the Tour de France, the meilleur grimpeur title was not given by the tour organisation, so it is unofficial. However, it is a direct predecessor of the later King of the Mountains title.

Winners of the general and mountain classification in the same year
Some cyclists have won both the general classification and the mountains classification in the same year. In the early years of the Tour, only the highest mountains gave points. Cyclists aiming for the Tour win generally did well on those mountains, so the riders high in the general classification were typically also high in the mountains classification, which made the double more likely. Later, the rules of the mountains classification changed, giving more points to mountains of lower category. The cyclists aiming to win the general classification did not spend energy on those lower category mountains, and thus other cyclists could aim for the mountains classification win. In 1969, Eddy Merckx won not only the general classification and the mountains classification, but also the points classification.

The general classification and the mountain classification were won by the same rider twelve times, by eight different cyclists:
 * 1938: Gino Bartali
 * 1939: Sylvère Maes
 * 1948: Gino Bartali
 * 1949: Fausto Coppi
 * 1952: Fausto Coppi
 * 1959: Federico Bahamontes
 * 1969: Eddy Merckx
 * 1970: Eddy Merckx
 * 2008: Carlos Sastre
 * 2015: Chris Froome
 * 2020: Tadej Pogačar
 * 2021: Tadej Pogačar
 * 2022: Jonas Vingegaard

Days in polka dot jersey
after the end of 2023 Tour de France

The classification existed since 1933. The polka dot jersey was issued since the 1975.

Before 1975
In some editions the Mountain Classification, without a distinctive jersey, was not compiled in the first stages (no points awarded in the first stages). Some riders led all the stages after the first points were awarded:

🇧🇪 Félicien Vervaecke 1935 (first stage awarding points: 4th stage)

🇮🇹 Gino Bartali 1938 (first stage awarding points: 8th stage)

🇮🇹 Fausto Coppi 1949 (first stage awarding points: 11th stage)

🇪🇸 Federico Bahamontes 1954 (first stage awarding points: 11th stage)

🇪🇸 Federico Bahamontes 1958 (first stage awarding points: 13th stage)

🇪🇸 Federico Bahamontes 1963 (first stage awarding points: 10th stage)

After 1975
No riders wore the jersey in all stages of a single edition. Lucien Van Impe in 1977 wore it in most stages in a single edition: 25 of the 28 stages (but the jersey was not issued in the prologue). Bernard Vallet in 1982 lead the classification in all 21 numbered stages but not after the prologue.