The Prestigious Yellow Jersey

THE prestigious Yellow Jersey le prestigieux maillot jaune As of 2013, 2,036 yellow jerseys have been awarded in the Tour de France to 276 different riders The inaugural Tour de France took place in 1903 A Yellow Jersey has been awarded to the overall race leader of the Tour de France at the end of each stage since 1919 Eugene • Christophe was its first wearer Yellow was chosen because the newspaper L'Equipe which sponsored the Tour was printed on yellow paper. Also, because it was felt the yellow jersey would help identify the leader to spectators on the road At 96 days, Eddy Merckx has spent more time in the yellow jersey than any other rider Winners Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, rank an equal 34th in the all time time list having spent 14 days in the yellow jersey 34 34 Fabian Cancellara Lance Armstrong until his results were annulled in 2012, he was ranked second in this list, leading the Tour for 83 stages from 1999 to 2005 at 28 days Cancellara is the rider to have spent most time in the Yellow Jersey but not to have won the Tour Roger Walkowiak is the only rider to win the Tour (1956) but never to have won a single Tour stage in any edition of the race Mark Cavendish Despite winning 25 stages of the Tour de France, the "Manx Missile" is seeking to take possession of the Yellow Jersey for the first time by winning the opening stage of this year's race If he is successful he will add his name to an elite list of just 6 British riders to have worn the Yellow Jersey Chris Froome 2013 * 13 days Surged into the yellow jersey on stage 8, the first day of hard mountainous climbs and never looked back Bradley Wiggins 2012 * 13 days Finished second on the opening prologue and moved into the maillot jaune on stage seven in an imperious performance Chris Boardman 1994 * 3 days 1997 *1 day 1998 *2 days Won the Tour prologue on three occasions to enjoy spells in yellow David Millar 2000 * 3 days Like Boardman, Millar took the yellow jersey on his Tour debut after a prologue success Sean Yates 1994 * 1 day A short-lived spell in yellow came towards the end of his career Tom Simpson 1962 *1 day The first Briton to wear the maillot jaune Sadly he lost his life competing in the 1967 edition YellowJersey www.yellowjersey.co.uk British Riders in Yellow