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There’s a new green jersey at the Tour de France and not everyone loves it

Santini will debut the top at Paris-Nice

March 3, 2023
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Cycling is built on iconic, legendary leader’s jerseys. The yellow jersey. The pink. The rainbow. The polka dots. And of course the green jersey for best sprinter at the Tour. Sponsors change, and clothing manufacturers change, but for the most part, jerseys stay relatively the same.

There have been exceptions to this rule. Paris-Nice has had several versions of the leader’s tunic. When the race began in 1933, it was blue and gold–as an homage to the Mediterranean sky. It has been green, yellow and orange, and was even white before the race was bought by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO.) The the leader’s jersey became yellow, like the one in the Tour de France.

The Vuelta a España has also seen changes with its leader’s jersey. The head of the GC once wore the “maillot amarillo,” a yellow jersey, and then the “jersey de oro,” a golden one, before going to the red colour that is used now.

The Tour isn’t the only race to use the green jersey for the leader of the points competition. The Vuelta, the Critérium du Dauphiné , Tour de l’Avenir, Tour de Romandie, as well as Paris-Nice are some other notable events that use the same colour.

For the 81st edition of the race to the sun, Santini will be launching a different colour of green jersey. It’s slightly darker, and reflects the new logo of Skoda, which sponsors the fastman competition.

Although the new version is quite striking with the dark, forest green, it is a departure from earlier versions. You can check it out below.