THE REGULATIONS
YELLOW JERSEY GREEN JERSEY POLKA-DOT JERSEY WHITE JERSEY
The honour of wearing the
yellow jersey goes to the
day’s leader of the general
classifi cation. Worn by the leader of the
points classifi cation, with
points available at the
intermediate sprint and stage
fi nishes, and more points up
for grabs on fl at stages. Worn by the leader of the best
climber classifi cation. Points
are awarded at the summit
of categorised climbs, with
double points available on
super-category passes and
stage fi nishes. It is awarded each day to the
best-placed young rider in
the general classifi cation. All
riders aged up to 25 in the
calendar year are eligible for
this competition.
Prize: €500 000 to
the fi nal winner
Prize: €25 000 to
the fi nal winner
Prize: €25 000 to
the fi nal winner
Prize: €20 000 to
the fi nal winner
OTHER PRIZES: Stage victory (Continental): €11 000. Tour’s most aggressive rider (Antargaz): €20 000.
Team classifi cation (NamedSport): €50 000.
AN INVITATION TO ATTACK
In a bid to encourage more aggressive racing, Tour organisers have introduced
sprint bonus points on strategic climbs across all three weeks.
n 2018, the Tour de France
introduced a system of
bonus points to make the
opening week of racing more
exciting, awarding three, two and one
bonus seconds to the fi rst three riders
at special sprints on the fi rst eight road
stages. These bonuses were largely
ignored by the yellow jersey contenders
– with the notable exception of Geraint
Thomas, who claimed them at La
Roche-sur-Yon and Mûr-de-Bretagne.
While the Welshman’s success wasn’t
built around these handful of extra
seconds, the candidates for his crown
will probably be far more eager to race
for them this year.
That’s because the winner of each
bonus-point sprint will now receive eight
seconds, the runner-up fi ve seconds
and the third-placed fi nisher two
seconds. These sprints have also been
placed in more strategically important
I
90 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2019
locations. As was the case last year,
these special bonus sprints will not
count towards the points classifi cation.
“Last year, they were intended
to encourage the race leadership
to change hands during the fi rst
week,” explains race director Thierry
Gouvenou. “This time around, they
could be a key element in the battle for
the yellow jersey all the way to Paris.
We’ve put them on the top of hills and
cols, and on stages where there will be
a fi ght for the general classifi cation.
These are seconds that could really
count, especially as there could be
a multiplier eff ect. By attacking, for
example, just before the summit of the
Galibier, a good climber who is also a
good descender could win in Valloire,
where he would also take the 10-second
bonus for the stage victory in addition to
the time he had gained on the descent.
His reward would be quite signifi cant.” ●
2019 BONUS POINTS
STAGE 3
Côte de Mutigny (16km from fi nish)
STAGE 6
Col des Chevrères (19km from fi nish)
STAGE 8
Côte de la Jaillère (12.5km from fi nish)
STAGE 9
Côte de Saint-Just (13km from fi nish)
STAGE 12
Hourquette d’Ancizan
(30.5km from fi nish)
STAGE 15
Mur de Péguère (38.5km from fi nish)
STAGE 18
Col du Galibier (19km from fi nish)
STAGE 19
Col de l’Iseran (38km from fi nish)