- Mountains classification in the Tour de France
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Polka dot jersey 
Award details Sport Road Cycling Competition Tour de France Given for Best climber in mountain stages Local name(s) Maillot à pois rouges (French) History First award 1933 Editions 70 First winner 
Vicente Trueba (ESP)Most wins 
Richard Virenque (FRA)
- 7 times
Most recent 
Samuel Sánchez (ESP)The Mountains classification in the Tour de France is a secondary classification in the Tour de France, in which cyclists receive points for reaching a mountain top first. The leader of the classification is named the "King of the Mountains", and since 1975 wears the polka dot jersey (French: maillot à pois rouges), a white jersey with red dots.
Contents
History
Since 1905, the organising newspaper l'Auto named one cyclist of the Tour de France the meilleur grimpeur (best climber).[1] In 1933, Vicente Trueba was the winner of this classification. However, Trueba was a very poor descender, so he never gained anything from reaching the tops first. 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.[2] Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the distinctive jersey was not introduced until 1975. The colours were decided by the then sponsor, Poulain Chocolate or Chocolat Poulain, whose chocolate bars were covered in a polka dot wrapper [3] . Currently the jersey is sponsored by Carrefour supermarkets, which has sponsored the jersey since 1993, initially under the Champion brand, it switched to the main Carrefour brand for the 2009 edition of the Tour. The Tour's jersey colours have also been adopted by other cycling stage races; for example, the Tour of Britain also has a polka dot jersey.
Current situation
At the top of each climb 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 and length. A few of the very hardest 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 in fact the hors catégorie climbs have been given a single points scale and effectively became, 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 was awarded 3 points while the first to complete a hors catégorie climb would win 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. Since 2004, points scored on the final climb of the day have been doubled where that climb was at least a second category climb.[4]
Distribution of points
The points that are gained by consecutive riders reaching a mountain top are distributed according to the following classification:
Point Distribution Grid as of 2011 4C 3C 2C 1C HC 1st rider 1 2 5 10 20 2nd rider 1 3 8 16 3rd rider 2 6 12 4th rider 1 4 8 5th rider 2 4 6th rider 1 2
The points for a mountain top finish are doubled, if that mountain is an HC, 1C or 2C. The organisation of the race determines which mountains are included for the mountains classification and in which category they are.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.
Criticism of the system
In recent years, the system has had some criticism. Six-time winner Lucien Van Impe said that the mountain jersey has been devalued, because it goes to cyclists who have no hope to win the general classification so are allowed to escape and gather points in breakaways. This tactic was started by cyclists as Laurent Jalabert and Richard Virenque, but according to Van Impe, they were really able to climb. Van Impe has proposed to award time bonuses, which may heat up the battle.[5]
Winners of the Mountains classification
Repeat winners
Rank Name Country Wins Years 1 Richard Virenque France7 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 2 Federico Bahamontes Spain6 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964 Lucien Van Impe 
Belgium6 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983 4 Julio Jiménez Spain3 1965, 1966, 1967 5 Felicien Vervaecke Belgium2 1935, 1937 Gino Bartali 
Italy2 1938, 1948 Fausto Coppi Italy2 1949, 1952 Charly Gaul 
Luxembourg2 1955, 1956 Imerio Massignan Italy2 1960, 1961 Eddy Merckx Belgium2 1969, 1970 Luis Herrera 
Colombia2 1985, 1987 Claudio Chiappucci Italy2 1991, 1992 Laurent Jalabert France2 2001, 2002 Michael Rasmussen 
Denmark2 2005, 2006 List of cyclists named meilleurs grimpeurs
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 Mountain King title. [6][7]
Rider Team 1905 René Pottier (FRA) 1906 René Pottier (FRA) 1907 Emile Georget (FRA) 1908 Gustave Garrigou (FRA) 1909 François Faber (LUX) 1910 Octave Lapize (FRA) 1911 Paul Duboc (FRA) 1912 Odiel Defraeye (BEL) 1913 Philippe Thys (BEL) 1914 Firmin Lambot (BEL) 1919 Honoré Barthélemy (FRA) 1920 Firmin Lambot (BEL) 1921 Hector Heusghem (BEL) 1922 Jean Alavoine (FRA) 1923 Henri Pélissier (FRA) 1924 
Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) 1925 Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) 1926 Lucien Buysse (BEL) 1927 Giovanni-Michele Gordini (ITA) 1928 Victor Fontan (FRA) 1929 Victor Fontan (FRA) 1930 Benoît Fauré (FRA) 1931 Joseph Demuysere (BEL) 1932 Vicente Trueba (ESP) Winners of the Mountains classification by year
Winners by Nation
Rank Country Names Winning Most Most Recent Winner Wins 1 FranceRichard Virenque (7) Anthony Charteau 2010 20 2 SpainFederico Bahamontes (6) Samuel Sánchez 2011 17 3 ItalyGino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Imerio Massignan and Claudio Chiappucci Claudio Chiappucci 1992 11 4 BelgiumLucien Van Impe (6) Lucien Van Impe 1983 11 5 ColombiaLuis Herrera (2) Mauricio Soler 2007 4 6 DenmarkMichael Rasmussen Michael Rasmussen 2006 2 LuxembourgCharly Gaul Charly Gaul 1956 2 
NetherlandsSteven Rooks and Gert-Jan Theunisse Gert-Jan Theunisse 1989 2 9 
SwitzerlandTony Rominger Tony Rominger 1993 1 
United KingdomRobert Millar Robert Millar 1984 1 - Notes
- ^ Kohl's results have been removed, after he tested positive and admitted the use of doping, but the classification has not been remade yet. Carlos Sastre was ranked second.
- ^ Pellizotti's results have been removed, after his biological passport indicated irregular values, but the classification has not been remade yet. Egoi Martínez was ranked second.
Notes
- ^ Tour - WielerArchieven
- ^ Tour Xtra: Polka Dot Jersey
- ^ "Tour Xtra: Polka Dot Jersey". http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/eddy/xtra_bestanden/polkadot.htm.
- ^ "Regulations of the race". ASA/letour.fr. http://www.letour.fr/2006/TDF/LIVE/docs/reglement_2006_us.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ^ Atkins, Ben (22 July 2010). "Tour de France: Lucien Van Impe criticises polka dot mountains jersey classification". Velonation. http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/4981/Tour-de-France-Lucien-Van-Impe-criticises-polka-dot-mountains-jersey-classification.aspx. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
- ^ Tour - Pagina 3 - WielerArchieven
- ^ Tour-Giro-Vuelta
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General classification
(maillot jaune)
Points classification
(maillot vert)
Mountains classification
(maillot à pois)
Young rider classification
(maillot blanc)
Team classification
(classement d'équipes)
Combativity award
(prix de combativité)
Defunct jerseys:
Combination classification (maillot du combiné) • 
Intermediate sprints classification (maillot rouge)Categories:
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