Points Classification

Lore & Background

The green jersey was born out of a desire to give the Tour's sprinters a dedicated honour. Before 1968, the race had a more informal combativity system, but organisers wanted a structured, cumulative classification that would reward consistent front-of-pack performance. The result was the maillot vert, a jersey that from its earliest years became synonymous with the explosive, wheel-to-wheel drama of a sprint finish. Eddy Merckx, the dominant force of the late 1960s and early 1970s, claimed it multiple times, proving that the classification was not merely a sprinter's toy but a test of all-round racing acumen.

The 2000s and 2010s belonged to a new generation of specialists. Mark Cavendish, the towering Isle of Man sprinter, became the classification's modern icon, collecting multiple green jerseys with a consistency that made him its most decorated recent winner. Andre Greipel carved out his own legacy in the early 2010s, while Peter Sagan redefined the category in the mid-to-late 2010s, demonstrating that a rider with exceptional all-round fitness could dominate the points competition even on stages that were not pure sprints. Sagan's four green jerseys in that era showed the classification could reward versatility, not just raw top-end speed.

In more recent years, the Tour's organisers have tweaked the points distribution to make the green jersey more competitive on mountainous stages, giving larger point hauls to riders who lead out of the final climbs. This has opened the door for climbers and all-rounders to challenge the traditional sprinter dominance, adding a new strategic layer to a classification that has always been about being at the front when it matters most.

In Their Own Story

The last five kilometres of a flat stage, the peloton a single, hissing ribbon of carbon and flesh along the coastal road. The wind off the Atlantic presses into the riders' backs. Ahead, the green-jerseyed leader sits in the third row, breathing hard, eyes locked on the sprinter's wheel ahead of him. The intermediate sprint flag flashes at the two-kilometre mark. A wheel leaves the pack. Then another. The green jersey surges forward, shoulders shoving, the crowd's roar a physical force against the chest. At the line, the photo is taken, the points are logged, and the green jersey turns back to the pack, already scanning the road ahead for the next chance. There will be more. There is always more. The Tour does not let you rest.

Reader's Guide

The green jersey is awarded to the rider with the highest cumulative points total at the end of the Tour. Points are earned at two types of checkpoints: intermediate sprints (bursts) set at fixed distances before the stage finish, and the stage finish line itself. Higher finishing positions earn more points; a first-place finish at a stage line yields the largest haul, while an intermediate sprint first place earns a smaller but meaningful sum. The rider with the most points after each stage wears the green jersey the following day.

Since its introduction in 1968, the classification's rules have evolved several times. Early versions gave heavy weight to stage finishes, making it almost exclusively a sprinter's contest. In the 2010s and beyond, organisers redistributed points to reward riders who lead out of mountain finishes and intermediate sprints on hilly terrain, broadening the field beyond pure flat-road specialists. This shift allowed riders like Peter Sagan to dominate the classification with a combination of sprinting speed and climbing tenacity, redefining what the green jersey could mean.

The all-time greats of the classification include Eddy Merckx, who claimed it multiple times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Mark Cavendish, whose repeated victories in the 2000s and 2010s made him its most recognisable modern icon. Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan each carved out multi-year runs, while in the 2020s the classification has seen a wider spread of winners as the points system continues to reward all-round racing over pure sprinting.

Did You Know?

• The green jersey was introduced in 1968, replacing an earlier, less structured combativity system, and has been a permanent fixture of the Tour ever since.
• Peter Sagan won the Points Classification four times in the mid-to-late 2010s, proving that a rider with exceptional all-round fitness could dominate the category even without being a pure sprinter.
• Intermediate sprints (bursts) are positioned at set distances before the stage finish and award fewer points than the stage finish itself, but they are crucial for a rider building a cumulative lead over the three weeks.
• Eddy Merckx, already the dominant force in the General Classification, also claimed the green jersey multiple times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, showing the classification was not limited to sprinters.