Classification jerseys

Apart from the overall competition of winning the Tour, each race has two further classifications: the points and the mountain competitions. Tallied at the end of each stage, the current leaders of the three competitions are required to wear a distinctive jersey next day. Jerseys are awarded in a ceremony after each stage, sometimes before trailing riders have finished the stage.

The Tour's jersey colours have been adopted by other cycling stage races, and have thus come to have meaning within cycling generally, rather than solely in the Tour. For example, the Tour of Britain has yellow, green, and polka-dot jerseys with the same meaning as in the Tour de France.

Overall leader

The maillot jaune (yellow jersey), which is worn by the overall time leader, is the most prized. It is awarded by calculating the total combined race time up to that point for each rider. The rider with the lowest total time is the leader, and at the end of the event is declared the overall winner of the Tour. Desgrange added the yellow jersey in 1919 because he wanted the race leader to wear something distinctive and because the pages of his magazine, L'Auto, were yellow

Points competition

The maillot vert (green jersey) is awarded for sprint points. At the end of each stage, points are earned by the riders who finish first, second, etc. Additional points are available for sprints along the route, often two or three times a day, with the idea of pepping up the race.

King of the Mountains

The "King of the Mountains" wears a white jersey with red dots (maillot à pois rouges), referred to as the "polka dot jersey" and inspired by a jersey that the former organiser, Félix Lévitan saw while at the Vélodrome d'Hiver track in Paris in his youth. The vivid design of red dots on a white background is not popular with riders.
The competition is calculated by points awarded to the first riders at the top of designated hills and mountains, the greatest number of points being awarded for the hardest ascents. Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the jersey was not introduced until 1975.

Other classifications

There are three lesser classifications, though only one awards the leader with a jersey. The maillot blanc (white jersey) is for the best-placed rider less than 25 years old on January 1 of the year the Tour is ridden.
The "prix de combativité" goes to the rider who has done most to animate the day's racing, usually by trying to break clear of the field. The rider with most points wears a number printed white-on-red instead of black-on-white. At the end of the Tour, an award is given to the rider who was thought to be the most aggressive bike racer throughout the entire three week tour.

The team prize is assessed by adding the times of each team's best three riders each day. The competition does not have its own jersey but since 2006 the leading team has worn numbers printed black-on-yellow instead of black-on-white. The number of riders in a team has varied widely but is now normally nine. Until 1930, teams represented countries, groups of countries or French regions. From 1930, but with the exception of 1967 and 1968 when there was a return to geographical teams, riders have been entered by commercial teams.