Every cyclist has ever dreamed of wearing the ‘yellow jersey. The garment is used to distinguish the first place overall in the prestigious Tour de FranceThis championship was the first to create a jersey for the leader, although it was not used since its beginnings in 1903. It was in 1919 (after the break caused by World War I) when Henri Desgrangefounder of the Tour, decided that The leader had to wear distinctive clothing.
Desgrange chose yellow for the jersey. The newspaper L’Auto, precursor of L’Equipe (main sponsor of the Tour), printed its pages in the same colour. That was the main reason for choosing the colour yellow for the garment. Eugène Christophe was the first wearer of this jersey in July 1919.
He ‘yellow jersey‘ and its influence
The yellow jersey of the Tour de France served as inspiration for other races. He Italy spin started using the pink jersey, color chosen by the pages of the Gazzetta dello Sport. While the Back to Spain He began using a jersey of the same colour as the Tour, but this changed until red became the official colour.
There are several privileged people who have worn the ‘yellow jersey‘. In total, seven Spaniards have won the Tour for a total of 12 titles. Federico Martin Bahamontes He was the pioneer in 1959. Luis Ocana was his successor in 1973. From Ocaña, it was necessary to wait 15 years until the next Spanish winner, Pedro Delgado. Miguel Indurain He is the great protagonist after winning 5 Tours in a row, from 1991 to 1995. In the first decade of the 21st century, there were four Spanish victories, the last ones to date: Oscar Pereiro In 2006, the first of Alberto counter in 2007, Carlos Sastre in 2008 and again, Alberto counter in 2009.
