Mountains classification in the Tour de France

The polka dots originate from sponsor Chocolat Poulain. Between 1993 and 2018, the jersey was sponsored by Carrefour supermarkets, initially under the Champion brand, and later under the main Carrefour brand from the 2009 edition of the Tour.[10] Since 2019, the jersey is sponsored by E.Leclerc supermarkets.[11]

The polka dot jersey is the third most important jersey in the Tour de France, third to yellow and green jerseys.[12][13] If a rider is the leader in the general and/or points classifications and in the mountain classification he will wear the yellow or green jersey. The second rider (or the following eligible rider) in the mountain classification will wear polka dot jersey with some exceptions:

• If the second rider also leads the young rider classification, he will wear the white jersey (for example if rider A is first in both the general and mountain classification and rider B is second in the mountain classification but also the leader in young rider classification, then rider A will wear wear the yellow jersey and rider B will wear the white jersey);[14][15]
• If the second rider is world champion he will wear the rainbow jersey. If the rider is a continental champion or national champion he will wear the corresponding jersey;[16][17]

In both case the third rider (or the following eligible rider) will be in polka dot jersey.

The points gained by consecutive riders reaching a mountain top are distributed according to the following classification:

For 2020, "Double points will be awarded at the top of passes or at the finish of stage 17 at Méribel Col de la Loze, the highest peak in the 2020 Tour (2,304 masl)".[20] 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.

Up until 2011 the points that are gained by climbing the mountains were distributed according to the following classification:

• Hors Catégorie climbs: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st to the 10th rider to climb the mountain
• First category climbs: 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st to the 8th rider to climb the mountain
• Second category climbs: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st to the 6th rider to climb the mountain
• Third category climbs and hills: 4, 3, 2 and 1 point, respectively for the 1st to the 4th rider to climb the hill
• Fourth category climbs and hills: 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively for the 1st to the 3rd rider to climb the hill.

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 King of the Mountains title. [22][23]

Year	Country	Rider	Team
1905	France	René Pottier
1906	France	René Pottier
1907	France	Emile Georget
1908	France	Gustave Garrigou
1909	Luxembourg	François Faber
1910	France	Octave Lapize
1911	France	Paul Duboc
1912	Belgium	Odiel Defraeye
1913	Belgium	Philippe Thys
1914	Belgium	Firmin Lambot
1919	France	Honoré Barthélemy
1920	Belgium	Firmin Lambot
1921	Belgium	Hector Heusghem
1922	France	Jean Alavoine
1923	France	Henri Pélissier
1924	Italy	Ottavio Bottecchia
1925	Italy	Ottavio Bottecchia
1926	Belgium	Lucien Buysse
1927	Italy	Giovanni-Michele Gordini
1928	France	Victor Fontan
1929	France	Victor Fontan
1930	France	Benoît Fauré
1931	Belgium	Joseph Demuysere
1932	Spain	Vicente Trueba

Some cyclists have won both the general classification and the mountains classification in the same year. In the early years of the Tour, only the highest mountains gave points. Cyclists aiming for the Tour win generally did well on those mountains, so the riders high in the general classification were typically also high in the mountains classification, which made the double more likely. Later, the rules of the mountains classification changed, giving more points to mountains of lower category. The cyclists aiming to win the general classification did not spend energy on those lower category mountains, and thus other cyclists could aim for the mountains classification win. In 1969, Eddy Merckx won not only the general classification and the mountains classification, but also the points classification.

The general classification and the mountain classification were won by the same rider twelve times, by eight different cyclists:

• 1938: Gino Bartali
• 1939: Sylvère Maes
• 1948: Gino Bartali
• 1949: Fausto Coppi
• 1952: Fausto Coppi
• 1959: Federico Bahamontes
• 1969: Eddy Merckx
• 1970: Eddy Merckx
• 2008: Carlos Sastre
• 2015: Chris Froome
• 2020: Tadej Pogačar
• 2021: Tadej Pogačar
• 2022: Jonas Vingegaard

after the end of 2023 Tour de France

The classification existed since 1933. The polka dot jersey was issued since the 1975.

Rider	After 1975	Total since 1933
Richard Virenque	96	96
Lucien Van Impe	74	94
Federico Bahamontes	0	77
Julio Jimenez	0	43
Eddy Merckx	0	40
Domingo Perurena	0	30
Gino Bartali	0	30
Claudio Chiappucci	27	27
Michael Rasmussen	27	27
Félicien Vervaecke	0	27
Luis Herrera	26	26

In some editions the Mountain Classification, without a distinctive jersey, was not compiled in the first stages (no points awarded in the first stages). Some riders led for all the stages after the first points were awarded:

Félicien Vervaecke 1935 (first stage awarding points: 4th stage)

Gino Bartali 1938 (first stage awarding points: 8th stage)

Fausto Coppi 1949 (first stage awarding points: 11th stage)

Federico Bahamontes 1954 (first stage awarding points: 11th stage)

Federico Bahamontes 1958 (first stage awarding points: 13th stage)

Federico Bahamontes 1963 (first stage awarding points: 10th stage)

No riders wore the jersey in all stages of a single edition. Lucien Van Impe in 1977 wore it in most stages in a single edition: 25 of the 28 stages (but the jersey was not issued in the prologue). Bernard Vallet in 1982 lead the classification in all 21 numbered stages but not after the prologue.