Polka dot jersey
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The polka dot jersey (French: maillot à pois rouges) is the jersey awarded for the best climber during the mountain stages of the Tour de France cycle race. The "King of the Mountains" wears a white jersey with red dots.
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 fifth category, called Hors catégorie (outside category) is formed by mountains even more difficult than those of the first category. 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 category climb would win 20 points. Further points over a fourth category climb are only for the top three places while on a hors category climb the top ten riders are rewarded. Additionally beginning in 2004, points scored on the final climb of the day were doubled if said climb was at least a second category climb.
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, to match a popular product. Currently the jersey is sponsored by Champion supermarkets. 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.
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[edit] Distribution of points
The points that are gained by climbing the mountains are distributed according to the following classification:
- Hors category Climbs: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st until the 10th rider to climb the mountain
- First category climbs: 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st until the 8th rider to climb the mountain
- Second category climbs: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points respectively for the 1st until the 6th rider to climb the mountain
- Third category climbs and hills : 4, 3, 2 and 1 point, respectively for the 1st until the 4th rider to climb the hill
- Fourth category climbs (hills): 3, 2, and 1 point, respectively for the 1st until the 3rd rider to climb the hill.
The points of the last climb in the stage are doubled, but only for the Hors, 1st and 2nd category.
If two riders have an equal number of points, the rider who arrived most often as 1st on the Hors category 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.
[edit] Kings of the Mountains
[edit] Repeat winners
| Rank | Name | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Virenque |  France |
7 | 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004 |
| 2 | Federico Bahamontes |  Spain |
6 | 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964 |
| Lucien Van Impe |  Belgium |
6 | 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983 | |
| 4 | Julio Jimenez | Spain |
3 | 1965, 1966, 1967 |
| 5 | Felicien Vervaecke | Belgium |
2 | 1935, 1937 |
| Gino Bartali |  Italy |
2 | 1938, 1948 | |
| Fausto Coppi | Italy |
2 | 1949, 1952 | |
| Charly Gaul |  Luxembourg |
2 | 1955, 1956 | |
| Imerio Massignan | Italy |
2 | 1960, 1961 | |
| Eddy Merckx | Belgium |
2 | 1969, 1970 | |
| Luis Herrera |  Colombia |
2 | 1985, 1987 | |
| Claudio Chiappucci | Italy |
2 | 1991, 1992 | |
| Laurent Jalabert | France |
2 | 2001, 2002 | |
| Michael Rasmussen |  Denmark |
2 | 2005, 2006 |
[edit] List of overall winners
[edit] Winners by Nation
| Rank | Country | Names Winning Most | Most Recent Winner | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
Richard Virenque (7) | Richard Virenque 2004 | 18 |
| 2 | Spain |
Federico Bahamontes (6) | Domingo Perureña 1974 | 15 |
| 3 | Italy |
Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Imerio Massignan and Claudio Chiappucci (2) | Claudio Chiappucci 1992 | 12 |
| 4 | Belgium |
Lucien Van Impe (6) | Lucien Van Impe 1983 | 11 |
| 5 | Colombia |
Luis Herrera (2) | Santiago Botero 2000 | 3 |
| 6 | Denmark |
Michael Rasmussen (2) | Michael Rasmussen 2006 | 2 |
| Luxembourg |
Charly Gaul (2) | Charly Gaul 1956 | 2 | |
 Netherlands |
Steven Rooks and Gert-Jan Theunisse | Gert-Jan Theunisse 1989 | 2 | |
| 9 |  Switzerland |
Tony Rominger | Tony Rominger 1993 | 1 |
 United Kingdom |
Robert Millar | Robert Millar 1984 | 1 |
[edit] See also
- Maillot jaune - Overall leader
- Maillot vert (green jersey) - Points leader
- Maillot blanc (white jersey) - Rider under 25 leader
- Climbing specialist
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