100 years of the yellow jersey: heroic stories and scandals

THE FIRST: The idea came from Tour founder Henri Desgrange in 1919. Stages of up to 500 kilometers long were not uncommon shortly after the First World War. And so that the spectators could see the leader of the tour better in the dark, he should be identified. Since the tour organ L'car – the predecessor of the The Team – was also printed in yellow, the color was quickly found. Eugene Christophe received the first yellow jersey at the beginning of the eleventh stage on July 19, 1919 in Grenoble. The same Christophe who had already achieved fame six years earlier when he broke a fork after a descent down the Pyrenees, straightened his bike after a long walk in the forge of Sainte-Marie-de-Campan and continued riding. The same mishap happened to him in 1919, causing him to lose the tour.

Eddy Merckx is the yellow jersey record holder.

THE BEST: No rider embodied the Maillot Jaune as much as Eddy Merckx - the cannibal from Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. The Belgian wore yellow 111 times or 96 days, which is still unmatched to this day. He won the Tour five times, the first time exactly 50 years ago. “That was the best victory of my career,” said Merckx on Thursday at the team presentation on the Grand Place in Brussels, to euphoric cheers from his compatriots. Merckx shaped the tour like no other. So far, no one has come close to his 34 stage victories.

THE HAPPIEST: It was the heart-stopping finale of the tour's history. The Frenchman Laurent Fignon, the man with the wire-rimmed glasses, and the American Greg Lemond fought a thrilling duel throughout the entire tour. The showdown took place on the last day of the individual time trial over 24,5 kilometers from Versailles to Paris. Fignon actually had a reassuring lead of 50 seconds. But Lemond, who competed with triathlon handlebars that were new at the time, made up for second after second. At the finish on the Champs Elysees he was eight seconds ahead. Tears flowed from Fignon.

Scandal driver Lance Armstrong.

THE MOST SCANDALOUS: If you look in the history books of the tour, it actually didn't exist. The name Lance Armstrong simply doesn't exist in it. His seven victories from 1999 to 2005 were deleted, as if the darkest chapter in cycling could simply be erased. From a cured cancer patient to a tour record winner - the Texan's story was just too good. In fact, it was all lies and deceit. Armstrong not only set standards in sport, but also in terms of doping. EPO, autologous blood doping, growth hormones – Armstrong represented the biggest fraud in tour history. In the end, he was banned for life and declared persona non grata on the tour.

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100 years of the yellow jersey: heroic stories and scandals

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