Cycling (Road) in 1868: First organised road race

General classification (yellow jersey) The general classification, or GC, is the sum of every rider's daily finishing times across all stages. The leader wears a distinctive jersey, yellow at the Tour de France, pink at the Giro and red at the Vuelta. The rider with the lowest aggregate time after the final stage wins the race outright. Time bonuses of ten, six and four seconds for the top three on many stages, plus small penalties, can shuffle the standings, so the GC is defended and attacked every single day.

When riders cross the line together in a bunch, they are all credited with the same time as the first rider in that group, provided there is no gap. Since 2018 the Tour has used a three-second rule: gaps under three seconds within the main field are ignored on flat stages, keeping sprinters safe in the standings. Time only separates riders when a genuine gap of at least one second opens, which is why the GC barely moves on flat days but explodes on summit finishes.

A Grand Tour runs four contests at once. The overall leader wears the leader's jersey; the points classification, worn in green at the Tour, rewards consistent high placings and sprint finishes; the mountains classification, the polka-dot jersey, is won by taking points at the top of categorised climbs; and the best-young-rider prize, the white jersey, goes to the fastest rider under 26. Riders can pursue different jerseys simultaneously, giving several storylines within one race.