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Points classification
Bicycle racing award type
Bicycle racing award type
The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called intermediate sprints. The points classification is the top prize for many cycling sprinters and is often known as the sprint classification; however, in some stage races these classifications are based on different criteria.
The points classification is arguably the second most important title and cycling jersey to win at a cycling stage race behind the general classification, which is the winner of the event by overall time.
Points classification winners of the Grand Tours
Winners by year
| Legend |
|---|
| Year | Giro d'Italia | Tour de France | Vuelta a España | Year | Giro d'Italia | Tour de France | Vuelta a España |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Introduced in 1966 | Introduced in 1953 | Delio Rodríguez (1/1) | ||||
| 1953 | Fritz Schär (1/1) | Reintroduced in 1955 | |||||
| 1954 | Ferdinand Kübler (1/1) | ||||||
| 1955 | Stan Ockers (1/2) | Fiorenzo Magni (1/1) | |||||
| 1956 | Stan Ockers (2/2) | Rik Van Steenbergen (1/1) | |||||
| 1957 | Jean Forestier (1/1) | Vicente Iturat (1/1) | |||||
| 1958 | Jean Graczyk (1/2) | Salvador Botella (1/1) | |||||
| 1959 | André Darrigade (1/2) | Rik Van Looy (1/3) | |||||
| 1960 | Jean Graczyk (2/2) | Arthur Decabooter (1/1) | |||||
| 1961 | André Darrigade (2/2) | Antonio Suárez (1/1) | |||||
| 1962 | Rudi Altig (1/2) | Rudi Altig (2/2) | |||||
| 1963 | Rik Van Looy (2/3) | Bas Maliepaard (1/1) | |||||
| 1964 | Jan Janssen (1/5) | José Pérez Francés (1/1) | |||||
| 1965 | Jan Janssen (2/5) | Rik Van Looy (3/3) | |||||
| 1966 | Gianni Motta (1/1) | Willy Planckaert (1/1) | Jos van der Vleuten (1/1) | ||||
| 1967 | Dino Zandegù (1/1) | Jan Janssen (4/5) | Jan Janssen (3/5) | ||||
| 1968 | Eddy Merckx (1/6) | Franco Bitossi (1/3) | Jan Janssen (5/5) | ||||
| 1969 | Franco Bitossi (2/3) | Eddy Merckx (2/6) | Raymond Steegmans (1/1) | ||||
| 1970 | Franco Bitossi (3/3) | Walter Godefroot (1/1) | Guido Reybrouck (1/1) | ||||
| 1971 | Marino Basso (1/1) | Eddy Merckx (3/6) | Cyrille Guimard (1/1) | ||||
| 1972 | Roger De Vlaeminck (1/3) | Eddy Merckx (4/6) | Domingo Perurena (1/2) | ||||
| 1973 | Eddy Merckx (6/6) | Herman Van Springel (1/1) | Eddy Merckx (5/6) | ||||
| 1974 | Roger De Vlaeminck (2/3) | Patrick Sercu (1/1) | Domingo Perurena (2/2) | ||||
| 1975 | Roger De Vlaeminck (3/3) | Rik Van Linden (1/1) | Miguel María Lasa (1/1) | ||||
| 1976 | Francesco Moser (1/4) | Freddy Maertens (1/4) | Dietrich Thurau (1/1) | ||||
| 1977 | Francesco Moser (2/4) | Jacques Esclassan (1/1) | Freddy Maertens (2/4) | ||||
| 1978 | Francesco Moser (3/4) | Freddy Maertens (3/4) | Ferdi Van Den Haute (1/1) | ||||
| 1979 | Giuseppe Saronni (1/4) | Bernard Hinault (1/1) | Alfons De Wolf (1/1) | ||||
| 1980 | Giuseppe Saronni (2/4) | Rudy Pevenage (1/1) | Sean Kelly (1/8) | ||||
| 1981 | Giuseppe Saronni (3/4) | Freddy Maertens (4/4) | Francisco Javier Cedena (1/1) | ||||
| 1982 | Francesco Moser (4/4) | Sean Kelly (2/8) | Stefan Mutter (1/1) | ||||
| 1983 | Giuseppe Saronni (4/4) | Sean Kelly (3/8) | Marino Lejarreta (1/1) | ||||
| 1984 | Urs Freuler (1/1) | Frank Hoste (1/1) | Guido Van Calster (1/1) | ||||
| 1985 | Johan van der Velde (1/3) | Sean Kelly (4/8) | Sean Kelly (5/8) | ||||
| 1986 | Guido Bontempi (1/1) | Eric Vanderaerden (1/1) | Sean Kelly (6/8) | ||||
| 1987 | Johan van der Velde (2/3) | Jean-Paul van Poppel (1/1) | Alfonso Gutiérrez (1/1) | ||||
| 1988 | Johan van der Velde (3/3) | Eddy Planckaert (1/1) | Sean Kelly (7/8) | ||||
| 1989 | Giovanni Fidanza (1/1) | Sean Kelly (8/8) | Malcolm Elliott (1/1) | ||||
| 1990 | Gianni Bugno (1/1) | Olaf Ludwig (1/1) | Uwe Raab (1/2) | ||||
| 1991 | Claudio Chiappucci (1/1) | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (1/5) | Uwe Raab (2/2) | ||||
| 1992 | Mario Cipollini (1/3) | Laurent Jalabert (1/7) | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (2/5) | ||||
| 1993 | Adriano Baffi (1/1) | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (3/5) | Tony Rominger (1/2) | ||||
| 1994 | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (4/5) | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (5/5) | Laurent Jalabert (2/7) | ||||
| 1995 | Tony Rominger (2/2) | Laurent Jalabert (3/7) | Laurent Jalabert (4/7) | ||||
| 1996 | Fabrizio Guidi (1/2) | Erik Zabel (1/9) | Laurent Jalabert (5/7) | ||||
| 1997 | Mario Cipollini (2/3) | Erik Zabel (2/9) | Laurent Jalabert (6/7) | ||||
| 1998 | Mariano Piccoli (1/1) | Erik Zabel (3/9) | Fabrizio Guidi (2/2) | ||||
| 1999 | Laurent Jalabert (7/7) | Erik Zabel (4/9) | Frank Vandenbroucke (1/1) | ||||
| 2000 | Dmitri Konyshev (1/1) | Erik Zabel (5/9) | Roberto Heras (1/1) | ||||
| 2001 | Massimo Strazzer (1/1) | Erik Zabel (6/9) | José María Jiménez (1/1) | ||||
| 2002 | Mario Cipollini (3/3) | Robbie McEwen (1/3) | Erik Zabel (7/9) | ||||
| 2003 | Gilberto Simoni (1/1) | Baden Cooke (1/1) | Erik Zabel (8/9) | ||||
| 2004 | Alessandro Petacchi (1/3) | Robbie McEwen (2/3) | Erik Zabel (9/9) | ||||
| 2005 | Paolo Bettini (1/2) | Thor Hushovd (1/3) | Alessandro Petacchi (2/3) | ||||
| 2006 | Paolo Bettini (2/2) | Robbie McEwen (3/3) | Thor Hushovd (2/3) | ||||
| 2007 | No winner | Tom Boonen (1/1) | Daniele Bennati (1/2) | ||||
| 2008 | Daniele Bennati (2/2) | Óscar Freire (1/1) | Greg Van Avermaet (1/1) | ||||
| 2009 | Denis Menchov (1/1) | Thor Hushovd (3/3) | André Greipel (1/1) | ||||
| 2010 | Cadel Evans (1/1) | Alessandro Petacchi (3/3) | Mark Cavendish (1/4) | ||||
| 2011 | Michele Scarponi (1/1) | Mark Cavendish (2/4) | Bauke Mollema (1/1) | ||||
| 2012 | Joaquim Rodríguez (1/1) | Peter Sagan (1/8) | Alejandro Valverde (1/4) | ||||
| 2013 | Mark Cavendish (3/4) | Peter Sagan (2/8) | Alejandro Valverde (2/4) | ||||
| 2014 | Nacer Bouhanni (1/1) | Peter Sagan (3/8) | John Degenkolb (1/1) | ||||
| 2015 | Giacomo Nizzolo (1/2) | Peter Sagan (4/8) | Alejandro Valverde (3/4) | ||||
| 2016 | Giacomo Nizzolo (2/2) | Peter Sagan (5/8) | Fabio Felline (1/1) | ||||
| 2017 | Fernando Gaviria (1/1) | Michael Matthews (1/1) | Chris Froome (1/1) | ||||
| 2018 | Elia Viviani (1/1) | Peter Sagan (6/8) | Alejandro Valverde (4/4) | ||||
| 2019 | Pascal Ackermann (1/1) | Peter Sagan (7/8) | Primož Roglič (1/2) | ||||
| 2020 | Arnaud Démare (1/2) | Sam Bennett (1/1) | Primož Roglič (2/2) | ||||
| 2021 | Peter Sagan (8/8) | Mark Cavendish (4/4) | Fabio Jakobsen (1/1) | ||||
| 2022 | Arnaud Démare (2/2) | Wout van Aert (1/1) | Mads Pedersen (1/3) | ||||
| 2023 | Jonathan Milan (1/3) | Jasper Philipsen (1/1) | Kaden Groves (1/2) | ||||
| 2024 | Jonathan Milan (2/3) | Biniam Girmay (1/1) | Kaden Groves (2/2) | ||||
| 2025 | Mads Pedersen (2/3) | Jonathan Milan (3/3) | Mads Pedersen (3/3) |
A. Alessandro Petacchi was the Points leader but tested positive for elevated levels of salbutamol, resulting in a suspension and forfeiture of all results during the event. No alternate winner was declared.
Most points jerseys
| Rank | Rider | Total | Giro | Tour | Vuelta | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GER | – | 6 (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) | 3 (2002, 2003, 2004) | |||||||||||||
| 2 | IRL | – | 4 (1982, 1983, 1985, 1989) | 4 (1980, 1985, 1986, 1988) | |||||||||||||
| SVK **** | 1 (2021) | 7 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) | – | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | FRA | 1 (1999) | 2 (1992, 1995) | 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) | |||||||||||||
| 5 | BEL | 2 (1968, 1973) | 3 (1969, 1971, 1972) | 1 (1973) | |||||||||||||
| 6 | UZB | 1 (1994) | 3 (1991, 1993, 1994) | 1 (1992) | |||||||||||||
| NED | – | 3 (1964, 1965, 1967) | 2 (1967, 1968) | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | GBR **** | 1 (2013) | 2 (2011, 2021) | 1 (2010) | |||||||||||||
| BEL | – | 3 (1976, 1978, 1981) | 1 (1977) | ||||||||||||||
| ITA | 4 (1976, 1977, 1978, 1982) | – | – | ||||||||||||||
| ITA | 4 (1979, 1980, 1981, 1983) | – | – | ||||||||||||||
| ESP | – | – | 4 (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018) |
In 2013, Zabel admitted to taking banned substances from 1996 to 2003, including EPO and the steroid hormone cortisone.
Career triples
Winning the points classification in each of the three Grand Tours during a cyclist's career is a significant accomplishment. The Tour/Giro/Vuelta triple has been achieved by five riders:
| Rider | Total | Giro | Tour | Vuelta | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy Merckx | 2 (1968, 1973) | 3 (1969, 1971, 1972) | 1 (1973) | ||||||
| Djamolidine Abdoujaparov | 1 (1994) | 3 (1991, 1993, 1994) | 1 (1992) | ||||||
| Laurent Jalabert | 1 (1999) | 2 (1992, 1995) | 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) | ||||||
| Alessandro Petacchi | 1 (2004) | 1 (2010) | 1 (2005) | ||||||
| Mark Cavendish | 1 (2013) | 2 (2011, 2021) | 1 (2010) |
Natural doubles
Winning the points classification in two Grand Tours in a single year is a rare feat.
| Giro d'Italia and Tour de France |
|---|
| 1994 |
| Tour de France and Vuelta a España |
|---|
| 1962 |
| 1967 |
| 1985 |
| 1995 |
| Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España |
|---|
| 1973 |
| 2025 |
Days leading classification
In previous tours, sometimes a stage was broken in two (or three). "Days" column gives the number of times the cyclist was a classification leader at the end of the day. Numbers in brackets include split stages.
after the end of 2025 Tour de France
| Legend |
|---|
| Rank | Rider | Days | Leading span | Giro | Tour | Vuelta | SVK Peter Sagan | IRL Sean Kelly | GER Erik Zabel | FRA Laurent Jalabert | BEL Freddy Maertens | BEL Eddy Merckx | GBR Mark Cavendish | BEL Roger De Vlaeminck | ITA Giuseppe Saronni | URS/UZB Djamolidine Abdoujaparov | AUS Robbie McEwen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 149 | 2011–2021 | 14 | 130 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 148 (151) | 1979–1989 | 0 | 65 (67) | 83 (84) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 141 (142) | 1996–2007 | 0 | 88 (89) | 53 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 105 | 1990–1999 | 2 | 25 | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 93 (102) | 1976–1981 | 9 (12) | 65 (70) | 19 (20) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 84 (91) | 1968–1974 (1975) | 51 (52) | 30 (35) | 3 (4) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | 81 | 2009–2021 | 23 | 43 | 15 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | 76 (81) | 1969–1984 | 67 (71) | 8 (9) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 9 | 74 (76) | 1978–1985 | 74 (76) | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 10 | 73 | 1991–1995 | 3 | 54 | 16 | ||||||||||||
| 11 | 69 | 2002–2007 | 18 | 51 | 0 |
Six other riders were leading points classification in all three Grand Tours: Rudi Altig, Marino Basso, Francesco Moser, Thierry Marie, Alessandro Petacchi and André Greipel. Petacchi is the sole cyclist that did this in one season (2003).
The rider with the most Grand Tour days at the top of the classification in a single calendar year is Laurent Jalabert - 35 in 1995.
Notes
References
References
- (29 July 2013). "Erik Zabel admits to 'doping for many years' and resigns from PCC". Press Association.
- "Results Grand Tours". Cycling Hall of Fame.
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