It became the symbol of the Great Loop but the yellow jersey was not always worn by the leader of the pack. Discover her story with the explanations of Marguerite Lefebvre, Special Envoy on the Routes of the Tour for Europe 1.

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He is worn by the leader of the peloton and he is celebrating his 100th birthday this year: the "yellow jersey" has become THE symbol of the Tour de France. But this has not always been the case, says Marguerite Lefebvre, special correspondent for the Tour for Europe 1.

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Who imagined the yellow jersey? "The inventor of the yellow jersey is simply the creator of the Tour de France, his name is Henri Desgrange.On the first years of the Great Loop, there was no yellow jersey! He had a little green armband around his arm, which did not show too much in the pack, and so the press, at the time, put a little pressure on it so that there was a distinctive sign a little Henri Desgrange, who was the boss of the Tour, said to himself: 'why not give this leader of the peloton an original color tunic?' He was the press owner at the time, Henri Desgrange, who ran the newspaper L'Auto which was printed on yellow leaves and said to himself: 'Here it is symbolic that the leader of the Tour de France has a jersey completely yellow, a yellow tunic. "And that's how in 1919, we had the first yellow jersey on the Tour de France!", she summarizes.

If you are an observer, you may notice on this yellow jersey two initials: HD, those of Henri Desgrange, to pay tribute today to this key figure in the history of the Tour!

A yellow jersey that has evolved a lot in time. But in 1919, the yellow jersey does not look like the one we know today. "It was yellow, all yellow at the time! There was no inscription, no logo, no sign on this yellow jersey.In fact, it was not unanimous within the peloton.The very first carrier yellow jersey, it's a French guy, his name is Eugène Christophe and he used to describe this jersey as a 'canary' jersey that made a little laugh at first, but the riders did it! he is a little less yellow ... At the end of the 60s, early 70s, we came to affix logos, brands, inscriptions ... ", adds Marguerite Lefebvre.

The yellow jersey is reserved for the Tour de France? "No, the yellow jersey has made little ones in the world of cycling! We can see it in France on other cycling competitions, we can see it on Paris-Nice, on the Dauphiné, for example, and even abroad. On the Tour of Germany or the Tour of California, the leader of the general classification of these competitions also wears the yellow jersey ", further details the special correspondent of Europe 1.

Do you know who has worn the yellow jersey on the Tour de France? It's Eddy Merckx who has completed 111 stages with this squad leader's tunic on his shoulders!

Pictures and editing: Yann Hamon