Tour de France: Everything you need to know about the best climber ranking
Just half a century ago, in 1975, to satisfy a sponsor's demands for visibility, Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan, the owners of the Grande Boucle at the time, decided to have the leader of the best climber classification wear a distinctive white jersey with red polka dots. The design of this tunic is inspired by jockeys' jerseys and is a tribute to Henri Lemoine, a rider who shone in track events from the late 1920s to the early 1950s and who wore a polka dot jersey.
The Tour de France's best climber classification has existed since 1933. Its principle is as follows: at the top of the Tour de France's main climbs, which are classified into five categories by the organizers, points are awarded to the first riders to reach the summit. The more difficult a climb, the more points it earns.
How are climbs classified?The main climbs of the Tour de France are classified into five categories: 4th category, 3rd category, 2nd category, 1st category and hors catégorie, from the simplest to the most arduous.
To achieve this classification, the Tour organizers assign each climb a difficulty coefficient, based on the following calculation: percentage of the slope squared multiplied by the distance. For Mont Ventoux (Vaucluse), on the program for the 16th stage of the 2025 edition, for example, this gives this result: 8.5 2 × 15.7 = 1,134.325.
The following scale is then applied: 4th category climbs are those with a difficulty coefficient between 35 and 79; 3rd category, from 80 to 179; 2nd category, from 180 to 249; 1st category, from 250 to 599; hors catégorie, more than 600.
But organizers sometimes decide to marginally modify this classification depending on the position of a climb on the route of a stage, in particular. Thus, a pass with a difficulty coefficient corresponding to the climbs of the 2nd category can be upgraded to 1st category if it is located in the last kilometers of a long stage. The state of the road or its width and altitude can also justify a change of category. As can the historical aspect of a climb: thus, the Col du Galibier (between Savoie and the Hautes-Alpes), where some of the most beautiful pages of the Tour were written – but which does not appear on the program of this 112th edition – is classified as hors catégorie, even though it is not one of the most difficult climbs.
The system in force on the Grande Boucle, which therefore has its share of subjectivity, does not constitute a universal scale for the other races on the international calendar, nor even for the other two major tours (Vuelta and Giro). It does, however, constitute a reference, due to the international influence of the event.
How many points are awarded in the different categories?In the best climber classification, Category 4 climbs are worth a single point to the rider who passes in first place at the summit. Category 3 climbs are worth 2 points to the first rider and 1 to the pursuer. On Category 2 passes or climbs, the first rider receives 5 points; 3, 2 and 1 point are awarded to the following riders. At the top of Category 1 climbs, the scale is 10 points for the leader, then 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points for those who follow.
In 1979, to highlight the most arduous climbs, the organizers created a fifth milestone, the hors catégorie. The leading rider at the summit wins 20 points. Those chasing the finish line receive 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2 points.
Occasionally, points awarded at the top of a climb at the finish of a stage are doubled. This will be the case during this 2025 Tour at the Col de la Loze (Savoie), the highest peak of this edition (2,304 meters above sea level), where the finish of the 18th stage will be judged on July 24.
A rider who first crosses an hors catégorie climb pockets 800 euros, while the next two finishers receive 450 euros and 300 euros. These bonuses are 650 euros, 400 euros, and 150 euros respectively for the first three to reach the summit of category 1 climbs. Category 2 climbs bring in 500 euros and 250 euros for the first two to reach the summit. On category 3 and 4 climbs, only one rider is rewarded—with a bonus of 300 euros in the first case, 200 euros in the second.
Each day, the wearer of the famous white jersey with red polka dots receives a bonus of 300 euros. Finally, the top eight in the final ranking of the best climber classification receive bonuses ranging from 25,000 euros for the winner to 2,000 euros for the last winner ( 8th in the ranking). In total, the prizes paid by the organizer as part of this ranking amount to 109,500 euros.
In 2025, the best climbers will pocket other exceptional bonuses. The first rider to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet (Hautes-Pyrénées, 14th stage) will win 5,000 euros, in memory of Jacques Goddet, director of the Tour between 1937 and 1988. The same amount will be awarded to the rider who first reaches the summit of the Col de la Loze ( 18th stage), this time in memory of the creator of the Grande Boucle, Henri Desgrange.
For the 112th edition of the Tour de France, which marks the 50th anniversary of the polka dot jersey, a special bonus of 5,000 euros will be paid to the first rider to reach 50 points in the general classification of the best climber.
It should be noted that the climb aces do not directly pocket their bonuses, since these are shared among all the members of their teams.
Who has topped this ranking in the past?Since its inception, the best climber ranking has often been a tricolor affair. The French have won it 23 times, 5 more than the Spanish (18 final victories) and 10 more than the Italians (13). With seven successes alone, Richard Virenque holds the record for the number of victories in the final ranking (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004). The Frenchman, former leader of the Festina team (excluded from the Tour for doping in 1998), is ahead of the Belgian Lucien Van Impe, best climber 6 times (1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983) and first wearer of the distinctive jersey in 1975, and the Spaniard Federico Bahamontes (1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964).
More recently, leading French riders have carved out a great deal of popularity on the roads of the Tour by winning this additional classification, which guarantees a place on the final podium of the event, notably Thomas Voeckler (2012), Warren Barguil (2017) , Julian Alaphilippe (2018) and Romain Bardet (2019).
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