Tour Tidbit du Jour - 7/10/2018

Tour de France 2018 - 10/07/2018 - Etape 4 - La Baule / Sarzeau (195km) - Peter SAGAN (BORA - HANSGROHE) - Avec le maillot vert © ASO/Pauline BALLET

During the first few stages, because there are still so few winners and placers, the leaders' jerseys can belong to the same person. This is when all the arcane rules about who gets to wear what during the next day's stage become evident. At the end of the first stage, Fernando Gaviria held the overall lead, the points lead, and the young rider's overall lead, meaning he also held the yellow, green, and white jerseys. Since a rider can't display more than one jersey at a time, there are rules for whom the leader can "loan" jerseys for the next stage. The overall lead takes precedence above everything, so the points jersey would go to the next runner-up, as well as the white jersey.

But on the 2nd day, it was third place points leader Marcel Kittel wearing the green jersey and not second place Peter Sagan. The reason is that the current world champion has the option to display his own winning jersey instead of one that he doesn't technically hold. World champion Peter Sagan elected to wear the rainbow bands on the 2nd stage, where he won in La Roche-sur-Yon. Coincidentally, the last time the Tour finished in La Roche-sur-Yon 80 years ago, that stage was also won by that year's reigning world champion, Belgian Éloi Meulenberg.