"Sporting firsts - Who was the first British cyclist to win the ""green jersey"" in the Tour de France? (The green jersey is for the leader in the points classification and is awarded to the champion sprinter)"
Rainbow jersey a collision with British sprinter Mark Cavendish, thereby losing out on a chance to tie Erik Zabel's record of six consecutive green jersey victories in what was an otherwise successful season (detailed below). Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond each won the Tour de France wearing the rainbow jersey. 2010 world champion Thor Hushovd won two stages of the 2011 Tour de France. His first stage win in the race, stage 13, is considered to be his best win of his career as it was a tough mountain stage and Hushovd originally is a sprinter. He also wore the
Points classification in the Tour de France points system was reintroduced, but this time as an additional classification. Because the leader in the general classification wears a yellow jersey, the leader in the points classification also received a special jersey, a green jersey. The color green was chosen because the sponsor was a lawn mower producer. In the first years, the cyclist only received penalty points for not finishing with a high place, so the cyclist with the fewest points was awarded the green jersey. From 1959 on, the system was changed so the cyclists were awarded points for high place finishes (with first place getting the