The system of the award has changed during the years. Historically, riders accumulated points, and the cyclist with the most points at the end of the Tour was declared winner. The cyclist did not have to finish the race, for example in 1971 Luis Ocaña crashed out while wearing the Yellow Jersey on the Col de Mente in stage 14 and in 1972 Cyrille Guimard was wearing the Green Jersey and in 2nd place overall when he withdrew, but both were still given the combativity award.