Bora-hansgrohe had to change
Tour de France bans German team from jersey
07/03/2023 1:18 p.m
Bora-hansgrohe wants to celebrate its tenth participation in the Tour de France and will be wearing a special jersey at the start of the world’s biggest cycling spectacle. But the German top team quickly gets an announcement from the tour organizers: The new jersey has to go.
The professional cyclists from the top German team Bora-hansgrohe have to take off the special jersey designed especially for the Tour de France. The tour organization ASO instructed the racing team to wear the normal jersey again, since the special edition looked too similar to the green jersey for the points classification. The racing team of the German Press Agency confirmed this on Monday. The Green Jersey is darker than in previous decades due to a sponsor color change.
The green jersey has lost its shine.
(Photo: IMAGO/Belga)
Bora wanted to celebrate his tenth participation in the tour with the special jersey. All the names of the riders who have ever been active for the team in the Tour of France have been incorporated into the jersey. In terms of color, the green tone was lightened a bit, black and red elements disappeared completely. The jersey could only be worn on the first stage, after which the ASO removed it from circulation.
The green jersey is the second oldest special jersey at the Tour de France after the famous yellow jersey for the overall leader. In 1953 it was awarded to the leader in the points classification for the first time. Once – in 1968 – the man with the best points drove in the red jersey, and a sponsor was also responsible for the new color back then. However, they quickly returned to the light shade of green. A German professional cyclist was a record winner for 18 years: Erik Zabel secured the points classification six times in a row between 1996 and 2001, his 89 days in the green jersey were a record – until the Slovakian superstar Peter Sagan broke Zabel’s record in 2019. Sagan, who won the points classification seven times, is riding his last Tour de France these days.