Debate
“The green jersey should only ever go to a sprinter”
Agree32%
Neutral5%
Disagree63%
So, what's your opinion?
The context behind the statement
The green jersey is back in the spotlight before the 2026 Tour de France has even started. After Tadej Pogačar finished second in the points classification last year, just 78 points behind Jonathan Milan, race organiser ASO has rewritten the rules. A flat stage win is now worth 70 points instead of 50, second place jumps to 50 and third to 40. The seven flat stages also get a second intermediate sprint. As Domestique's Barry Ryan reports, it all looks like an attempt to "Pogačar-proof" the green jersey and keep it in the hands of a pure sprinter.
That raises an old question. Should the green jersey only ever go to a sprinter?
One camp says yes. The points classification was built to crown the fastest finisher, and the maillot vert has long been a sprinter's prize. When a Grand Tour winner like Pogačar can also threaten green, the jersey loses its identity. The new maths backs this view: by Sporza's reckoning, if the 2026 system had applied last year, Pogačar would have gained only 19 extra points, while Milan would have collected 80 more. The reward goes to the rider who wins bunch sprints, not the one who already has yellow.
Mads Pedersen sees the intent clearly. The Dane, who replaces Milan as Lidl-Trek's green jersey leader, told journalist Daniel Benson that ASO has tilted the field toward the fast men. "I think ASO wanted to make sure that it's a sprinter who wins the jersey this year, so they put a lot of the intermediate sprints earlier on the stages, or before the big mountains," he said. "They've put more points on the proper sprint days."
But Pedersen also shows why the line is not so clean. He is not a pure bunch sprinter, and the changes do not fully suit him either. "This wasn't really to my advantage, but I still think that we should try and go for the green jersey and see if it's possible to win it," he said. "I just have to score points where the big sprinters don't score points." If a rider has to beat the sprinters on flat days and out-think them everywhere else, why should the jersey be reserved for one type alone?
The other camp goes further. The points competition rewards consistency across all terrain, and Pogačar earns those points fairly. Bending the rules to keep out the strongest rider, they argue, protects a category rather than the sport. History sits in the middle: before 2011, stages often had two or three intermediate sprints, then ASO cut it to one. Now it is adding them back, not for the racing, but to steer the result.
So the trade-off is this. Tighten the rules and you protect the sprinters' jersey, but you also tell the most complete riders that green is off limits. Leave them open and a single rider could carry off everything.
Should the green jersey be guarded for the sprinters, or earned by whoever scores the most points? Where do you stand?
19 Opinions
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Hard disagree. Reducing the green jersey to a sprint-only prize misses the point. It is meant to reward the rider who scores everywhere, the one brave enough to contest intermediates, hang on over the climbs, and still finish it off. That versatility is far more impressive than pure top-end speed.
But it is meant for the fast men, right? So how do you make sure it does not end up in the hands of a rider who wins six or seven mountain/punch stages?
First of all, why shouldn't puncheurs have a shot at this classification? It is a popular believe that a sprinter should win this, but why? There are more riders than just sprinters and climbers, so why shouldn't puncheurs or rouleurs not get a chance? Secondly, you can't make sure it doesn't go to another type of rider. It's a competition. The organisers shouldn't manipulate the system so certain riders won't be able to win. Thirdly, by awarding more points in intermediate sprints, you lower the chances of a GC rider winning the classification. That way, it's still a sprint competition.
I was going to state my opinion but your analysis was spot on. I love it when a gutsy break away specialist goes for the points.
Disagree 100%. It also shouldn't always be won by a non-pure sprinter either. They should mix it up each year, sometimes giving slight preference to the pure sprinters, sometimes to those who can make it to the finish of lumpier stages. (While we are at it, the Yellow Jersey shouldn't be won each year by the best climber either). What I find incredulous is teams have only just found out in last 2 weeks how the points competition will work with intermediate sprints.
The yellow jersey competitors gain the most time on mountaintop finish stages. That's just how it is, unless the organizers add more/longer TT stages. I like the idea that the green jersey is for non-GC competitors, but it's hard to keep a stage hunter/GC rider like Pogi from winning both, and the KOM, too.
This will make this competition even less interesting than it already was. It will now be a classification for whoever wins the most sprint stages, which makes no sense, the reward for winning stages should simply be the stage win. I like the idea of more intermediate sprints, but absolutely loathe the amount of points awarded in sprint stages. Why does this classification have to be specifically for sprinters anyway? It's not like there's a classification for time trialists or puncheurs, so why are they so hell bent on making this a classification for sprinters? At least the KOM classification makes sense: the harder the climb, the more points are awarded. But here it's: the easier the stage and the less you have to work for it, the more points you get. That simply makes no sense. They should make the points at the finish equal in every stage and just award more points in intermediate sprints. Then it stays a sprint competition, but at least it's fair and more exiting. This change also completely ruins the chances of riders like Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen or in the past Peter Sagan to challenge the pure sprinters as the points difference in flat stages will be monumental.
Yeah but the KOM classification is also clearly for the climbers right? ;) So why shouldn't the green jersey be for the fast men?
You see this in black or white. There are more riders than sprinters and climbers. By awarding more points in intermediate sprints, a climber will most likely not be able to win the competition, but other type of riders can. The KOM classification is for climbers, yes, so the points competition should be for non-climbers. That's not just sprinters, but also rouleurs, puncheurs, hilly riders...
@SilverSurfer I understand that, and I am not arguing that only pure sprinters should be able to win it. Rouleurs and puncheurs can absolutely be fast men too. My concern is simply that the balance should still reward speed, sprinting and consistency, rather than allowing someone to win mainly through results on mountain or very hilly stages. In my view, the combination of stage design and the points system should make it almost impossible for riders like Vingegaard or Pogačar to win, while creating a close battle between sprinters who win several stages and versatile riders like Van Aert or Pedersen who regularly go on the attack but who can also be up there in a bunch sprint.
Like I said, with more points awarded in intermediate sprints, GC-riders stand practically no chance of winning the competition. Also, designing a points system specifically to leave out certain riders is match-fixing and shouldn't be allowed. So, if Pogacar does win the points classification based on a fair points system, you should accept that.
Reducing the points awarded on mountaintop finishes will prevent a guy like Jonas from winning the green, but it won't necessarily stop a stage hunter like Pogi. I would like to see more intermediate points and fewer finish line points. Does it really make sense to have a major jersey for guys who are really fast for 200m at the end of a few stages? I would like to see guys like Quinn Simmons or other breakaway riders get a jersey for working out in the wind over hundreds of kilometers.
"Fast men" get stage wins.
100% agree, although for me that does not necessarily mean the rider who wins the most stages. I think it would be exciting to design the points system and the courses in a way that creates a close battle between a rider who wins the most stages and riders who consistently finish in the top five while also picking up points in the intermediate sprints. As a consequence, I think the system should be designed in a way that prevents a rider like Pogačar from dominating purely through his strength in the mountains and on punchy stages.
Don’t see why
I agree that it shouldn't automatically go to the GC winner, but that doesn't mean it should only go to a sprinter. What about puncheur stage hunters?
It’s not called a sprinters jersey, it’s for the person who goes out and gets the most points on all the days not just the flats ones.
The points classification exists to crown the best fast man of the race. When all-rounders farm the intermediate sprints on mountain stages just to defend the jersey, it stops meaning anything. Keep it for the riders who actually win the bunch kicks.
But the reward for winning the bunch sprints is the stage victory. They shouldn't get a classification on top of those victories, they should have to work for it seperate from the finish kicks.