The combativity award is a prize given in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

for the most combative rider overall during the race. Historically, it favored constant attackers as it was based on the distance spent in a breakaway, included winning checkpoints and outright stage wins. Today, the winner is chosen by a jury. Besides the overall winner, the jury also awards a combativity award to the most aggressive rider at the end of each stage, with this rider allowed to wear a red number the following race day. The

1981 Tour de France The 1981 Tour de France was the 68th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 19 July. The total race distance was 24 stages over . It was dominated by Bernard Hinault, who led the race from the sixth stage on, increasing h ...

marked the last time the winner of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

also won the combativity award.

History

Since 1952, after every stage the most combative cyclist was given an award, and an overall competition was recorded. At the end of the 1956 Tour de France,

André Darrigade André Darrigade (born 24 April 1929 in Narrosse) is a retired French professional road bicycle racer between 1951 and 1966. Darrigade, a road sprinter won the 1959 World Championship and 22 stages of the Tour de France. Five of those Tour vict ...

was named the most attacking cyclist. At this point, the award was given the same importance as the award for the cyclist with the most bad luck, Picot in 1956. In 1961, the award was not given to an individual cyclist, but to an entire team, the regional team West-South-West. The system of the award has changed over the years. Historically, riders accumulated points, and the cyclist with the most points at the end of the Tour was declared the winner. The cyclist did not have to finish the race, for example in 1971

Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía (; 9 June 1945 – 19 May 1994) was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the 1973 Tour de France and the 1970 Vuelta a España. During the 1971 Tour de France he launched an amazing solo breakaway that put him ...

crashed out while wearing the

Yellow Jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

on the Col de Mente in stage 14 and in 1972

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de Franc ...

was wearing the

Green Jersey In road bicycle racing (e.g. Grand Tour stage races) the green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the most consistent highest finisher in the competition. While the overall race leader in the Tour de France will wear the yellow jer ...

and in 2nd place overall when he withdrew, but both were still given the combativity award. In 1979, the combativity award was initially given to

Joop Zoetemelk Hendrik Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in T ...

; he was later disqualified and

Hennie Kuiper Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper (born 3 February 1949) is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, a ...

received the award. In a system that was implemented in 2003, a jury of eight specialists in cycling selected the most combative cyclist of each stage (excluding

time trials In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

), with the classification for most distance in breakaway groups only part of the decision. There is no jersey for the most combative rider of the previous stage, but he can be recognized by the race number worn on his back: it consists of a white number on a red background instead of the usual black on white (since 1998). At the end of the Tour de France, a "super-combativity award" is given to the most combative cyclist of the race. , the total prize money for the super-combativity award winner is €20,000.

Winners

Overall super-combativity award winners since 1953.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combativity Award Tour de France classifications and awards Cycling jerseys