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YELLOW JERSEY:
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION/ OVERALL LEADER
The yellow jersey is awarded to the overall race leader and is technically known as the leader of the individual general classification by time. It is awarded daily to the rider who has the lowest cumulative time for the race distance already covered. Typically, the first stage winner of any tour will wear the jersey for the next stage, and from then onwards it is given to the rider with the lowest collective time, even though the rider does not win the stage. For example, if the total race distance is 1100 kilometers, the overall winner is determined by the fastest time taken by a rider to complete the whole course, taking into account time bonuses and/or penalties as and when necessary. While it is not common, it is entirely possible for a rider to be the overall winner of a tour without ever winning a stage. A classic example is the historic win of Tonton Susanto in the 2008 Jelajah Malaysia, who was crowned overall champion of the race due to his consistent finishing at the head of the pack, despite not taking any stage wins.
Previous Winner: Tonton Susanto (Team L2A)
Previous Winner: Tonton Susanto (Team L2A)
GREEN JERSEY:
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION
The green jersey is awarded to the rider leading in the sprint points tally, and is technically known as the leader of the individual sprint points classification. It is awarded daily to the rider who has the most sprint points, collected at the daily intermediate sprints. Points are given for riders who place first, second, third and fourth. Intermediate sprints are placed at strategic locations throughout the day’s route, and riders score points by being the first ones to cross the line at the sprint. While it may sound straight forward and easy, it is quite impossible for any one rider to win all of the sprints points on offer. As such, a top sprinter’s chances of winning the jersey rest quite heavily on the ability of his teammates to help pace him to the sprint line and to fend off potential challengers by taking the points away at the correct time. Sprinters also tend to be highly aggressive and provide the bulk of the entertainment for spectators at the finish line for flat stages.
Previous Winner: Anuar Manan (Team L2A)
WHITE WITH RED POLKA DOT JERSEY:
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
The polka dot jersey is awarded to the rider leading in the King-Of-The-Mountain points tally, and is technically known as the leader of the individual mountain points classification. It is awarded daily to the rider who has the most KOM points, who collect them during specific mountain stages or minor climbs on normal or flat stages. The points on offer differ depending on the severity and difficulty of a particular climb, with a Category 4 climb being the easiest and a Hors Category (Beyond Category) Climb being the worst. More often than not, a rider aiming for the polka dot jersey is also a strong contender for the overall champion’s title as they are likely to leave the sprinters and other non-climbers far, far behind during a mountain stage. In races where there are Category 1 or Hors Category climbs, the gap can stretch as far as ten to twenty minutes from the leading riders to the main bunch, so it is no stretch to say that the strongest legs in any tour is the polka dot jersey holder.
Previous Winner: Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team)
Previous Winner: Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical Team)
WHITE JERSEY:
LEADING LOCAL RIDER CLASSIFICATION
The white jersey is awarded to the highest-ranked Malaysian rider in the overall individual general classification. The criteria is exactly the same as the Yellow Jersey, although the jersey is restricted to riders with a license issued by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation. This means that even though a cyclist is riding for a Malaysian-registered team but does not hold a Malaysian UCI license, he will not be eligible. Conversely, those Malaysian-registered cyclists riding for foreign-registered teams will automatically be eligible for this category.
Previous Winner: Suhardi Hassan (Kuala Lumpur)
Previous Winner: Suhardi Hassan (Kuala Lumpur)
