Yellow Jerseys

[winjim]

So the leader of the Tour gets to wear the yellow jersey. ( or pink, green, polka dot, whatever), but it's not the yellow jersey, it's a yellow jersey with all the team sponsorship on it. Presumably each team hopes that their guy will get to wear it, so do they all have a load of them made up before the race, just in case? And if so, what happens to them afterwards? I can't imagine there's much of a market for second-hand yellow jerseys from a team that never got to wear them.

Or do they knock them up overnight depending on who's leading?

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

No it's the race that provide the leaders' jerseys. The one presented on the podium is sometimes a podium only version with the fastening at the back. Overnight they will print the real one for the rider to wear.

 

[winjim]

I did think it was a bit weird that Chris Froome appeared to be putting on a jersey that fastened at the back! That explains it

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

There's always been a little bit of conflict of interest sometimes between the teams and the organisers re the leaders jerseys, obviously most notably between the teams kit suppliers and the organisers suppliers. But things are getting particularly problematic of late because the teams and their suppliers are investing heavily in increasingly technical materials and designs such that often the wearer of one of the organisers jerseys will feel that they are at a distinct disadvantage to their competitors in team jerseys.

 

[ufkacbln]

Part of the problem is also advertising

The yellow Jersey sponsors are additional to teh team sponsors.

Have a look at Froome in the Sky Kit and then in the Yellow Jersey

The advertising (and priority of the advertisers) is completely different