The Tour de France green jersey is reportedly getting a revamp this year, with the points system reallocated in what could be read as an attempt to stop the imperious Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) from challenging for that jersey too.
The official Tour rules and regulations for 2026 have not yet been published widely, but have been provided to the teams, and Belgian outlet Sporza reported on Friday that the new system will make more points available on stages designated 'Flat' and therefore likely to finish in a bunch sprint.
In previous years, flat stages awarded 50 points for the winner at the finish line, whilst climbing stages awarded 30, so the points classification has always been weighted towards sprinters and is seen as a competition for them.
However, last year Pogačar came dangerously close to winning the green jersey – he has already won the yellow, polka dot and white jerseys – wearing it mid-race after winning atop the Mûr-de-Bretagne and then breathing down sprinter Jonathan Milan's (Lidl-Trek) neck in the final week.
In the end, Milan just about held on to the green jersey, but Pogačar finished second in the classification, only 78 down on Milan. GC rider Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) also finished fourth in the classification, further exemplifying the possible flaws in the system.
And this was all without Pogačar particularly trying, either – the yellow jersey did not chase down stage wins in the final week, suffering from knee pain, nor did he target intermediate sprints. If he had, he was close enough to challenge for green.
Perhaps in response, ASO appear to have further categorised the stages for the 2026 race, with expected sprint stages now carrying a maximum of 70 points for the winner, 50 for second and 40 for third – which is double what third place earned last year.
My view
Stages 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17 and 21 are all classified as 'Flat' in the Tour de France route this year, despite the addition of the Montmartre climbs in the final stage, which should mean that it is more likely for sprinters to rack up more points than the GC riders in the green jersey standings.
It is not yet clear if the Tour is creating a third classification for sprint points, and whether some stages will still carry 50 points at the finish, perhaps punchy stages, or if all other stages will still have only 30 points available at the line.
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