King of the Mountains

The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest position over several designated climbs in a single-day road race, it is more usually applied to stage races (for example, the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia or Vuelta a España) where points are accumulated over the duration of the whole race.

Related Topics:
Climber - Cycling - Tour de France - Giro d'Italia - Vuelta a España

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In the Tour de France, at the top of each significant climb, points are awarded to the riders who are first over the top. The climbs are categorised from 1 (most difficult) to 4 (least difficult) based on their steepness and length. A fifth category, called Hors categorie (outside category) applies to mountains rated even more severe than first category. Similar ratings apply to climbs in the other major Tours.

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In the Tour de France, the leader in the mountains competition wears a distinctive polka dot jersey (French: maillot à pois rouge). Although the King of the Mountains was first recognised in the 1933 Tour de France, the distinctive jersey was not introduced until 1975; in the Giro and Vuelta, the King of the Mountains leader wears a green jersey.

Related Topics:
Polka dot jersey - 1933 - 1975 - Green jersey

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Two riders have won the "King of the Mountains" in the Tour de France six times: Federico Bahamontes (Spain) and Lucien Van Impe (Belgium), while Richard Virenque (France) holds the record with seven wins. Gino Bartali holds the record for the Giro d'Italia, also with seven wins, while Jose Luis Laguia has won the Vuelta equivalent five times.

Related Topics:
Federico Bahamontes - Spain - Lucien Van Impe - Belgium - Richard Virenque - France - Gino Bartali - Jose Luis Laguia

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No rider has won the "King of the Mountains" in all three Grand Tours in the same year. Indeed, only two riders, Federico Bahamontes and Luis Herrera, have won all three competitions in different years. Ten riders have achieved doubles.

Related Topics:
Grand Tours - Federico Bahamontes - Luis Herrera

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The Tour/Giro double has been achieved by four riders:

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• Fausto Coppi (1949)
• Charly Gaul (1956)
• Lucien Van Impe (1983)
• Claudio Chiapucci (1992)

The Giro/Vuelta double has been achieved by two riders:

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• Manuel Fuente (1972)
• Andres Oliva (1975, 1976)

The Tour/Vuelta double has also been achieved by four riders:

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• Federico Bahamontes (1958)
• Julio Jiminez (1965)
• Luis Herrera (1987)
• Tony Rominger (1993)
 
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