What springs to mind when you think of the Tour de France? There’s a good chance that the yellow jersey is at the forefront of your thoughts. But it took until 1919 for the maillot jeune to be awarded (from its inception in 1903, the overall leader wore a green armband). It’s believed that race organizers gave in to pressure from the press, which had been calling for the race leader to be more visible. The color stems from the look of France’s famous sports newspaper L’Auto (now called L’Équipe). For the record, France’s Eugène Christophe won the inaugural jersey (for the stage from Grenoble on July 19, 1919).
Top 10 Tour de France Moments
The Tour de France, which kicked off July 4, is a three-week, 2,000-mile test of human endurance. TIME takes a look back at some of the race's greatest moments