Tour de France points available for harder climbs. The classification was preceded by the "meilleur grimpeur" () which was awarded by the organising newspaper "l'Auto" to a cyclist who completed each race. The classification awarded no jersey to the leader until the 1975 Tour de France, when the organizers decided to award a distinctive white jersey with red dots to the leader. The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest number of climbing points. If a rider leads two or more of classifications, the climbers' jersey is worn by the rider in second,
Doping at the Tour de France 50,000 French francs – was likely to restrict use. Only the richest or the most ambitious riders could afford that. And the rewards could be high: Bernard Thévenet won the 1975 and 1977 Tour de France editions by using cortisone. "I was doped with cortisone for three years and there were many like me", he said. The experience had ruined his health, he said. Spanish rider Luis Ocaña failed tests in his last participation in the Tour de France in 1977 which was called the Tour of Doping. Testing took time to adapt, but in 1978 Belgian rider Jean-Luc van