The Tour de France is set for a new era of partnerships in 2027, with Sanofi becoming the sponsor of the white jersey in both the men’s and women’s races, while Italian brand Castelli takes over as the official clothing supplier from Santini.
Sanofi will replace Krys, which has sponsored the men’s white jersey since 2015, and Liv, the previous partner of the women’s young rider classification. The partnership will cover both the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The partnership also marks a return to familiar territory for Castelli, which previously produced the Tour de France leader jerseys between 1989 and 1994.
Awarded to the best-placed eligible young rider in the general classification, the white jersey has a long history at the Tour. It first appeared in 1968 as the prize for the leader of the combined classification, which brought together performances in the overall, points and mountains standings.
Tour's symbol since the 1970s
In 1975, it was repurposed to recognise the best young rider. On it's debut, future Giro d'Italia champion Francesco Moser secured a place in the race's history. Although the jersey itself disappeared during the 1990s, the classification continued, and the white jersey returned in 2000.
Isaac del Toro in white jersey at the 2026 Tour de France
From Moser, through Pogacar, to Del Toro
Over the decades, the classification has proved a reliable showcase for future champions. Laurent Fignon, Jan Ullrich, Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck and Egan Bernal all won the white jersey before or alongside major successes in the general classification.
Then came Tadej Pogacar who completely flipped the script. Already having won his first Tour de France at the age of 21, he managed to win the classification for four years in a row - all while competing for the overall victory. His dominance brought about the discussions of whether the under-25 classification should perhaps move down to under-23, or whether it should be kept at all.
Read also
More recently, Remco Evenepoel claimed the classification in 2024, followed by Florian Lipowitz in 2025 and Isaac del Toro in 2026. For all three of them, this coincided with a podium finish - something that absolutely was not always the case in the past. This only goes to highlight the fast development of the sport over last decade.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Rubbing is racing.
santiagobenites06-11-2026 - Throws an elbow, but crashes afterwards and he's upset.
Front24206-11-2026 - There should be nothing but praise for them: 1. Trying to make things safer, and 2. Trying something "new".acem8206-11-2026
- And a bit of a malcontent on top of it all that doesn’t help.mij06-11-2026
- Hopefully it was just a particularly bad year!Lozza05-11-2026
- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment