Rasa Polikevičiūtė wearing the Rainbow jersey during her reign as World Road Race Champion.

The Rainbow jersey is the distinctive jersey worn by the reigning world champion in a bicycle racing discipline. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the UCI colours around the chest. From the bottom up the colours are: green, yellow, black, red and blue, the same colours that appear in the rings on the olympic flag. The tradition is applied to all disciplines, including road racing, track racing, cyclo-cross, BMX, and the disciplines within mountain biking. Major league affiliations National League (1962–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 5, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 49 Name Houston Astros (1965–present) Houston Colt . ... The Rainbow Guts uniform or the popsicle uniform is a nickname for a series of uniform styles worn by the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club from 1975 to 1993. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1196x1575, 447 KB) Rasa Polikeviciute en:Rasa Polikeviciute during the introductions prior to the start of one of the stages of the 2002 en:Womens Challenge race. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1196x1575, 447 KB) Rasa Polikeviciute en:Rasa Polikeviciute during the introductions prior to the start of one of the stages of the 2002 en:Womens Challenge race. ... Rasa Polikevičiūtė during the introductions prior to one of the stages of the 2002 Womens Challenge stage race. ... The UCI Road World Championships (for Women) is an annual event that is recognized as the world championship for road race and time trial events for women. ... The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ... For the Queen song, see Bicycle Race. ... Bicycle racers at the 2005 Rund um den Henninger-Turm in Germany Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on roads (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially-built banked tracks or velodromes (but many events are held at older velodromes where the track banking is relatively shallow) using track bicycles. ... A cyclo-cross racer carrying his bicycle up a steep slope after overcoming a barrier at the bottom (not shown). ... A BMX race. ... Mountain biker riding in the Arizona desert. ...

A world champion must wear the jersey when competing in the same discipline, category and speciality for which the title was won. For example, the world road race champion would wear the garment while competing in stage races and one-day races, but would not be entitled to wear it during time trials. Similarly, on the track, the world individual pursuit champion would only wear the jersey when competing in other individual pursuit events.^[1] The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ... In many racing sports an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. ... In track cycling, the individual pursuit is an event where two cyclists begin their race from a stationary position (nowadays held by gates, in the past, riders were supported by track officials until the starting gun fired) on opposite sides of the track. ...

In team events, such as the team pursuit, each member of the team must wear the rainbow jersey, but – again – would not wear it while racing in, say, points races or other track disciplines. The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. ... The points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. ...

The rainbow jersey helps make a world champion easier to spot for spectators, but it also has the effect of making the title-holder more visible to other competitors, particularly in road racing situations. This can be a disadvantage as it makes it more difficult for the world champion to launch an attack, while other riders will quickly seek to take advantage if they notice the rainbow jersey crashes or suffers a mechanical or other problem. There is also reduced space for sponsors' logos on the world champion's jerseys; however, the increased media coverage of a reigning world champion probably offsets the effects of the smaller logo space.

Failure to wear the rainbow jersey where required carries a penalty of 2500 to 5000 Swiss francs.^[2] ISO 4217 Code CHF User(s) Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Campione dItalia Inflation 1. ...

After the end of a rider's championship year, they are eligible to wear piping in the same rainbow pattern on the collar and cuffs of their jersey. They retain this right for the remainder of their career, and like the jersey it can only be worn in the same discipline and speciality in which the title was won.^[3]

If the holder of a rainbow jersey becomes leader of a multi-stage race (such as the Tour de France) then the leader's jersey (Yellow jersey) for that race takes precedence. Similarly, the leader's jerseys for UCI World Cup series also take precedence over the rainbow jersey, although, in 2006, Road Race World Champion Tom Boonen at one point was the leader of the Road Racing World Cup, and he, as well as his sponsor and the organizers of the race he was competing in at that time (Gent-Wevelgem) wanted him to continue wearing the rainbow jersey. A compromise was reached and Boonen wore a jersey which was a combination of the Rainbow jersey and the UCI World Cup jersey.^[4] For other uses, see Tour de France (disambiguation). ... Commercial version of maillot jaune, 2004 The Yellow jersey (French: Maillot jaune pronounced ) is the jersey worn by the leader of many multi-stage bicycle races, originally and most notably the Tour de France. ... The Gent-Wevelgem is a professional cycle road race held in Belgium in early April each year. ...

Current World Champions

The current world champions in each discipline, allowed to wear the rainbow jersey are (excluding youth and veteran championships):

Discipline	Event	World Champion Men	World Champion Women	Next Championships
Road	Road Race	Paolo Bettini	Marta Bastianelli	September 2008
Road	Time Trial	Fabian Cancellara	Hanka Kupfernagel	September 2008
Track	Sprint	Chris Hoy	Victoria Pendleton	25-29 March 2009
Track	Time Trial	Teun Mulder	Lisandra Guerra	25-29 March 2009
Track	Keirin	Chris Hoy	Jennie Reed	25-29 March 2009
Track	Individual Pursuit	Bradley Wiggins	Rebecca Romero	25-29 March 2009
Track	Scratch Race	Aliaksandr Lisouski	Eleonora van Dijk	25-29 March 2009
Track	Points Race	Vasili Kiryienka	Marianne Vos	25-29 March 2009
Track	Madison	Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins	none	25-29 March 2009
Cyclo-Cross		Lars Boom	Hanka Kupfernagel	January, 2009
Mountain Bike	Marathon	Christoph Sauser	Petra Henzi	6 July 2008
Mountain Bike	Cross Country	Julien Absalon	Irina Kalentieva	15-22 June 2008
Mountain Bike	Downhill	Sam Hill	Sabrina Jonnier	15-22 June 2008
Mountain Bike	4-Cross	Brian Lopes	Jill Kintner	15-22 June 2008
Trial	20-inch wheel	Benito Ros Charral	none	15-22 June 2008
Trial	26-inch wheel	Vincent Hermance	none	15-22 June 2008
BMX		Kyle Bennett	Shanaze Reade	29 May-1 June 2008

Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick Step-Innergetic professional cycling team. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Fabian Cancellara (born March 18, 1981) is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Hanka Kupfernagel (born March 19, 1974 is a German professional cycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Chris Hoy racing for Scotland during the 2006 Commonwealth Games Chris Hoy (born March 23, 1976 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish track cyclist and Olympic Games gold and silver medal winner. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Victoria Pendleton (24th September 1980)is an English cyclist. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Teun Mulder (born 18 June 1981) is a Dutch track cyclist born in Zuuk. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cuba. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Chris Hoy racing for Scotland during the 2006 Commonwealth Games Chris Hoy (born March 23, 1976 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish track cyclist and Olympic Games gold and silver medal winner. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... U.S. National Cyclist and Olympian (2004). ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Bradley Wiggins, OBE (born April 28, 1980) is a professional track and road bicycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Rebecca Romero (born on 24 January 1980) is a British track cyclist and rower who won a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the quadruple sculls. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belarus. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belarus. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Marianne Vos, ( (help·info)) (born May 13, 1987 in s-Hertogenbosch) is a Dutch cyclo-cross and road bicycle racer. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Mark Cavendish is a cyclist from the Isle of Man (born 21 May 1985). ... Bradley Wiggins, OBE (born April 28, 1980) is a professional track and road bicycle racer. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Lars Boom in action during the 2007 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Hanka Kupfernagel (born March 19, 1974 is a German professional cycle racer. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Christoph Sauser (born April 13, [1976] in Sigriswil, Switzerland) is a cross-country mountain biker, who won the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Julien Absalon born August 16, 1980 is a French mountain biker. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Sam Hill can refer to: Sam Hill (euphemism), a euphemism for hell or damn. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Brian Lopes (born September 6, 1971 in Mission Viejo, California) is a professional mountain bike racer who specializes in four-cross. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Kyle Bennett. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

Curse of the Rainbow Jersey

The Curse of the Rainbow Jersey is a popular term to refer to the fact that cyclists who have become World Champion often have a lot of bad luck the next year - though, in some cases, the 'bad luck' was brought on by their own actions. The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual world championship for bicycle road racing organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). ...

Notable 'victims' of the curse include the 1970 world champion Jean-Pierre Monseré who died wearing the rainbow jersey in March 1971 and Laurent Brochard, the world champion of 1997, who became involved in a doping scandal a year later. Jean-Pierre Monseré (1948-1971) was a Belgian cyclist. ... Laurent Brochard (born on March 26, 1968 in Le Mans, France) is a professional male cyclist from France. ... In sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. ...

The 2003 winner, Spaniard Igor Astarloa, switched to the French team Cofidis for the 2004 season which almost immediately suspended itself from racing due to doping allegations against several members of the team. In response to this, Astarloa switched first to the Lampre team, and then the Barloworld team. He has had a very quiet career since his 2003 victory. Rund um den Henninger Turm (2006) Igor Astarloa Askasibar (born on March 29, 1976 in Ermua, Basque Country) is a cyclist from Spain. ... Cofidis is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the insurance company Cofidis. ...

The 2004 World Road Champion Óscar Freire was in good form throughout the spring, but developed a saddle sore mid-season that ended his hopes for a second consecutive title on home turf in Spain. For the street in São Paulo, see Rua Oscar Freire. ... A saddle sore is a skin ailment in the nether region due to, or exacerbated by, riding on a bicycle saddle. ...

Tom Simpson (UK) won the world title in 1965. During the following winter (Jan/Feb 1966) he broke his leg skiing thus missing out on his most lucrative benefits from wearing the rainbow jersey. For other persons named Tom Simpson, see Tom Simpson (disambiguation). ...

In August 2004 British professional cyclist David Millar was suspended for two years by British Cycling, stripped of his 2003 World Time Trial Championship jersey, and given a $1,600 fine, after confessing to the use of EPO in 2001 and 2003. David Millar (born January 4, 1977 in Malta) is a Scottish road racing cyclist, currently racing for UCI ProTeam Saunier Duval-Prodir as a time-trial specialist. ... British Cycling (shortened to BC, formerly known as the British Cycling Federation or BCF) is the national governing body for cycle racing for Great Britain. ... Erythropoietin (IPA pronunciation: , alternative pronunciations: ) or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. ...

On 24 September 2006, Italian Paolo Bettini won the Rainbow Jersey in the World Road Race Championship in Salzburg, Austria.^[5] Eight days later on 2 October his older brother Sauro died when his car struck an obstacle and overturned into a ditch.^[6] He had also few accidents in the beginning of 2007 season (Tirreno-Adriatico 2007) and technical problems (in E3-Prijs Vlaandereren his chain snapped^[7]). Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick Step-Innergetic professional cycling team. ... The 2007 Tirreno-Adriatico cycle race took place from March 14 to March 20. ...

On November 26, 2006, while wearing the Rainbow jersey of World Madison Champion, Isaac Gálvez died during the Six Days of Ghent, following a horrific crash into the upper barrier surrounding the indoor track.^[8] The Madison is an event in track cycling, named after the Madison Square Garden in New York, and known as the American race in French (course à laméricaine). ... Isaac Gálvez Lopez (born May 20, 1975 in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Catalonia) is a Spanish cyclist who rides for Caisse dEpargne-Illes Balears in the UCI ProTour. ... The Six Days of Ghent (Dutch: Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent) is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Ghent, Belgium. ...

See also

• Union Cycliste Internationale
• Mountain Bike World Championships

Entrance of UCI headquarter at Aigle (Switzerland) Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is a professional cycling union that oversees cycling events in the international community. ... The first professional Mountain Bike World Championships took place in Durango (USA) in 1990. ...

Notes and references