The Tour de France team classification was introduced in 1930. That was the year Henri Desgrange abandoned the earlier individual-racing format and reorganized the race around national teams.
The first version was called the Challenge international. Unlike today’s sponsored squads, the teams in the 1930s were largely organized by country, including France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. The classification was calculated by adding the times of each team’s three best-placed riders in the general classification.
This history explains two common mix-ups. The Tour had team-like support and sponsored riders before 1930, but it did not yet have the formal team classification used to rank squads. Also, the competition’s scoring method has changed several times: a points-based system appeared in the 1960s before the race returned to time-based calculations.
Modern leaders are not identified by a traditional jersey. Since 2006, the leading team’s riders have worn black numbers on yellow backgrounds; yellow helmets have also been permitted since 2012.