Who wore the first yellow jersey in Tour de France history when the jersey was introduced in 1919?

Eugène Christophe became the first cyclist to wear the Tour de France yellow jersey in 1919.

The yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, was introduced during the 1919 Tour de France to make the overall race leader easier to identify. Christophe received it at Grenoble before the eleventh stage, having led the general classification after the race resumed following the First World War.

Christophe was already a notable rider before wearing the jersey. He won the first Milan–San Remo in 1910 and had previously held the Tour’s overall lead, but the yellow jersey did not yet exist during those earlier races. Its color is generally linked to the yellow newsprint of L’Auto, the newspaper that organized the Tour.

Although Christophe wore the first yellow jersey, he did not win the 1919 Tour. Belgian rider Firmin Lambot finished first overall, while Christophe was delayed by a mechanical failure and placed third.