Tour de France Leader Gives Yellow Jersey to Shivering Child

After a heavy rainstorm, Tour de France leader Julian Alaphilippe helped a child keep warm with the iconic jersey.

Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The yellow jersey is one of the most iconic symbols in sports. Anyone who has heard of the Tour de France knows that the leader of the race wears the famous maillot jaune and that wearing it is a lifelong dream for cyclists.

It’s also, apparently, good for keeping children warm. 

Julian Alaphilippe has worn the jersey since taking the lead after Stage 7 and performed well enough in Thursday’s Stage 18 to keep it. He was met near the finish line by members of his family, including a young boy who had been soaked in the rainstorm that struck near the end of the race. The boy was chilled to the bone and no one had a jacket to offer him, so Alaphilippe gave him the yellow jersey. 

Julian Alaphilippe a reçu la visite de proches en zone mixte au moment où l’orage s’est abattu sur Valloire. Parmi eux, un petit garçon frigorifié. Personne n’avait de veste à lui prêter, alors... 👏🏼 #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/O02v9knWc6

— Louis-Pierre Frileux (@LPFrileux) July 25, 2019

Alaphilippe, a 27-year-old Frenchman, has a decent chance of keeping the yellow jersey all the way until the pelaton reaches the Champs-Élysées. He just needs to maintain his 1:30 lead over Colombia’s Egan Bernal Gomez in the final two mountain stages. 

“No matter where I finish in Paris, this Tour will have left a mark on French people,” Alaphilippe said after the stage. “And I’ll have learned a lot about myself.”