What Is the Lanterne Rouge? Cycling's Proudest Last Place, Explained
The lanterne rouge, French for "red lantern", is the rider who finishes the Tour de France in last place overall, with the most total time of everyone who reaches the end. The name comes from the red lamp on the last car of a train. There is no jersey for it, yet the title carries real affection.
In short
- Lanterne rouge is French for "red lantern", the lamp that hung on the last car of a train.
- It goes to the rider who finishes the Tour de France last overall, with the most total time.
- There is no jersey and no official classification prize for it.
- Wim Vansevenant holds the record, last three years running from 2006 to 2008.
What does lanterne rouge mean in the Tour de France?
Every rider in the Tour de France is ranked by total time across 21 stages and roughly 2,200 miles (3,500 km). The rider with the lowest time wears yellow. The rider at the very bottom of that same list, with the most time on the clock, is the lanterne rouge.
Only finishers count. A rider who abandons drops out of the standings altogether, so the lanterne rouge is the slowest of the riders who made it to the final stage. That can mean a huge gap: in 2022, Caleb Ewan finished more than 5 hours behind the winner, Jonas Vingegaard.
The riders who end up there are rarely the weakest athletes in the race. Wikipedia's history of the title notes that red lanterns often go to sprinters and riders built for shorter races, who lack the climbing legs for three weeks of mountains, or to riders who keep going while injured.
Why is it called the red lantern?
The phrase comes from the railways. A red lantern hung on the back of the last car of a passenger train, or on the brake van of a freight train, so signal staff could see that the whole train had passed and nothing had come loose. Whatever carries the red lamp is, by definition, the last thing in line.
Cyclists took the image straight from that. The Tour de France article on Wikipedia adds that some past holders played along and rode with a small red light under the saddle. Cycling is not the only sport to borrow it, either. In the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska, the last musher to finish is also called the red lantern.
Does the lanterne rouge get a jersey?
No. The Tour de France awards four leader's jerseys: yellow for the overall leader, green for the points classification, white with red polka dots for the best climber, and white for the best young rider. Last place has no jersey and no official classification prize. Our guide to what cycling jersey colors mean covers the four official ones in detail.
That gap is part of the charm. The lanterne rouge is a title the fans and the press keep alive, not one the organizers hand out.
More Tour de France designs
Who are the most famous lanterne rouge riders?
A few names come up again and again.
| Rider | Year(s) | Why people remember it |
|---|---|---|
| Wim Vansevenant (Belgium) | 2006, 2007, 2008 | The record: last overall three years in a row |
| Gerhard Schönbacher (Austria) | 1979, 1980 | Last twice, the second time despite a rule written to stop him |
| Lawson Craddock (USA) | 2018 | First rider ever to be last after every single stage |
| Sam Bennett (Ireland) | 2016 | Broke a finger on stage 1, finished last, won the green jersey in 2020 |
| Igor and Iker Flores (Spain) | 2002, 2005 | Brothers who each took the red lantern |
| Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) | 2024 | One of many sprinters to end a Tour at the back |
Craddock's story is the one most American fans know. He crashed on the opening stage in 2018 and cracked his shoulder blade, then decided to keep riding. Along the way he pledged $100 for every stage he finished to rebuild Houston's Alkek Velodrome, which Hurricane Harvey had damaged, and donations went past $250,000. He reached Paris in last place.
Can a rider try to finish last on purpose?
It has happened. For a long time a famous last place could pay better than an anonymous place near the back, because the lanterne rouge got booked for the post-Tour criteriums, the exhibition races where riders earned much of their income. As Wikipedia puts it, the last rider is often remembered while those a few places ahead are forgotten.
The best-known contest came in 1979. Gerhard Schönbacher and Philippe Tesnière were the last two riders overall, less than a minute apart, going into the final time trial. Tesnière rode slowly to avoid last place. Bernard Hinault won the stage in 1:08:53, Schönbacher took 1:21:52, and Tesnière took 1:23:32. That put Tesnière more than 20% slower than the winner, outside the time limit, and he was removed from the race. Every Tour stage has a limit like this: the winner's time plus a set percentage.
Organizers have tried to stop the game more than once. In 1939 and 1948 they excluded the last rider overall every day. For 1980 they brought in a rule that removed the last rider after each stage from stage 14 to stage 20. Schönbacher finished last anyway.
Why do riders and fans love the lanterne rouge?
Because finishing the Tour at all is hard. Plenty of riders crash out, fall sick or miss a time limit, and the lanterne rouge is the one who kept turning up at the start line for three weeks. Fans read it as stubbornness, not failure.
Most of us have also been that rider. Everyone who has ridden with a club knows the feeling of being last up the climb with the group waiting at the top. The red lantern turns that moment into something you can laugh about.
Writer Max Leonard built a whole book around the idea. Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France, published by Yellow Jersey, a Penguin imprint, tells the stories of riders who ended up at the bottom, from former stage winners to a breakaway rider sent off course by a detour, and asks what last place says about success in sport.
Can you wear a lanterne rouge jersey on group rides?
You can, and it tends to start conversations at the coffee stop. Our Lanterne Rouge Red Lantern jersey is a short sleeve jersey for anyone who has finished at the back and still finished.
The product page lists 140 GSM moisture-wicking polyester, mesh side panels, three back pockets and a full-length hidden zip, in sizes XXS-7XL. It has a club fit cut that runs small, so size up if you are between sizes and check the size chart first.
If you want the jerseys the Tour does hand out, the Tour de France Collection has yellow, green, polka dot and white designs. More jokes for the back of the bunch live in our Humor Collection.
The jerseys the Tour does award
Frequently asked questions
Who has been the lanterne rouge the most times?
Wim Vansevenant of Belgium, three times in a row, in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Is the lanterne rouge an official Tour de France award?
No. There is no jersey and no official classification prize. It is a nickname for the last rider overall in the final standings.
Does a rider who quits the Tour become the lanterne rouge?
No. Riders who abandon leave the standings. The lanterne rouge has to finish the final stage.
Why are sprinters often the lanterne rouge?
Sprinters are built for fast, flat finishes rather than three weeks of mountains, so they often lose a lot of time on the climbing stages.
What does lanterne rouge mean in English?
Red lantern. It refers to the red lamp that hung on the back of the last car of a train.
