Color of the sprint jersey in Tour de Suisse?

Question

Tour de Suisse has two separate jerseys for sprints competition (based only on points from intermediate sprints) and points competition (where the points obtained from placement in stages are included; I am not sure whether they count here the intermediate sprints, too.)

The current revision of the Wikipedia article White jersey says that:

The Tour de Suisse awards a white jersey to a somewhat unique competition, the Sprints classification,[5] which awards placings not on stage finishes but strictly in intermediate sprints.

The link given there shows the leader of the sprints classification in 2008 wearing the white jersey.

Seasons 2005-2013 have individual articles on Wikipedia - the links can be found in the article about Tour de Suisee. When I checked these articles I have seen that:

• In 2008, the color is shown as white.
• In 2007, sprint classification is mentioned, but no information about the color of the jersey is in that article.
• In 2012 the sprint classification is not mentioned at all, so it was probably not awarded.
• Wikipedia articles on seasons 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 show the color of the sprint jersey as blue.

Of course, there might be mistakes in Wikipedia articles and Wikipedia gives no information about sprint competition before 2005.

I would like to know:

• Was the year 2008 the only year, when the color of the jersey for the sprints competition was white?
• When was the sprint classification (separate from the point classification) introduced in Tour de Suisse for the first time?

Answer 1

I can answer your first question. Your second question would be more difficult to track down.

In the Tour de Suisse (and in fact, many other stage races as well), the jerseys' colors simply change from year to year. Even the rules change quite often. In 2012, for instance, there was no intermediate sprints jersey. Instead, there was a red jersey for the best Swiss rider in the general classification. Often, these color changes are caused by changes in sponsors. This is quite prominent in the Tour of Spain, for instance: even the general classification's leader jersey (which would typically be seen as a very traditional prize) has changed numerous times throughout the years.

2008 was not the only year when the sprints jersey was white. The same color was used in 2007. After that, the blue color has been used fairly consistently, but it may be up for change again next year.

Answer 2

The first reference I can find for the separate sprint classification is from the year 2000.

See Wikipedia's article (in Italian) on this subject: Tour de Suisse 2000.

There were 2 different sprint classifications, but I can't tell which was the purpose of that. In 2001 there were even 3 different sprint classifications. My bet is that it also has to do with sponsorships, like the colours of the jerseys.