In the third stage of the Tour de France in Sisteron on Monday, current race leader Julien Alaphilippe (Desseuninck-Quick Step) finished safely in the pack, tying Bernard Thevenet, the 1975 and 1977 Tour champion, as the Frenchman He tied Bernard Thévenet, the 1975 and 1977 Tour champion, for the all-time record for most yellow jersey wearers.

Alaphilippe will now tie Roger Pingeon, the 1967 Tour champion, and sprinter Andre Darrigade, who won 22 stages at the Tour in the 1950s and 1960s.

In addition to the nearly two weeks he spent in yellow in last year's race, Alaphilippe will have spent a total of 16 days as race leader. He still has a long way to go to match the all-time leader, five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault, who has spent 76 days in the yellow jersey. Jacques Anquetil, another five-time winner, is 51 days in, and Alaphilippe is currently in 10th place, and if he can hold onto his lead on Tuesday, he will jump up to 9th place, along with Pinjon and Darrigade.

The statistics, which appeared in L'Equipe on Monday, are from L'Encyclopédie du Maillot Jaune, a book with a wealth of facts and figures about cycling's most iconic jersey, compiled by L'Equipe's cycling journalists The information was taken from the book. The number of yellow days is determined by the number of times each rider is presented with the yellow jersey after a stage.

How far can Alaphilippe go? Then there is the recently retired Thomas Voeckler (now a French national team selector), who finished eighth and earned 20 days of yellow. To match him, Alaphilippe will need to hold the lead until Friday evening in Lavaur.

If he surpasses Voeckler and chases the 22-day yellow record of the late two-time Tour winner Laurent Fignon, Alaphilippe will truly join the ranks of French legends of yesteryear. For now, the 28-year-old Alaphilippe says he will only pursue stage wins rather than overall top finishes at the Tour, despite finishing fifth overall last year. However, he has not ruled out a podium finish someday.

For now, the race could be suspended at any moment due to the coronavirus problem, but hopefully that won't happen, and Alaphilippe is dreaming of more days in yellow for the French nation, and perhaps for himself.