The leader of the race wears a pink jersey ( called the maglia rosa . This is because pink is the color of La Gazzetta dello Sport . Whereas the overall leader of the Tour de France is awarded a yellow jersey ( originally to correspond with L'Auto 's yellow pages ) , since 1931 the leader of the general classification in the Giro sports the maglia rosa ( pink jersey ) , which corresponds with newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport 's pink newsprint .