The Ruban Jaune (English; Yellow Ribbon) is a cycling title created in 1936 by Henri Desgrange , awarded to the rider recording the fastest average speed in a professional cycling race or stage longer than 200 km. The name is thought to have come from comparison with the Blue Riband accolade awarded to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in record time. Desgrange changed the colour to yellow to reflect the newsprint of L'Auto , the sports newspaper he edited. The current holder of the Ruban Jaune is Philippe Gilbert .
19-459: The first holder of the Ruban Jaune was Gustave Danneels of Belgium, who won the 1936 Paris–Tours in 41.455 km/h. Paris–Tours was long associated with the Ruban Jaune because its flat course, often coupled with a tailwind, makes for a fast speed; changes to the course from 2018, introducing gravel sections and hills in the latter stages, make it less favourable now. Jules Rossi of Italy took
38-610: A church dedicated to Saint Vaast, it suggests that the village existed long before (St. Vaast lived in the 6th century). By the Middle Ages , Loos-en-Gohelle was a large village whose inhabitants lived mainly by farming: in 1569, 350 inhabitants, in 1759, 600 people ; In 1824, 700 inhabitants and in 1850 around 800 people. Around 1850 the town started to become prosperous; farmers could fertilize previously uncultivated land, thanks to technology provided by Guislain Decrombecque and
57-426: A favourable wind over a new shortened course of 233 km, he covered the distance in 4 hours 52 mins 54 seconds at an average speed of 47.7 km/h. Two Italian riders then took the title at further editions of Paris–Tours: Marco Marcato in 2012 and Matteo Trentin in 2015 , with an average speed of 49.6 km/h (30.8 mph). Philippe Gilbert is the current holder of the honour, after winning stage 17 of
76-552: A sprint after the two had broken away 5 km from the finish. Erik Zabel set a new best in the 2003 Paris–Tours of 47.6 km/h over 257 km, a brisk tailwind pushing the race over 51 km in the fourth hour along the Loire valley. Zabel eventually won the race in a bunch sprint in Tours . On October 10, 2010 Óscar Freire broke the record yet again in Paris–Tours, taking advantage of
95-557: A sprint in Roubaix Velodrome . In 1955 the record returned to Paris–Tours when Jacques Dupont covered the 253.7 km with an average speed of 43.8 km/h. Dupont held the record until 1962 when Jo de Roo won Paris–Tours with an average speed of 44.9 km/h over 267.5 km. However, the previous year saw two unratified claims. Jean Anastasi won a 218 km stage of the 1961 Paris–Nice between St Etienne and Avignon with an average speed of 44.9 km/h. The record
114-522: The 2019 Vuelta a España at an average speed of 50.6 km/h (31.4 mph). That stage saw the peloton breaking up into echelons in the first part of the course, with various parts of the peloton chasing after each other. A strong tailwind in the second part ensured that the high pace was maintained until the finish in Guadalajara. Gustave Danneels Gustave Danneels ( Loos-en-Gohelle , France, 6 September 1913 – Knokke , 13 April 1976)
133-625: The Hauts-de-France region of France . A former coal mining town, three miles northwest of the centre of Lens, at the junction of the D943 and the A21 autoroute . Its nearest neighbours are Lens to the south, Grenay to the west, Hulluch to the northeast and Bénifontaine to the east. The two largest (184 m & 182 m) spoil heaps in Europe are found here. The name has changed considerably over
152-470: The Canadian Expeditionary Force at Hill 70 between 15–25 August 1917, resulting in the capture of that landscape feature dominating nearby Lens. Six Victoria Crosses were awarded for valour during that battle; a war memorial was officially unveiled there on 8 April 2017. At the end of the war, not a single building or tree had survived the pounding of artillery. Reminders of the war persist with
171-503: The discovery of coal resulted in a very rapid increase of population. Coal was mined here by the Compagnie des mines de Béthune from 1855 until 1946, and by its nationalized successor until 1986. The very rural village changed into a town, with many foreign workers, especially from Poland , swelling the workforce. A former mining site ( Écopole ) has been preserved and now hosts many cultural, economic and environmental activities which are
190-484: The finish. It contained two riders from the Flandria team and three from Weils-Groene-Leeuw and they worked together to keep a high speed with the race decided in a sprint. Post’s record stood for more than a decade although the 1969 Milano–Vignola was initially won by Roger Kindt with a record average speed of 46 km/h before he was disqualified at the medical control and victory was awarded to Attilio Rota. Post’s record
209-545: The mines of the Nord-Pas de Calais region that have become the 38th French site on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as "a living and changing landscape". Several times in its history Loos came close to being removed from the map of France. Instead it has been reborn 5 times, and is still undergoing transformation. As of 2008, Loos-en-Gohelle was a town whose economy was dominated by light industry, textiles and workshops for artisans and professionals, but it also still retained
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#1733085548217228-461: The periodic discovery of unexploded ordnance . The mining infrastructure, industry and transport were hit again during World War II . In recent years, Loos has experienced another kind of destruction: As the population left the mining towns seeking work elsewhere, about 1000 homes have been demolished in the recent past. The landscape is still marked by enormous coal spoil heaps , those of pits 11 and 19, visible for miles around. They are part of
247-462: The record in 1938 when covering 251 km at an average of 42.1 km/h in Paris–Tours. The suspension of professional cycling during World War II meant Rossi’s record stood for ten years until April 4, 1948, when Rik Van Steenbergen won Paris–Roubaix with an average speed of 43.6 km/h. The race had a violent tailwind. Van Steenbergen attacked at Hem 6 km from the finish, caught Emile Idée and Fiorenzo Magni and then beat Idée in
266-451: The symbol of new developments for the commune. Écopole 11/19 comprises buildings dating from 1923 and a modern concrete winding tower (height 66m) which operated from 1960 to 1986. During World War I the town was completely destroyed, particularly during the Battle of Loos , from 25 September - 8 October 1915. Many monuments and cemeteries reflect the destruction. A major battle was fought by
285-400: The town, tends to support this theory. In 1937, after much confusion with Loos-lez-Lille (today Loos ), it was decided to add the region's name (Gohelle) to that of the commune. The place was first documented in 1071, as "Lohes". The oldest documents that specify the existence of Loos date from the eleventh century, at the time of construction of the abbey of Anchin. But with the foundation of
304-465: The years: Lothae, Lo, Lohes, Loes, Loez and Loos. It was not until 1791 that the name of "Loos" was officially sanctioned. According to some , the name comes from the Germanic "Lôh" and Dutch "Loo" which mean "wood", but there is no archaeological evidence of what could have been a forest. According to others, the name derives from the Germanic "Laupo" which means marshy meadows, which, given the topography of
323-576: Was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer . He is known for bronze medals in the 1934 and the 1935 UCI Road World Championships and his victories in Paris–Tours . When winning the 1936 edition of Paris-Tours Danneels was awarded the Ruban Jaune for recording the fastest time in a professional race. Loos-en-Gohelle Loos-en-Gohelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in
342-407: Was beaten by Freddy Maertens in the 1975 Paris-Brussels, with an average speed of 46.1 km/h over 285.5 km. Maertens held the record for more than 20 years, before Andrei Tchmil set a record in 1997 when he won the 254.5 km Paris–Tours with an average speed of 47.2 km/h. The race covered 49.3 km in the first hour and 48.9 km in the second. Tchmil beat Max Sciandri in
361-436: Was not recognised because the course had not been properly measured. Also in 1961 Walter Martin of Italy won Milano–Torino with an average speed of 45.1 km/h but this too was not accepted. In 1964 Peter Post claimed the Ruban Jaune in winning Paris–Roubaix with an average speed of 45.1 km/h. The race took off very fast. The high average speed can be further explained by the final break at Attiches 33 km from
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