Merckx 51

Paris, 29 July 1934. Antonin Magne achieved his second overall victory in the Tour de France, after his first triumph in 1931. The Frenchman donned the yellow jersey for the entire Tour in 1934 except for one day. His time as a cyclist was followed by a switch to the support vehicle, which launched his career as a successful sports director. The family continued to cherish the souvenirs after he died in 1983. The family decided in 2019 to donate this material to the Walloon collector Noël Grégoire, who in turn transferred it to KOERS. The collection no longer includes original yellow jerseys from the Tour, but there is this yellow track cyclist jersey from Magne, dating from the 1930s and so very evocative of his many yellow jerseys. The Frenchman was the Tour leader for a total of 38 days.

Origin: collection Noël Grégoire

For the first time ever, the Tour de France de France was not launched in France. The honour fell to Amsterdam. Wout Wagtmans was therefore anxious to bring honour to his homeland and during the first stage he was in an early 10-rider breakaway. During this stage the peloton crossed Wagtmans' hometown of Breda. This is where the Dutchman went on the attack as well but without any success. In the end the group sprinted for first place and Wagtmans, the local rider, scored a victory. The yellow jersey also went to him. In the fourth stage Louison Bobet took over the leader's jersey, a few days later it was Wagtmans' turn again. In the first Pyrenean stage, however, Wagtmans lost 20 minutes and the yellow jersey into the bargain. He abandoned the Tour de France later on in the competition.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

Frenchman Louis Bobet was the man to beat in the 1950s during the Tour de France. He won three years in a row: 1953, 1954 and 1955. In 1953 and 1954 he left his closest pursuer almost 15 minutes behind. The Breton baker's son performed well on flat stretches and also had a number of classics to his credits, including the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Lombardy. He became world champion in 1954. During the 1955 Tour de France he started off wearing the world championship jersey. As soon as he became leader, he donned a modified yellow jersey, featuring world championship strips.

Origin: collection Olivier Vanbeylen

Angers, 28 June 1963. A third place in the time trial in Angers was enough for Gilbert Desmet to don the yellow jersey. Back in 1956, during his Tour of France debut, Smetje was allowed to try out the yellow jersey for two days. This time around, however, he was hankering for much more: securing a final position. The second-tier cyclist always excelled in the Tour de France. For ten days he was lost in a yellow reverie, but in the Alps he had to acknowledge the superiority of the more experienced climbers. The cyclist from West Flanders could also kiss goodbye to the podium after his stay in a crummy Grenoble hotel. His whole team fell ill and one cyclist had to drop out of the race. Desmet also bowed out of the 17th stage because of an intestinal fungus infection. Farewell dream, farewell the Tour de France podium.

Origin: collection KOERS

Lisieux, 22 June 1964. Ward Sels made his professional debut in 1964. And what a start it was! He scored 19 victories, including quite a few major triumphs. The Belgian Championship, one stage of the Vuelta a España and four stages of the Tour de France, not to mention two days in yellow. Back in 1963, Rik Van Looy had insisted that Sels be included in his Solo-Superia team, and rightly so. Sels' task in the Tour de France was to launch a sprint for Van Looy. However, the Emperor of Herentals, (after the small Belgian town where he lived) bit the dust in the first stage and bailed out the very next day. This offered an opportunity to Sels, who immediately showed how much he deserved this chance. He soon won a stage so as to be able to pull on the yellow jersey. In the third stage, his team-mate Bernard Van De Kerckhove claimed the yellow garment. Rather than being deflated by this development, Sels went ahead and won the 11th, 14th and 19th stages. What a great first year for the Belgian!

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Caen, 1 July 1967. Willy Van Neste was responsible for Belgium's highpoint during the 54th Tour de France. The farmer's son raced to a stage win during the second stage. Aranzabal attacked on the Caen car racing track. Van Neste was the only one to react, encountering the Spaniard 300 metres from the finishing line. Aranzabal then looked the wrong way and Van Neste took him by surprise. The Belgian also claimed the yellow and green jerseys. Vannestje soon lost the yellow garment but struck it lucky cycling in the mountains. A fine classification seemed to be in the offing, until a blocking gearing system decided otherwise. He took a tumble, breaking a bone in his elbow. The second-tier player had to leave the Tour with a broken arm and a broken heart.

Origin: collection Willy Van Neste

Paris, 21 July 1968. The last Tour de France featuring national teams and the Belgian Herman Van Springel for a long time seemed to be well on the way to donning the yellow jersey in Paris. A time trial specialist, Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris, as he was nicknamed, started on the last day with a lead of sixteen seconds over Jan Janssens. Vanspringel could not possibly lose but he did. The cyclist from the Campine region faltered in the final phase, while Janssens headed for victory. A 38-second gap with the leader was Van Springel's final ranking. Van Springel failed to offer Belgium another triumph in the Tour de France but he did put up a great fight, one that that will remain forever in the collective memory of cycling.

Origin: collection Noël Grégoire

At last! Thirty years after Sylveer Maes' most recent Tour victory, another Belgian won the Tour de France. His name: Eddy Merckx. The Brussels native crushed the opposition, dominating on all fronts. Merckx won the Tour de France five times in all, as well as claiming an almost countless list of other triumphs, but this first Tour victory remains very special for Merckx to this day: "For me, the 1969 Tour was and still is the finest victory of my career". Merckx donated this item as a birthday gift to the cycling patron Noël Demeulenaere. The sewn-on labels (Faema, Virlux) are no longer the originals - even the Cannibal's relics were unable to weather the test of time.

Origin: collection Noël Demeulenaere

Paris, 20 July 1975. Bernard Thévenet's first Tour of France triumph signalled the end of Eddy Merckx. During the 14th stage heading towards Puy de Dôme a spectator punched Merckx in the liver. It was during the next stage that Merckx went on the attack. The reversal of fortune that then took place on the final climb to Pra Loup was destined to go down in history. Thevenet overtook Merckx, soon leaving him behind. The Frenchman then was in the lead overall. Thévenet was alone in the lead towards Serre Chevalier and was two and a half minutes ahead of Merckx. A historical scene. The Frenchman thus became the first to deprive the Cannibal of a victory in the Tour de France.

Origin: collection

Paris, 18 July 1976. A Belgian Tour de France winner! Lucien Van Impe is still the last Belgian to climb the highest step on the podium in the Champs Elysées. 1976 was the year when Eddy Merckx was absent from the race for the first time, but Van Impe, the 'Little fellow from Mere', failed to clinch the final victory. He fought several legendary duels with Joop Zoetemelk, heading towards Alpe d'Huez and Puy de Dôme, for example. Zoetemelk won the stage three times, but during the queen's stage to Pla d'Adet, the Belgian pulled out all the stops to pave the way for his final victory.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Saint-Jean-de-Monts, 24 June 1976. The 63rd Tour of France turned out to be a real victory procession for the Belgians. Lucien Van Impe did indeed win the Tour de France but that year another Belgian was in the spotlight. Freddy Maertens proved to be the strongest cyclist in eight stages. The cyclist from West Flanders was the Belgian champion in 1976, but was set to swap his champion's jersey for a yellow one for nine days in the Tour de France. He won the prologue in Saint-Jean-de-Monts and claimed the yellow jersey that early on in the race. He also won the first stage. And on top of that the third stage, where he wiped the floor with his opponents during the time trial, as well as the 7th stage, the 18th stages A and B, the 21st stage, plus the 22 stage A l. In Paris Maertens received the green jersey as a reflection of all his stage triumphs.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

In the 1970s Joop Zoetemelk gained five second positions in the most important stage race of the year. The Dutchman decided in 1980 to join Peter Post's powerful line-up, the Dutch Ti-Raleigh team However, in 1980, for the third year in a row, Bernard Hinault seemed to be too powerful for Zoetemelk. At the beginning of the Tour, Zoetemelk lost a lot of time against his French opponent, but he managed to steadily improve his performance. He achieved a good time during the 11th stage, a time trial. On the eve of the 13th stage, Hinault suddenly decided to drop out of the Tour owing to a pain in his knee. This meant Zoetemelk became the leader, but he refused to wear the yellow jersey that day. In the evening, he was still at the top of the general classification list and agreed to receive the jersey. Zoetemelk finally won the Tour de France but he never repeated this success. In 1982, the eternally second-position cyclist once again finished... in second place.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Antibes, 26 June 1981. Day two of the Tour de France is one of good luck for Knetemann. In the second half of the stage his Ti-Raleigh team raced to victory in the team time trial. The Dutch pacer was the motor driving the team during that time trial. The triumph earned De Kneet (Knetemann's nickname), the yellow jersey, which he wore for four days in 1981. The former world champion was acknowledged as a time trial specialist and gave his best performance during the Tour de France. During this competition, Knetemann handed the jersey over to the soigneur Dirk Nachtergaele, who he had been teasing a bit too much over breakfast. To make up for this he gave the garment to Nachtergaele in the evening to help ease the tensions.

Origin: collection Dirk Nachtergaele

With 10 participations, no abandonments, three stage wins and two days in yellow to his credit, Ludo Peeters' record in the Tour de France was definitely an admirable one. The Belgian won a stage in 1980, 1982 and 1986. In 1982 and 1984, he took the yellow jersey from Bernard Hinault. The latter was the fastest in the prologue each time but had to hand over his leader's jersey the next day. Peeters won the stage after the prologue in 1982, scoring a half-minute lead over the peloton. However, the Belgian cyclist's success was short-lived. It was the turn of Australian Phil Anderson to wear the yellow jersey the next day. Peeters last won a Tour de France stage in 1986, when he emerged as the victor of the seventh stage towards Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

In 1985 Bernard Hinault made a bid for a fifth final triumph. His major challenger and the winner of the two previous competitions, Laurent Fignon, failed to appear at the start owing to an injury. Hinault bolstered his team that year with the American Greg LeMond. A masterstroke! LeMond performed better than the Breton during the 1985 Tour de France but he had to stay close to his leader, allowing him to take first place. Hinault matched Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil's record of five final wins in the Tour de France, while LeMond was left behind with a miserable second place.

Origin: collection Noël Grégoire

Eric Vanderaerden came out fighting as early as his first year. The 21-year-old Belgian finished fourth in Milan-San Remo, but, first and foremost, he claimed the Tour de France prologue and the yellow jersey traditionally awarded to the winner of this section of the race. The young Vanderaerden was initially reluctant to start the Tour de France until team manager José de Cauwer persuaded him to do so. A wise decision as he ended up spending two days in yellow. A year later, Vanderaerden, then Belgian champion, claimed two Tour de France stages. He donned the yellow jersey again in 1985, this time for one day longer than in 1983. He also claimed two stage victories. The Belgian cyclist realised in 1986 that he did not have the power needed to win in the sprint, so he set his sights on the green jersey, achieving his goal by skilfully collecting points during intermediate sprints.

Origin: collection Pascal Sergent

Paris, 23 July 1989. The American Greg LeMond's triumph in the final time trial, with an average speed of more than 54 kilometres per hour, was enough for him to claim the stage win and become the overall winner. On the very last day LeMond pushed French leader Laurent Fignon into second place to win the Tour de France de France that year with an 8 second lead. Observers subsequently estimated that those eight seconds were equivalent to 82 metres. A minuscule difference considering the total distance was 3,285 km. A historic (second) final victory for the American, a bitter defeat for the Frenchman.

Origin: loan Patrick Contraint

Steve Bauer was known for being an attacker. The Canadian set the pace but, unfortunately, failed to claim many victories. However, he did emerge as victor in the first stage of the 1988 Tour de France and later wore the yellow leader's jersey for four days during this event. He did not win any stage victories during the 2000 Tour de France but he was able to pull on the yellow jersey again. For eight days this time. In 1990, he was part of a four-man monster breakaway in the second stage. The quartet crossed the finishing line 10 minutes ahead of the other members of the peloton, therefore ensuring the rest of the Tour de France was quite a unique experience. Frans Maassen won this stage, while his fellow breakaway riders, including Steve Bauer, all ended up donning yellow jerseys. Starting with Bauer.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Miguel Indurain succeeded in 1995 in joining the distinguished list of five-time Tour de France winners. The Basque rider won the Tour de France five times in a row from 1991 to 1995, applying the same tactic over and over again: pulling out all the stops during the time trials and then holding onto his lead by following his competitors. A rather dull but highly effective strategy. 'The Big One' (because of his 1m88 height) won the time trial in 1992 with a three-minute lead over his first chaser - the highest lead ever achieved in the Tour de France.

Origin: collection KOERS

The first Tour de France Féminin (Women's Tour de France) was held in 1984. One year later, a Belgian selection was launched for the first time, whereupon Josiane Vanhuysse immediately won a stage, the very first Belgian to achieve this feat. This stage race was known as the Tour of the EEC Women, or the Tour of the European Community in 1990. Three years later Heidi Van De Vijver proved to be the best of the pack. Except for the prologue, she rode the entire stage race in yellow. The cyclist from Bornem became the final winner, ahead of Leontien Van Moorsel.

Origin: collection Heidi Van De Vijver

During the 2004 Tour de France, Laurent Jalabert was seriously injured during the first stage and had to abandon the race with a broken jaw and collarbone. Jaja took the yellow jersey exactly one year later but held on to the item for only two days. Nonetheless, 14 July of all days turned out to be his jour de gloire. Miguel Indurain remained firmly in possession of the yellow jersey, but in the Massif Central Jalabert tried his luck at capturing the leader's jersey. During the breakaway, he rode virtually in yellow but towards the end of the stage, the leading group started to lose ground. However, the Frenchman managed to shake off his companions during the final climb, the Côte de la Croix-Neuve. Local supporters were ecstatic. The climb was later even renamed Montée Jalabert. The Frenchman also claimed the green jersey.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

The prologue in 's-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands, set the smooth and steady rider Alex Zülle dreaming at the start of the 1996 Tour. The Swiss won the stage with a two-second lead and as a bonus he earned entitlement to sport a yellow jersey. The talented climber and time trialist finished second in the final classification of the 1995 Tour de France. The Swiss had dared to attack Miguel Indurain but the latter proved too strong. However, Zülle did manage to claim the yellow jersey in 1996, but lost the garment on low terrain during the third stage. He crossed the line in Paris with a 26th place in the general classification to his credit, almost an hour behind the winner Bjarne Riis. The hoped-for Tour victory never materialised.

Origin: collection Noël Grégoire

Le Havre, 5 July 1995. The yellow jersey wearer Laurent Jalabert fell at the end of the fourth stage towards Le Havre. Fortunately, the Frenchman was able to stay in the Tour de France but had to relinquish his yellow jersey that day, much to the surprise of the recipient, the debutant Ivan Gotti. The Italian finished in 44th place in the fourth stage, but recovered the leader's jersey thanks to his regularity at the start of the Tour de France. Gotti arrived at La Grande Boucle to help out Evgeni Berzin but the leader of the Gewiss team bailed out halfway through the race. Gotti finished fifth in his first Tour de France and ended up wearing the yellow jersey for two days. Despite never achieving a victory in the Tour de France he was a two-times Giro d'Italia winner.

Origin: collection Jos Van Dijk

Danish rider Bjarne Riis achieved his Tour breakthrough in 1993. After winning a stage in the Giro d'Italia earlier that season, he repeated that performance during the Tour. Riis also finished fifth in the general classification, compared with a third-place final ranking in 1995. That is why one year later he was considered one of the challengers to Miguel Indurain. The Dane astonished friend and foe alike and snatched a unique, sixth consecutive overall win from Indurain. Riis admitted in 2007 that his Tour de France triumph was aided by drugs. Riis' doping confession came shortly after his teammates of the time - Christian Henn, Rolf Aldag, Udo Bölts and Erik Zabel - admitted to having used banned substances. This jersey bears the signatures of Riis and his teammates from 1996.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Jan Ullrich, the Tour debutant, claimed second place on the final podium in 1996, creating a double cause for celebration among the members of the German Telekom Team, which also had winner Bjarne Riis in its stable. A year later Riis was once again the man everybody was counting on, but it was Ullrich who was the first to cross the line during the 10th stage to put on the yellow jersey. Der Jan was also the strongest in the time trial after the day of rest and no longer had to give up the yellow jersey. He is still the first and only German to achieve a final Tour victory. Ullrich once more came close to tasting a final victory in 2003, but a fall in the final time trial put paid to his chances.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Paris, 2 August 1998. Marco Pantani won the Tour de France that was notorious for the doping activities that went on there. Only 96 of the 189 riders actually reached Paris. Some of them took action themselves in protest against the French judiciary, others were ousted or arrested by the police for doping. The fuss surrounding the doping scandal overshadowed the victory of the unfortunate Pantani. In the 15th stage El Elefantino rode nine minutes ahead of the yellow jersey winner Jan Ullrich. First on the Galibier and then on the final climb of Les Deux Alpes he beat all-comers, while Ullrich suffered a defeat. The stage victory and the yellow jersey were Pantani's for the taking that day. The overall win was claimed by Pantani, who was later caught doping himself.

Origin: collection Noël Grégoire

Marc Wauters came top in the general classification for one day during the 2001 Tour. In the second stage from Calais to Antwerp the Belgian rider brought a 16-strong breakaway to the right destination. Passing under the red rag, Wauters and Prétot broke away from the leading group. During the two-man sprint the Belgian was the first to get his wheel over the line. Thanks to a fine prologue the day before, the Soldier was also able to claim the yellow jersey. Even better, the Tour de France was scheduled to pass through Lummen for the first time a day later. This was the Belgian-Limburg village where Wauters came from. The peloton allowed him to ride in front for a while. Just a few metres from his own home, the real trooper was able to enjoy the most memorable day of his career, with plenty of encouragement from the spectators.

Origin: collection Marc Wauters

Morzine, July 12, 2003. In the wake of the Festina affair and the doping episode, Richard Virenque succeeded in becoming France's 'golden boy' one more. The peloton rejected him until he redeemed himself in 2003. During the seventh and longest stage of the Tour de France, the local rider struck hard. With a lead of more than two minutes over the second, he crossed the finishing line for the first stage in the Alps alone. The small group of favourites finished at four minutes. In 2003, La Grande Boucle ("The Big Loop", the French nickname for the Tour de France) celebrated its 100th anniversary. By taking the yellow jersey, Virenque transformed the event into a celebration for the French. He was wearing the yellow jersey for the second time in his career, after first donning back in 1992. The next day, however, he lost it in the stage towards Alpe d'Huez, to Lance Armstrong, who was cycling towards his fifth Tour de France triumph.

Origin: collection Frans Decock/Unilin

Paris, 24 July 2005. Lance Armstrong had another appointment with history. The American was starting to build up his lead in stage 1. After the 19 kilometre time trial, his rivals were already more than 50 seconds behind. Armstrong even rode past Ullrich in that race against the clock. A battled flared up during the fourth stage, a team time trial, between yellow jersey-wearer David Zabriskie's Team CSC and Armstrong's Discovery Channel. Zabriskie took a tumble one and a half kilometres before the finishing line, allowing Armstrong to take the yellow garment from his fellow countryman. Victory also fell to his team. It was only in the 20th stage, an individual time trial, that Armstrong managed to achieve his first individual Tour victory. That was all the American needed to win his seventh Tour in a row.

Origin: collection KOERS

Paris, 23 July 2006. In the 2006 Tour de France, Floyd Landis cycled from a hopeless position to a final victory. Even if only for a short time, because two days after Paris he apparently tested positive in a doping test on 20 July in Morzine. That was the day of his famous monster breakaway. After having suffered a problem the day before in the stage leading to La Toussuire, the American went on the attack with a 128 kilometre ascent still ahead of him. Landis thus heroically narrowed his gap with the leader Oscar Pereiro to less than one minute. Landis clinched the yellow jersey during the time trial on the penultimate day but this success was short-lived, as Floyd Landis has entered the history books as the first Tour de France winner to lose his triumph because of doping.

Origin: collection KOERS

Valkenburg, 5 July 2006. We are in the third stage of the Tour de France and Tom Boonen has not yet won a single one. In 2006 the Belgian was almost unbeatable in bunch sprints but not during the Tour de France. Robbie McEwen and Oscar Freire did not concede any stage wins to the Belgian. However, thanks to a reasonable prologue and close places of honour, Boonen, then world champion, managed to take the yellow jersey. For four days, he defended his jersey superbly. Until the time trial in Rennes threw a spanner in the works. Boonen ended up leaving the Tour de France early on. The stage towards Alpe d'Huez was too much for him. The Belgian cyclist suffered from respiratory and intestinal problems and was forced to drop out.

Origin: collection KOERS

Carlos Sastre belonged to a formidable generation of major Spanish Tour racers and is one of the few who was never caught using banned substances. The Madrid inhabitant distinguished himself for the first time in the 2003 Tour de France by winning a tough Pyrenean stage. Sastre had to lead his leader, Ivan Basso, to the final victory during the 2006 Grande Boucle, but the day before the start, Basso was banished from the Tour de France because of drug-taking. Sastre quickly took over the role of the leader. He almost claimed the yellow jersey, finishing fourth in the final classification. The born climber led the CSC team once again in 2008. During the 17th stage at the foot of Alpe d'Huez, he felt that his time has come. He attacked and outstripped the favourites by two minutes. He won the stage and took the yellow jersey. This was his first and only Tour de France triumph.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Spa, 5 July 2010. The signal for the start of the second stage was given in Brussels. Sylvain Chavanel and seven other riders made a run for it early on. The Frenchman collided with a support vehicle during Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April and suffered a fracture at the base of his skull. A good two months later, a stage in the same region was the signal for him to prove himself again. Chavanel was the last to survive the early breakaway and to do a double at Spa. He won both the stage victory as well as the yellow and green jerseys. In the seventh stage, Chavanel wrought havoc once more, scoring another double. The Frenchman won a momentous stage victory and once again claimed the yellow jersey. But managed to keep it for just one day. Chavanel climbed onto the podium in 2010 in Paris to take the most combative rider prize.

Origin: collection Dirk Nachtergaele

Alberto Contador was considered to be one of the most excellent peloton riders. The yellow jersey and final victory fell into the Spaniard's lap after the leader, Michael Rasmussen, was ousted from the Tour de France. However, out of respect for Rasmussen, Contador refused to wear the yellow jersey at the start of the 18th stage, even though the Spaniard had yet to don the leader's jersey. When Contador returned to France two years later, the Spaniard came under heavy pressure from teammate Lance Armstrong, who was making his comeback in 2009. During the first mountain stage, the Spaniard managed to outdistance Armstrong. In the following mountain stages, El Pistolero consolidated his lead and captured the yellow jersey in the 15th stage, but did not throw in the towel after that. Contador won his second Tour de France victory, while Armstrong finished third.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe

Alpe d'Huez, 22 July 2011. While the stages in the Pyrenees did not produce anything spectacular, Andy Schleck attacked from afar in the alpine stage towards the Col du Galibier. The masterstroke of the younger Schleck began at the Col d'Izoard. The peloton failed to react. The Luxembourg rider achieved a maximum lead of four minutes. Finally, Cadel Evans saw the danger of this breakaway and narrowed the gap. At the end of the following day, the yellow jersey was hanging around Schleck's shoulders. The young Luxembourger claimed the jersey in Alpe d'Huez, at the very same spot where his older brother, Fränk, had lost it in 2008. However, he did not manage to get farther ahead of Evans, who followed him 57 seconds behind in the general classification. In the final time trial, the inevitable occurred: Schleck lost first place to time trial specialist Cadel Evans.

Origin: collection KOERS

Mont des Alouettes, 2 July 2011. For the first time in years, the Tour de France did not start with a prologue, but with a finish on the Mont des Alouettes, a merciless climb. Top favourite Philippe Gilbert was set to enjoy a prosperous year in 2011 and also live up to his role as favourite in the Tour de France. In an impressive final sprint he managed to leave Fabian Cancellara behind. This triumph also earned him the yellow, the green and the polka dot jerseys. He held onto to the yellow jersey for just one day, but the green became a goal in itself. On the first day of rest he was 45 points ahead of Joaquín Rojas, but even Gilbert was not equal to the sprint bomb Mark Cavendish. Halfway through the final week, the cyclist from the Ardennes had to put his dream back on the shelf.

Origin: collection Arne Houtelier/Lotto-Soudal

Cadel Evans will always be remembered as the first Australian to win the Grande Boucle. His efforts were rewarded in 2011 in Paris, with the highest award: the yellow jersey. Evans had been close to achieving this honour several times in previous years. He finished second in 2007, but in 2008 the tough Australian was top favourite. He took the first yellow jersey of his career that year thanks to a slight one second lead over Fränk Schleck. Evans finally finished in second place. The Australian won the yellow jersey again in 2010, but this time he had to give it up again on the day after the day of rest. He finally hit the jackpot in 2011! He won the fourth stage in Mûr-de-Bretagne. In the runup to the final time trial, the last hurdle before reaching Paris, he succeeded in becoming third overall, 57 seconds behind the number one, Andy Schleck. Outstripping his opponents, Andy and Fränk Schleck, Evan was able to cycle to Paris wearing the yellow jersey.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Paris, 22 July 2012. This is the year Bradley Wiggins made cycling history by becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France. When the Tour caravan reached the Vosges, the British Sky team felt that its time had come and scored a double. Chris Froome won the seventh stage, which finished at La Planche des Belles Filles. Wiggins, on the other hand, appeared on the podium to claim the yellow jersey, which he never lost. With more than 100 time trial kilometres, the 2012 Tour de France was in Wiggins' pocket. Both in the time trial to Besançon and in the race against the clock to Chartres, the charismatic British rider dashed towards the stage victory. The anticipated duel between Wiggins and Cadel Evans, the winner of the 2011 Tour de France, never took place.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

Ajaccio, 30 June 2013. Up amongst the hills on the French island of Corsica, an exciting event took place during the second stage. With seven kilometres still to go to the finishing line, Sylvain Chavanel launched an attack, followed by the likes of Bakelants, Gorka Izagirre, Fuglsang and Flecha. Upon sighting the red rag the formidable Bakelants broke away. He just managed to stay out of the grip of the sprinting peloton and went on to win the fascinating stage with a second lead over Peter Sagan. The Belgian took the leader's jersey from Marcel Kittel, achieving an impressive first professional victory. Early in 2013, Bakelants had to have a knee operation. His victory is all the more impressive as it was only his 18th day of racing that year.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

The Tour de France got underway in 2014 with a three-day race on English soil. This was the signal for Mark Cavendish to surge ahead, but the British rider took too many risks, falls and had to bow out, unintentionally paving the way for Marcel Kittel, who kicked off his Tour de France with a sprint victory and the yellow jersey in a repeat of his performance the previous year. None other than Britain's Princess Kate presented Kittel with the yellow jersey. The German sprint bomb not only started like the year before, he also ended with the same result: four wins to his credit.

Origin: collection KOERS

Mulhouse, 13 July 2014. Two Tonys ended up celebrating after the ninth stage arriving at Mulhouse. Tony Martin completed an impressive 50 km solo. A member of the large chasers' group, Tony Gallopin took the leader's jersey. As a Frenchman, Gallopin was allowed to wear the yellow jersey on 14 July, the French national holiday. Apart from the enjoyable side, the stage also involved some suffering because the tough mountain stage to La Planche des Belles Filles was on the bill of fare. Gallopin was scheduled to ride for the Lotto team leader Jurgen Van den Broeck as a result of which he lost the yellow jersey.

Origin: collection Arne Houtekier/Lotto Soudal

Yorkshire, 6 July 2014. Stage two of the Tour de France and Vincenzo Nibali was already standing on the podium in yellow. The Italian had just launched an attack descending during the first stage of the climb, thereby claiming the stage victory. Nibali abandoned his beloved Giro d'Italia in 2014 to focus completely on his first Tour de France victory. This turned out to be a wise decision. During the rain-drenched fifth stage, a kind of mini Paris-Roubaix race, the Tour lost one of its key favourites. Chris Froome dropped out before the first cobblestone section. Nibali, on the other hand, outstripped his competitors to finish ahead. The Planche des Belles Filles, the first mountain stage, traditionally a major Tour obstacle, was a piece of cake for Nibali. Alberto Contador bailed out, while Nibali dashed ahead to victory. The Italian rider also captured stage victories in the Alps and the Pyrenees. The Shark of Messina finally won the Tour de France streets ahead.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe

Zeeland, 5 July 2015. After a gruelling stage in echelon formation, a small group made a sprint for first place. Much to his own surprise, Fabian Cancellara raced into third place after André Greipel and Peter Sagan. During the prologue on day one he had to hand the victory over to Rohan Dennis, but a third place was enough to take the yellow jersey from the Australian. A day later Cancellara fell and dropped out of the Tour de France with two broken vertebrae, the same two he had broken three months earlier. The yellow jersey was about the only bright spot for him in 2015, which turned out to be a bad year for the Swiss cyclist.

Origin: collection KOERS

Cambrai, 7 July 2015. The Tour de France programme featured the dreaded cobblestone stage between Seraing and Cambrai but the hoped-for spectacular experience failed to materialise, partly because of the dry weather. Several cobblestone specialists, such as Sep Vanmarcke and Zdenek Stybar, were trying to make their mark. However, it was time trial expert Tony Martin who rode away from a large group with three kilometres to go, a most welcome development. Panzerwagen, as he was nicknamed, had a puncture on the last cobblestone section and as a result, won the stage victory on the bike of his teammate Matteo Trentin! He took the yellow leader's jersey from Chris Froome. This was a special victory for the German, because he did not win it in a time trial and German television decided to resume live broadcasts of the Tour de France in 2015. Unfortunately for Tony Martin, he fell in the sixth stage and broke his collarbone.

Origin: collection Frans Decock/Unilin

The Tour de France kicked off for the sixth time in the Netherlands back in 2015. After Amsterdam (1954), Scheveningen (1973), Leiden (1978), 's Hertogenbosch (1996) and Rotterdam (2010) it was Utrecht's turn this time. To mark the start of the Tour, the St. Catherine's Convent Museum (a museum of religious art in Utrecht) hosted an exhibition entitled 'The Holy Jersey'. The ASO gifted them this official Tour shirt at the opening. The museum later donated this garment to KOERS, which had loaned several items in support of the initiative.

Origin: collection KOERS

That Peter Sagan was a phenomenon was well and truly demonstrated during the Tour de France. In 2012 he returned home from his Tour debut with three stage wins and the green jersey to his credit. The three-time world champion has since matched Erik Zabel's record by entering Paris six times sporting the green jersey. The Slovak cyclist was entitled to put on the yellow jersey for the first time in 2016, keeping it for three days. Sagan took the yellow jersey in 2018 as well. He also won three more stages, to make a total of eleven so far.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe

British sprint bomb Mark Cavendish had already clocked up 26 stage victories in the Tour de France before the start of the 2016 competition. He still had to clinch a yellow jersey and this he managed to do after the first stage of the 2016 Tour. The event started that year with a flat stage, which suited Cavendish down to the ground. The British rider did not disappoint, winning the first stage and claiming his first yellow jersey in the Tour, although he had to return it one day later. Unlike his string of stage victories, the number of yellow-wearing days was negligible.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe

Peyragudes, 13 July 2017. Fabio Aru was scheduled to try to win the Giro d'Italia in his home country in 2017 but was prevented from doing so owing to a training accident sustained just before the start. The Italian then thought he would take a stab at winning the Tour de France. In France, he put one over all the favourites during the fifth stage of La Planche des Belles Filles. Just over two kilometres from the summit, Aru launched a decisive attack and claimed a victory. He competed in the yellow jersey during stages 12 and 13 but then had to hand it over to the top favourite Chris Froome. Aru then somehow contribed to fall off the podium and end up in fifth place in the final classification.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe

Cholet, 9 July 2018. For the first time since 2015, a team time trial was featured on the Tour de France's menu. An exciting stage for Belgium, as two of the country's cyclists had a chance to claim the yellow jersey: Philippe Gilbert, with the Quick Step team, and Greg Van Avermaet, with BMC. In the end, the latter and his team won, in a matter of seconds, after 35 kilometres of cycling against the clock. Van Avermaet therefore claimed the yellow jersey and had no intention of giving it up without a fight. During the cobblestone stage towards Roubaix, the Belgian in the yellow jersey finished second. After the day of rest, he was still sporting the yellow jersey, but the Alps were now in sight. Although this was not Van Avermaet's terrain, he defended his jersey tooth and nail and joined the early breakaway. The favourites kept their heads down, allowing Van Avermaet to keep his jersey one more day, against all the odds.

Origin: collection De Velodroom

Trained as a track rider, Welshman Geraint Thomas had been riding for Team Sky - now Ineos - since 2010. On the road, he first distinguished himself as a classic rider, claiming a victory in the E3 Harelbeke (2015). Thomas had been successfully focusing on stage races for about five years. After the overall win in Paris-Nice (2016), the big breakthrough came in 2018. Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France as well as the Dauphiné Liberé. He turned out to be stronger than leader Chris Froome, who had to make do with third place. After Wiggo and Froome a third rider from Team Sky's stable was therefore proclaimed the winner.

Origin: collection Jasper De Deyne

Fontenay-le-Comte, 7 July 2018. Fernando Gaviria won the first bunch sprint of the 2017 Tour de France. Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel cut their teeth during their encounter with the young Colombian. Gaviria was also entitled to pull on the the yellow jersey. It had been 15 years since a Colombian had worn yellow: this honour was granted to Hugo Peña in 2004. Gaviria repeated this feat during the fourth stage, to triumph yet again. Although he then lost the yellow jersey, the Colombian performed superbly during this first Tour debut.

Origin: collection Marin Van Insberghe