The first winner of the men's elite time trial championships was Marc Streel in 1997.In 2000 the Rik Verbrugghe was crowned champion, who holds the record for the fastest average speed in a time trial race in a Grand Tour,[citation needed] which he achieved by winning the 2001 Giro d'Italia prologue.The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic cycling jersey which is black yellow and red, like the national flag.These colours can be worn by the rider at other time trialling events to show their status as national champion.The champion's stripes can be combined into a sponsored rider's team kit design for this purpose.