Matteo Trentin's pacy Paris-Tours ride breaks a number of records

If you turned on your television on Sunday afternoon hoping to catch the end of Paris-Tours chances are you might have missed it, such was the speed that the riders completed the race in.

Paris-Tours is often a quick race, thanks to the autumn tailwinds the riders can enjoy in the October race, and the 2015 edition was no exception.

This time, though, the riders had to deal with quite a few crosswinds on the 231km route, not to mention the early crash that split the peloton in half.

Up front was a group of the race favourites, including Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and Matteo Trentin (Etixx-Quick Step), with maybe thirty other riders for company.

Despite the depleted numbers, the front group motored along, not allowing the chasers to regain touch. By the time Trentin crossed the line to claim the win, only four hours and 39 minutes had passed, giving the Italian the fastest average speed ever in the race.

His average of 49.641kph was a full kilometre an hour faster than the previous best speed, set by 2012 winner Marco Marcato, who finished Sunday's race in 34th.

Trentin's rapid ride also saw him claim the prestigious, if almost unknown, Ruban Jaune trophy, awarded to the rider with the fastest average speed in any race over 200km (excluding stages in stage races).

Unsurprisingly, Paris-Tours winners have accounted for nine of the 12 holders of the award, with Trentin taking the title from Marcato on Sunday.

Trentin's new record will take a fair bit of beating, but keep an eye on next year's Paris-Tours just in case it happens again.