Maurice Garin, a mustachioed former chimney sweep, won the inaugural Tour in 1903. Of the 60 riders that started the race, only 21 got to the finishing line 19 days later.
It was the gruelling nature of the Tour that fascinated sports fans and writers. The Manchester Guardian previewed the 1921 race, noting that if it was run in a straight line it could stretch from Paris to Baghdad.
The participation of British cyclists in the postwar period was overshadowed by the death of Tommy Simpson. The rider from Nottinghamshire collapsed during a mountain stage of the 1967 edition. A postmortem found that he had taken amphetamines.
Drug taking would continue to dog the Tour for years. Nonetheless, the race had cemented its place as a major sporting event, thanks to the likes of France’s Jacques Anquetil. His fabled natural riding ability and endurance helped him win five Tours, four of which were in successive years.
Another five time winner, Belgium’s Eddy Merckx, known as the “The Cannibal,” became a sporting legend thanks to his great desire to win. He won his fifth tour in 1974. Frenchman Bernard Hinault, hailed as one of the greatest cyclists of all time, joined the exclusive club of five-time winners in 1985.
It was a former teammate of Hinault, US rider Greg Lemond, who won the tightest finish to a tour in 1989. Lemond, wearing the latest aerodynamic helmet and riding a bike fitted with tri bars, beat Laurent Fignon on the final day by just eight seconds.
Spanish dominance of the event came in the shape Miguel Indurain or “Big Mig” who made Le Tour history by wining it five times in succession in the 1990s.
His record was broken by US rider Lance Armstrong who won the race seven times in a row between 1999 - 2005. Many thought Armstrong’s record would never be beaten, but the American was stripped of his titles and given a lifetime cycling ban for doping in 2012.
The Tour de France, already damaged by a doping scandal surrounding the Festina team in 1998, seemed in peril.
But professional cycling’s dark past didn’t put off the broadcasting giant Sky from investing heavily in the sport in 2009. They appointed David Brailsford as manager of Team Sky who said he would win the Tour with a “clean” rider. In 2012, Bradley Wiggins delivered on that promise, becoming the first British rider to win the race.
