Tour de France: past and present

The first winner of the Tour de France was Maurice Garin (2nd from left) in 1903. The Frenchman put great importance on his balanced diet, which included red wine and chain-smoking while cycling. He won the race with a record margin of nearly three hours.

In the first decades of the tour, riders would fix their bikes themselves and even carry a spare inner tube around their shoulders - as seen here in 1948. Today, mechanics follow the cyclists in escort vehicles as part of the tour entourage.

Italy’s Fausto Coppi is one of the most popular cycling stars of all time. His fans call him "Il Campionissimo" - the champion of champions. In 1949 and 1952, Coppi won the Tour de France as well as the Giro d'Italia, Italy’s most famous bike race. In the 1952 Tour de France, riders had to summit three mountains for the first time – Coppi was the first at all three peaks.

A tour stage victory is a huge achievement for any cyclist. But many have literally fought their way to the finish line. After a final sprint in 1997, Germany’s Jens Heppner (right) and Dutchman Bart Voskamp were disqualified because of their wrangling, which put Italian Mario Traversoni in first place.

The pros say cycling is all about falling and getting back up – however, some falls can end a riders race, or even life. In 2012 a total of 13 riders had to give up the race after a massive crash. In the history of the Tour de France two riders lost their lives. Both accidents, in 1935 and 1995, occurred during mountain stage descents.

Since 1985, France has waited in vain for a new Hinault. In that year, Frenchman Bernard Hinault celebrated the last of his five Tour de France victories. Even today, this national hero is still seen during the race. As a member of the organizing team, Hinault congratulates the riders at the awards ceremonies.

In the past 99 editions of the Tour de France, no race finish can compare to that of 1989. After 3,285 kilometers (2,041 miles) Greg LeMond (left) of the US won by just eight seconds ahead of Frenchman Laurent Fignon (right). The hairsplitting finish was the closest in race history.

In 1997, Jan Ullrich (center) was the first German to win the tour, which was met with euphoria at home. Beside him to the left is Germany’s Erik Zabel who received the green jersey six times as the best sprinter. To the right is Frenchman Richard Virenque who wore the polka dot mountains jersey seven times. Today it is known that all three were - at least temporarily - doping during the race.

A spectator dressed as a doping doctor offering a piece of meat to Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador - who is not amused. After winning his third Tour de France in 2010, he was stripped of his title following a positive on a doping test. Contador insists he had unknowingly eaten a contaminated steak containing the banned substance clenbuterol.

No professional cyclist has fallen farther from grace than Lance Armstrong. From 1999 to 2005, this US wonder – and cancer survivor – triumphed seven times in a row. However, it wasn't until 2012 that he admitted to doping charges. As a result, Armstrong has been banned from competitive racing for life and has been stripped of his Tour de France titles.