Le Tour was founded by Henri Desgrange in 1903 when the cyclists astonishingly rode without breaks, bike changes or outside assistance over 19 days and 2828 kilometres.
Maurice Garin, aka the "Chimney Sweep", set the record for the biggest winning margin in the inaugural edition of two hours and 49 minutes, with more than 20,000 people watching at the finish line in Paris.
It didn't take long for a dishonest element, one that has plagued the event over the years, to surface just one year later with riders alleged to have used cars and trains to complete parts of the course.
The first major climb of the race, the Ballon d’Alsace, was introduced in 1905. The winner René Pottier hanged himself in 1907 despite winning the previous year.
World War I saw the riders sit out from 1915 to 1918 with the prestigious maillot jaune brought in during the 1919 event due to the fact it was the same colour as the race sponsor, newspaper L'Auto.
Journalist Albert Lourdes famously commented during the 1920s that the riders suffered from terribly bad morals, prompting him to call them Les Forcats de la Route or the Convicts of the Road.
Two-time winner Italian Ottavio Bottecchia was also cursed in the 1920's thanks to his murder in 1927 on a training ride at the hands of fascist supporters.
Rule changes finally benefited the host nation, who won the first five tours of the 1930s ahead of the big technological leap of 1937 when gears were introduced on the bikes. That meant the riders didn't have to change the wheel each time!
After World War II, Italian Gino Bartali went a record ten years between his wins while Swiss riders won the last two races in 1950 and 1951 before television was introduced.
French saddle jockey Louison Bobet became the first person to win a hat-trick of races in 1953, 1954, and 1955 with compatriot Jacques Anquetil taking up the charge with five victories between 1957 and 1964.
Rebel Anquetil, who once claimed that his training regime included "a few whiskies, blonde cigarettes and a woman", gave way to Englishman Tom Simpson in the fame stakes in the late 1960's.
Sadly Simpson used drugs to fuel his 1967 charge, like many before him, that ended in tragedy when he died on the perilous Mont Ventoux climb due to extreme heat with drug testing introduced the following year.
Thankfully the Cannibal entered Tour folklore in 1969 when Belgian Eddy Merckx started his dominance of the race, that lasted into the mid-1970's, thanks to a sensational debut that saw him win by 17 minutes.
Frenchman Bernard Thevenet unseated the great Merckx in 1975 and he went on to win the 1977 edition until another French legend Bernard Hinault, "le blaireau" (the badger), had a golden spell through to 1984.
When Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond started duelling for victory, another magical period materialised with the American's staggering ride to overhaul Fignon in 1989's final stage the highlight.
Add in Irishman Stephen Roche's exceptional 1987 triumph, in a Triple Crown year that also included Giro d'Italia and World Cycling Championship wins, plus the effortless Spaniard Pedro Delgado and it's easy to get misty-eyed.
Another Spaniard, Miguel Indurain, catapulted into the sport's consciousness with five straight wins from 1991 due in part to his astonishingly low heart rate and unrivalled talent in the mountains to foil the famous PDM team.
Bjarne Riis's tainted 1996 win and the tragic story of 1998 victor Marco Pantani, who died of a drug overdose several years later, lent Le Tour a maudlin air until the arrival of Lance Armstrong.
The American's fairytale rise after he suffered a testicular cancer setback inspired not just cycling fans, but people worldwide, with his seven consecutive wins from 1999.
2006 winner Floyd Landis was stripped of his title after failing a drugs test and both the 2007 and 2008 editions were dogged by similar doping scandals. Cycling fans everywhere hope 2009 will not suffer in the same way.
