Since 1903 Le Tour de France has captured the imagination of the world. A throwback to times past, an anomaly in the world of sport, surely no-one today would conceive a race so long, so tough, so inhumane. For three weeks the coureurs haul their weary bodies around the most beautiful of landscapes - the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Midi, la belle France.  Is it any wonder that Le Tour has the most rich and inspiring history of any sporting event? Millions of kilometres of its past are ripe with heroism, deception, courage and humour.

We’ve distilled the history of the Tour into 100 of our favourite tales. From the immortals of the sport to the lowliest of domestiques, the glory of the landscape to the passion of the fans - these stories reveal the hidden Tour.   Each picture represents a different year, each year tells a different story and there are truly some extraordinary gems hidden within the Miscellany.   Check out the stories for each year here.