THE Tour de France has been part of the furniture of the French sporting summer since 1903 - when it was inaugurated to increase sales for the newspaper L’Auto. Despite all sorts of skullduggery, particularly in the early years, it has been held every year in peace time ever since then.

Four men - Jacques Anquetil of France, Eddy Merckx of Belgium, Bernard Hinault of France, and Miguel Indurain of Spain - share the record of having won it five times.

Sir Bradley Wiggins was the first-ever British winner of the event in 2012, with his Kenyan-born countryman Chris Froome bidding this year to win the title for the fourth time. Scotland’s highest-ever finish came from Robert Millar, who finished 4th in 1984 and also took the King of the Mountains jersey.

Lance Armstrong, of the USA, won the race seven consecutive years between 1999 and 2005 but had his wins voided for long-term doping offences.

A green jersey is awarded to the overall points winner, with a polka jot jersey for the King of the Mountains and a white jersey for the best young rider. Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, who has won back-to-back world road race titles, has taken the green jersey in each of the last five editions.

His rival sprinter, Mark Cavendish of Great Britain, starts the race for Team Dimension Data after a bout of glandular fever and is closing in on the most all-time stage wins. He has finished first after a day’s racing on the tour no fewer than 30 times, four behind five-time race winner Merckx.

A total of 198 riders from 22 teams will enter the 2017 Tour de France with only a select few battling it out for the Maillot Jaune. Each team starts with nine riders and the assistance of team-mates in the peloton (bunch) is crucial to help even the strongest GC contender up the climbs. Froome’s assistance at Team Sky this year includes Mikel Landa of Spain, Sergio Henao of Colombia and Welshman Geraint Thomas, who crashed out of the Giro.