Brasschaat, 8 juli 1954. Voor de allereerste keer start de Tour de France niet in Frankrijk, Amsterdam krijgt de eer. Wout Wagtmans wil zijn thuisland dan ook alle eer aandoen en zit tijdens de eerste etappe mee in de vroege vlucht van tien renners. De rit voert het peloton immers door Wagtmans’ woonplaats Breda. De Nederlander valt daar ook aan, maar zonder succes. Uiteindelijk sprint het groepje om de zege en wint thuisrijder Wagtmans toch. Ook de gele trui is zijn deel. In de vierde etappe neemt Louison Bobet de leiderstrui over, een aantal dagen later is het weer de beurt aan Wagtmans. In de eerste Pyreneeënrit verliest Wagtmans echter twintig minuten en dus ook de gele trui. Later in de Tour geeft hij op.

(collectie Jasper De Deyne)

Frenchman Louis Bobet was the man to beat in the 1950s during the Tour de France. He won three years in a row: 1953, 1954 and 1955. In 1953 and 1954 he left his closest pursuer almost 15 minutes behind. The Breton baker's son performed well on flat stretches and also had a number of classics to his credits, including the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Lombardy. He became world champion in 1954. During the 1955 Tour de France he started off wearing the world championship jersey. As soon as he became leader, he donned a modified yellow jersey, featuring world championship strips.

Angers, 28 June 1963. A third place in the time trial in Angers was enough for Gilbert Desmet to don the yellow jersey. Back in 1956, during his Tour of France debut, Smetje was allowed to try out the yellow jersey for two days. This time around, however, he was hankering for much more: securing a final position. The second-tier cyclist always excelled in the Tour de France. For ten days he was lost in a yellow reverie, but in the Alps he had to acknowledge the superiority of the more experienced climbers. The cyclist from West Flanders could also kiss goodbye to the podium after his stay in a crummy Grenoble hotel. His whole team fell ill and one cyclist had to drop out of the race. Desmet also bowed out of the 17th stage because of an intestinal fungus infection. Farewell dream, farewell the Tour de France podium.

Lisieux, 22 June 1964. Ward Sels made his professional debut in 1964. And what a start it was! He scored 19 victories, including quite a few major triumphs. The Belgian Championship, one stage of the Vuelta a España and four stages of the Tour de France, not to mention two days in yellow. Back in 1963, Rik Van Looy had insisted that Sels be included in his Solo-Superia team, and rightly so. Sels' task in the Tour de France was to launch a sprint for Van Looy. However, the Emperor of Herentals, (after the small Belgian town where he lived) bit the dust in the first stage and bailed out the very next day. This offered an opportunity to Sels, who immediately showed how much he deserved this chance. He soon won a stage so as to be able to pull on the yellow jersey. In the third stage, his team-mate Bernard Van De Kerckhove claimed the yellow garment. Rather than being deflated by this development, Sels went ahead and won the 11th, 14th and 19th stages. What a great first year for the Belgian!

Caen, 1 July 1967. Willy Van Neste was responsible for Belgium's highpoint during the 54th Tour de France. The farmer's son raced to a stage win during the second stage. Aranzabal attacked on the Caen car racing track. Van Neste was the only one to react, encountering the Spaniard 300 metres from the finishing line. Aranzabal then looked the wrong way and Van Neste took him by surprise. The Belgian also claimed the yellow and green jerseys. Vannestje soon lost the yellow garment but struck it lucky cycling in the mountains. A fine classification seemed to be in the offing, until a blocking gearing system decided otherwise. He took a tumble, breaking a bone in his elbow. The second-tier player had to leave the Tour with a broken arm and a broken heart.

Paris, 21 July 1968. The last Tour de France featuring national teams and the Belgian Herman Van Springel for a long time seemed to be well on the way to donning the yellow jersey in Paris. A time trial specialist, Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris, as he was nicknamed, started on the last day with a lead of sixteen seconds over Jan Janssens. Van Springel could not possibly lose but he did. The cyclist from the Campine region faltered in the final phase, while Janssens headed for victory. A 38-second gap with the leader was Van Springel's final ranking. Van Springel failed to offer Belgium another triumph in the Tour de France but he did put up a great fight, one that that will remain forever in the collective memory of cycling.

At last! Thirty years after Sylveer Maes' most recent Tour victory, another Belgian won the Tour de France. His name: Eddy Merckx. The Brussels native crushed the opposition, dominating on all fronts. Merckx won the Tour de France five times in all, as well as claiming an almost countless list of other triumphs, but this first Tour victory remains very special for Merckx to this day: "For me, the 1969 Tour was and still is the finest victory of my career". Merckx donated this item as a birthday gift to the cycling patron Noël Demeulenaere. The sewn-on labels (Faema, Virlux) are no longer the originals - even the Cannibal's relics were unable to weather the test of time.

Paris, 20 July 1975. Bernard Thévenet's first Tour of France triumph signalled the end of Eddy Merckx. During the 14th stage heading towards Puy de Dôme a spectator punched Merckx in the liver. It was during the next stage that Merckx went on the attack. The reversal of fortune that then took place on the final climb to Pra Loup was destined to go down in history. Thevenet overtook Merckx, soon leaving him behind. The Frenchman then was in the lead overall. Thévenet was alone in the lead towards Serre Chevalier and was two and a half minutes ahead of Merckx. A historical scene. The Frenchman thus became the first to deprive the Cannibal of a victory in the Tour de France

Paris, 18 July 1976. A Belgian Tour de France winner! Lucien Van Impe is still the last Belgian to climb the highest step on the podium in the Champs Elysées. 1976 was the year when Eddy Merckx was absent from the race for the first time, but Van Impe, the 'Little fellow from Mere', failed to clinch the final victory. He fought several legendary duels with Joop Zoetemelk, heading towards Alpe d'Huez and Puy de Dôme, for example. Zoetemelk won the stage three times, but during the queen's stage to Pla d'Adet, the Belgian pulled out all the stops to pave the way for his final victory.

Saint-Jean-de-Monts, 24 June 1976. The 63rd Tour of France turned out to be a real victory procession for the Belgians. Lucien Van Impe did indeed win the Tour de France but that year another Belgian was in the spotlight. Freddy Maertens proved to be the strongest cyclist in eight stages. The cyclist from West Flanders was the Belgian champion in 1976, but was set to swap his champion's jersey for a yellow one for nine days in the Tour de France. He won the prologue in Saint-Jean-de-Monts and claimed the yellow jersey that early on in the race. He also won the first stage. And on top of that the third stage, where he wiped the floor with his opponents during the time trial, as well as the 7th stage, the 18th stages A and B, the 21st stage, plus the 22 stage A l. In Paris Maertens received the green jersey as a reflection of all his stage triumphs.

In the 1970s Joop Zoetemelk gained five second positions in the most important stage race of the year. The Dutchman decided in 1980 to join Peter Post's powerful line-up, the Dutch Ti-Raleigh team However, in 1980, for the third year in a row, Bernard Hinault seemed to be too powerful for Zoetemelk. At the beginning of the Tour, Zoetemelk lost a lot of time against his French opponent, but he managed to steadily improve his performance. He achieved a good time during the 11th stage, a time trial. On the eve of the 13th stage, Hinault suddenly decided to drop out of the Tour owing to a pain in his knee. This meant Zoetemelk became the leader, but he refused to wear the yellow jersey that day. In the evening, he was still at the top of the general classification list and agreed to receive the jersey. Zoetemelk finally won the Tour de France but he never repeated this success. In 1982, the eternally second-position cyclist once again finished... in second place.

Antibes, 26 June 1981. Day two of the Tour de France is one of good luck for Knetemann. In the second half of the stage his Ti-Raleigh team raced to victory in the team time trial. The Dutch pacer was the motor driving the team during that time trial. The triumph earned De Kneet (Knetemann's nickname), the yellow jersey, which he wore for four days in 1981. The former world champion was acknowledged as a time trial specialist and gave his best performance during the Tour de France. During this competition, Knetemann handed the jersey over to the soigneur Dirk Nachtergaele, who he had been teasing a bit too much over breakfast. To make up for this he gave the garment to Nachtergaele in the evening to help ease the tensions.

With 10 participations, no abandonments, three stage wins and two days in yellow to his credit, Ludo Peeters' record in the Tour de France was definitely an admirable one. The Belgian won a stage in 1980, 1982 and 1986. In 1982 and 1984, he took the yellow jersey from Bernard Hinault. The latter was the fastest in the prologue each time but had to hand over his leader's jersey the next day. Peeters won the stage after the prologue in 1982, scoring a half-minute lead over the peloton. However, the Belgian cyclist's success was short-lived. It was the turn of Australian Phil Anderson to wear the yellow jersey the next day. Peeters last won a Tour de France stage in 1986, when he emerged as the victor of the seventh stage towards Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.

In 1985 Bernard Hinault made a bid for a fifth final triumph. His major challenger and the winner of the two previous competitions, Laurent Fignon, failed to appear at the start owing to an injury. Hinault bolstered his team that year with the American Greg LeMond. A masterstroke! LeMond performed better than the Breton during the 1985 Tour de France but he had to stay close to his leader, allowing him to take first place. Hinault matched Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil's record of five final wins in the Tour de France, while LeMond was left behind with a miserable second place.

Eric Vanderaerden came out fighting as early as his first year. The 21-year-old Belgian finished fourth in Milan-San Remo, but, first and foremost, he claimed the Tour de France prologue and the yellow jersey traditionally awarded to the winner of this section of the race. The young Vanderaerden was initially reluctant to start the Tour de France until team manager José de Cauwer persuaded him to do so. A wise decision as he ended up spending two days in yellow. A year later, Vanderaerden, then Belgian champion, claimed two Tour de France stages. He donned the yellow jersey again in 1985, this time for one day longer than in 1983. He also claimed two stage victories. The Belgian cyclist realised in 1986 that he did not have the power needed to win in the sprint, so he set his sights on the green jersey, achieving his goal by skilfully collecting points during intermediate sprints.

Paris, 23 July 1989. The American Greg LeMond's triumph in the final time trial, with an average speed of more than 54 kilometres per hour, was enough for him to claim the stage win and become the overall winner. On the very last day LeMond pushed French leader Laurent Fignon into second place to win the Tour de France de France that year with an 8 second lead. Observers subsequently estimated that those eight seconds were equivalent to 82 metres. A minuscule difference considering the total distance was 3,285 km. A historic (second) final victory for the American, a bitter defeat for the Frenchman.

Steve Bauer was known for being an attacker. The Canadian set the pace but, unfortunately, failed to claim many victories. However, he did emerge as victor in the first stage of the 1988 Tour de France and later wore the yellow leader's jersey for four days during this event. He did not win any stage victories during the 2000 Tour de France but he was able to pull on the yellow jersey again. For eight days this time. In 1990, he was part of a four-man monster breakaway in the second stage. The quartet crossed the finishing line 10 minutes ahead of the other members of the peloton, therefore ensuring the rest of the Tour de France was quite a unique experience. Frans Maassen won this stage, while his fellow breakaway riders, including Steve Bauer, all ended up donning yellow jerseys. Starting with Bauer.

Miguel Indurain succeeded in 1995 in joining the distinguished list of five-time Tour de France winners. The Basque rider won the Tour de France five times in a row from 1991 to 1995, applying the same tactic over and over again: pulling out all the stops during the time trials and then holding onto his lead by following his competitors. A rather dull but highly effective strategy. 'The Big One' (because of his 1m88 height) won the time trial in 1992 with a three-minute lead over his first chaser - the highest lead ever achieved in the Tour de France.

The first Tour de France Féminin (Women's Tour de France) was held in 1984. One year later, a Belgian selection was launched for the first time, whereupon Josiane Vanhuysse immediately won a stage, the very first Belgian to achieve this feat. This stage race was known as the Tour of the EEC Women, or the Tour of the European Community in 1990. Three years later Heidi Van De Vijver proved to be the best of the pack. Except for the prologue, she rode the entire stage race in yellow. The cyclist from Bornem became the final winner, ahead of Leontien Van Moorsel.

During the 2004 Tour de France, Laurent Jalabert was seriously injured during the first stage and had to abandon the race with a broken jaw and collarbone. Jaja took the yellow jersey exactly one year later but held on to the item for only two days. Nonetheless, 14 July of all days turned out to be his jour de gloire. Miguel Indurain remained firmly in possession of the yellow jersey, but in the Massif Central Jalabert tried his luck at capturing the leader's jersey. During the breakaway, he rode virtually in yellow but towards the end of the stage, the leading group started to lose ground. However, the Frenchman managed to shake off his companions during the final climb, the Côte de la Croix-Neuve. Local supporters were ecstatic. The climb was later even renamed Montée Jalabert. The Frenchman also claimed the green jersey.

The prologue in 's-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands, set the smooth and steady rider Alex Zülle dreaming at the start of the 1996 Tour. The Swiss won the stage with a two-second lead and as a bonus he earned entitlement to sport a yellow jersey. The talented climber and time trialist finished second in the final classification of the 1995 Tour de France. The Swiss had dared to attack Miguel Indurain but the latter proved too strong. However, Zülle did manage to claim the yellow jersey in 1996, but lost the garment on low terrain during the third stage. He crossed the line in Paris with a 26th place in the general classification to his credit, almost an hour behind the winner Bjarne Riis. The hoped-for Tour victory never materialised.

Le Havre, 5 July 1995. The yellow jersey wearer Laurent Jalabert fell at the end of the fourth stage towards Le Havre. Fortunately, the Frenchman was able to stay in the Tour de France but had to relinquish his yellow jersey that day, much to the surprise of the recipient, the debutant Ivan Gotti. The Italian finished in 44th place in the fourth stage, but recovered the leader's jersey thanks to his regularity at the start of the Tour de France. Gotti arrived at La Grande Boucle to help out Evgeni Berzin but the leader of the Gewiss team bailed out halfway through the race. Gotti finished fifth in his first Tour de France and ended up wearing the yellow jersey for two days. Despite never achieving a victory in the Tour de France he was a two-times Giro d'Italia winner.

Danish rider Bjarne Riis achieved his Tour breakthrough in 1993. After winning a stage in the Giro d'Italia earlier that season, he repeated that performance during the Tour. Riis also finished fifth in the general classification, compared with a third-place final ranking in 1995. That is why one year later he was considered one of the challengers to Miguel Indurain. The Dane astonished friend and foe alike and snatched a unique, sixth consecutive overall win from Indurain. Riis admitted in 2007 that his Tour de France triumph was aided by drugs. Riis' doping confession came shortly after his teammates of the time - Christian Henn, Rolf Aldag, Udo Bölts and Erik Zabel - admitted to having used banned substances. This jersey bears the signatures of Riis and his teammates from 1996.

Jan Ullrich, the Tour debutant, claimed second place on the final podium in 1996, creating a double cause for celebration among the members of the German Telekom Team, which also had winner Bjarne Riis in its stable. A year later Riis was once again the man everybody was counting on, but it was Ullrich who was the first to cross the line during the 10th stage to put on the yellow jersey. Der Jan was also the strongest in the time trial after the day of rest and no longer had to give up the yellow jersey. He is still the first and only German to achieve a final Tour victory. Ullrich once more came close to tasting a final victory in 2003, but a fall in the final time trial put paid to his chances.