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The Tour de France is the most prestigious race in cycling as it's the crown jewel and the oldest of cycling's three grand tours (Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana are the others). It's the ultimate test in speed, power, tactics, team work, and of course, endurance.

Spain's Miguel Indurain became the first cyclist to win the Tour five years in succession (1991-95), something not even the great Eddy Merckx - generally considered the finest cyclists of all time - was able to achieve. Indurain joined Merckx, and France's Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only five-time winners of the Tour.

Until Lance Armstrong came along.

Armstrong first raced in the Tour in 1993, but was not yet ready to challenge Indurain. After he was stricken with cancer and forced to miss two years, Armstrong came back in 1999 with uncertain expectations. He was the surprise winner of that Tour when the field was depleted by a doping scandal. He would end up winning seven consecutive Tours (1999-2005), a mark that's unlikely to be equaled or surpassed.

Throughout his career Armstrong had been dogged with doping allegations though he's never tested positive. Since his last Tour victory two winners - Floyd Landis in 2006 and Alberto Contador in 2010 - have been stripped of their titles for doping offenses.

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