Halfway through this year’s race, we’re celebrating the Tour de France with a timeline of its 114-year history. The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race in France, which occasionally passes through neighbouring countries too. It started in 1903 with a 2,428km round-trip route from Paris and has been held every year since, with the exception of the years during World War One and World War Two. This year’s Tour de France started from Düsseldorf in Germany on 1 July, following a 3,540km route to the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 23 July. Our Tour de France timeline shows the evolution of the race and the sport, as the route has lengthened, the moustaches have shortened and the clothes have tightened. Follow the story from the first race, via the World Wars, Lance Armstrong’s doping controversy, right through to Britain’s Chris Froome winning the 2016 race.