|Miguel and Lance|
|Around the Academy:
Spain's Miguel Indurain dominated the race in the first half of the 1990's.
He set a new record by winning the race five years in a row from 1991 to 1995.
Indurain was an incredible athlete and a great champion.
But his racing style of gaining time over his rivals in time trials and protecting his lead in the mountains failed to excite spectators.
The American rider Lance Armstrong has provided the fairy tale story of recent times.
He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996 but came back from the dead to overtake Indurain and win six Tour crowns between 1999 and 2004.
Armstrong is a great all-rounder who excels in time trials and destroys his opponents in the mountains.
In the 2003 centenary Tour Lance equalled Indurain's record of five wins on the trot.
In an incredible race the Texan beat his German rival Jan Ullrich into second place by just over a minute to write himself further into the history books of the greatest race on earth.
He clinched his sixth victory in a row in 2004 after winning an amazing six stages on the road to Paris.