Tour de France: 25 Stunning Photos From 100 Years of Racing

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By Sam Laird2013-07-19 18:40:04 -0400

The 100th Tour de France ends this Sunday with what promises to be a gorgeous nighttime ride down the Champs Elysees in Paris. Overall leader Chris Froome maintains a solid advantage over the rest of the pack of international cyclists, but we'll have to wait a couple more days to see for certain that he'll raise the winner's trophy.

One thing we already know for sure, however, is that 100 years of grueling Tour de France races through spectacular French scenery have produced some amazing photos. From breathtaking panoramas to fascinating black-and-white portraits, the images provide a fantastic look back at one of the grandest events in sports.

See also: 13 Eye-Popping Photos From the Running of the Bulls

Here are 25 of our favorite Tour de France pics from the past 100 races. Check them out below, then let us know what you think in the comments.

1. Cyclists pass through the sunflower fields of Dordogne on July 10, 1994.

Pascal Rondeau/Getty Images

2. Sailors watch competitors pass the port of Roquefort circa 1925.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

3. This picnicking fan looks rather stunned as a cyclist whizzes past on July 10, 2013.

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

4. Italian cyclist Claudio Chiapucci is cheered on by fans while climbing Saises Pass in 1992.

Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images

5. A rider descends a mountain in 2007.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

6. French cyclist René Vietto rides past a group of young boys on a cobblestone street in 1947.

AFP/Getty Images

7. A procession of racers pass a field of baled hay in the countryside near Bordeaux in 2003.

Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

8. Cyclists ride a cliff road on the Mediterranean island of Corsica on July 1, 2013.

Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP/Getty Images

9. Gino Bartali, a cycling legend from Italy, pushes hard in 1952.

Staff/AFP/Getty Images

10. Fans support a pack of riders on July 11, 2013.

Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images

11. Cyclists whisk through rural Alsace in 1992.

Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP/Getty Images

12. Cyclists navigate a steep hairpin turn in 1998.

Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images

13. Eddy Marckxx of Belgium takes a turn in 1970.

AFP/Getty Images

14. A medic tends to two fallen cyclists July 3, 1994.

Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images

15. Local women cheer for a pack of cyclists on a country road near Saussens in 1960.

AFP/Getty Images

16. Picnicking fans wave to riders in 1991.

Vincent Amalvy/AFP/Getty Images

17. Famed Italian racer Fausto Coppi in 1949.

AFP/Getty Images

18. Lucien Van Impe from Belgium, climbing in 1977. He finished third overall that year.

AFP/Getty Images

19. French cyclist Charles Pelissier rides the Tour's second stage in 1930.

AFP/Getty Images

20. Cyclists take a turn on the Champ Elysees during the final stage of the 1992 Tour de France.

Vincent Amalvy/AFP/Getty Images

21. French actor Alain Delon encourages Italian racer Giuseppe Saronni from the back of a scooter in 1987.

AFP/Getty Images

22. American Greg LeMond flanks Irish cyclist Sean Kelly amid a pack of riders on July 12, 1991.

Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images

23. Ottavio Bottecchia of Italy bombs through St. Cloud during the final stage of the 1925 Tour, which he won on July 21 of that year.

Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

24. Cyclists collect themselves after falling en masse in 1989.

Staff/AFP/Getty Images

25. Frenchman Andre Darrigade takes the first stage of the 1958 Tour de France.

Staff/AFP/Getty Images

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