Chris Froome will look to equal another cycling milestone this month as he looks to become the fifth rider to win five Tour de France titles.
Froome has already completed the triple crown in 2018 after securing a stunning victory in the Giro d'Italia, the Team Sky rider launching a sensational solo attack on stage 19 to take control.
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The Briton overtook compatriot Simon Yates in the process and hung on to complete the Grand Tour set – only the seventh man to achieve the feat.
With the UCI investigation into an adverse analytical finding at the Vuelta a Espana finally over, Froome will line up in Noirmoutier-en-I'lle looking to claim a fifth yellow jersey in six years.
No rider has won more than five so Froome would be in esteemed company should he be celebrating in Paris on July 29.
Jacques Anquetil
It did not take Anquetil long to get his first taste of Tour glory as he claimed victory on his debut, the Frenchman winning by nearly 15 minutes in 1957.
Four years later he recaptured the title, his 1961 triumph the start of four in-a-row for Anquetil – an achievement Froome could match in 2018.
Eddy Merckx
With Anquetil having set the bar, Merckx was the next man to claim five general classification titles, while also winning four consecutive races from 1970.
'The Cannibal' went on to claim an unequalled 11 Grand Tours, all five monuments and three World Championships – while also setting the hour record.
Bernard Hinault
Hot on the heels of Merckx came a new French hero in Hinault, 'The Badger' dominated the peloton throughout his career, and his love affair with the Tour began in 1978.
Hinault won two stages across the three weeks and went on to claim the title by nearly four minutes from Joop Zoetemelk. He successfully defended his crown a year later before adding another three titles to his glittering cv.
Miguel Indurain
The last man to join the Tour icons was Indurain as he shone in the early 1990s riding for Reynolds, the Spaniard taking the yellow jersey in five successive editions.
His quest for six in-a-row faltered in 1996, but he made amends at the Olympic Games in Barcelona later that year has he took time-trial gold.
