Red polkadot, green, white and the fabled yellow - these are the colours to be seen in if you're riding the Tour de France. But if you've ever wondered why, this is the book for you. Everything you've wanted to know about the world's greatest sporting event.

On our alphabetical ride through the Tour's one hundred year history we'll share with you the inside stories of the great stars - Jacques Anquetil, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx, Greg LeMond, and Lance Armstrong to name a few; we'll outline the arcane and so often cruel rules that have helped make this race into the sporting world's most gruelling spectacle and we'll even reveal the answer to a question that has troubled many Tour junkies over the years - who really was the first maillot jaune.