2003 90th Tour de France

The Tour reached its centenary and all manner special events - great and small - were arranged. The Tour even started outside the same bar that it had 100 years earlier. And the bar burnt down soon afterwards - its role in history fulfilled.

But one of the more unusual tributes that year came from outside of the world of sport. A band from Düsseldorf, Germany known for their electronic music - a mixture of repetitive rhythms with minimalistic electronic instruments - released an album of tracks dedicated to the Tour. The group was, of course, Kraftwerk. And their interest in cycling was already well known. They had released a single titled “Tour de France” back in 1983.

But it was the 2003 album, their first new album for over a decade, that generated so much interest - and amongst broader audience than the other Tour centenary events.

Six years on and “Tour de France Soundtracks” still graces the shelves of most UK record shops - quite an achievement for a 1970s band for Germany.