The mother of all mountain finishes — a 14-kilometer closing climb averaging a gradient of 8 percent — is born because a hotelier wants to promote his ski resort. On the first Alpe d'Huez climb ever, in 1952, Italian Fausto Coppi (l.) left his French rival Jean Robic in his wake; scaling the summit in a solo charge and laying the foundations for his overall victory that year.

This man helped start a tradition: In 1976, Joop Zoetemelk became the first Dutch rider to win the Alpe d'Huez stage. The Netherlands claimed another seven stage wins that year. Ever since, thousands of Oranje fans make the pilgrimage to Alpe d'Huez whenever it's on the Tour's route, giving the summit a distinct Dutch flavor, including frikandel hot dogs.

Michel Pollentier (pictured here during the 1982 Tour of Germany) won the 1978 stage, claiming the yellow jersey in the process. But then he was disqualified for failing a doping test; he was found with a container of clean urine.

He's Colombian cycling's trailblazer. Luis "Lucho" Herrera made waves in European cycling by winning the stage as part of an amateur team in 1984, aged just 23. Only the youngster's woeful performances in the time trials prevented him from securing an impressive overall finish that year. Herrera is on the right of this photo, battling with Pedro Delgado in a 1987 event.

Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault cross the line arm-in-arm, a case study in team spirit... Or maybe not! Shortly before this finish-line truce, the pair had been battling hammer and tongs. The older Hinault promised LeMond the year before that he would play a supporting role, but later said he did not recall this, and attacked. LeMond was able to resist and win regardless.

It's one of those records that might last forever. Marco Pantani (who died in 2004 and was suspected at the time of doping) scales the climb from Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez in an incredible 37 minutes and 35 seconds. Not even Lance Armstrong would later manage to top that. And nowadays? Thibaut Pinot scaled the summit during his 2015 stage win in 41:11 minutes. A sign of a cleaner sport?

The world can look different through a camera's viewfinder. This hobby photographer badly misjudged how much time he had to get a shot of Italian Giuseppe Guerini, causing the leader to fall. Nevertheless, Guerini is able to remount and claim the stage.

For the whole stage, Lance Armstrong appeared to be fading fast. The American rode well behind in the peloton, grimacing badly. His German rival Jan Ullrich therefore relaxed, let his teammates ride ahead and lost touch with them. But then, at the start of the grueling climb to Alpe d'Huez, Armstrong magically recovered. He briefly looked his rival in the eyes, then charged away. Checkmate.

A tactical error or a schism within the team? Luxembourg's Fränk Schleck is in yellow at the base of the Alpe d'Huez climb. At that point, his Spanish teammate Carlos Sastre attacked. It looked like team tactics: a dummy attack designed to tempt and stretch the competition. But in the end, Sastre kept pushing to the summit, claiming the yellow jersey too. He would go on to win the Tour itself.

His critics begrudgingly call him the "robot" or the "metronome." Chris Froome is so dominant and consistent, seemingly never faltering. But in 2013, it was the Alpe d'Huez that revealed at least a chink in his armor. Froome hits a glucose low (a "bonk") and starts vehemently calling for help. The team car can't reach him, but teammate Richie Porte (r.) lends a hand with the damage limitation.