1839 Kirkpatrick Macmillan invents the first bicycle – or does he? Bike aficionados are still debating ...
1863 Arrival of the "velocipede", or bone-shaker, regarded as the first mass-produced, pedal-powered bike
1896 First Paris-Roubaix spring classic race is held
1903 First Tour de France is held
1909 First Giro d'Italia is held
1958 Brian Robinson is the first British cyclist to win a stage of the Tour de France
1959 British Cycling Federation is formed – the forerunner to British Cycling, the sport's UK governing body
1963 The BMX is born, in the form of the Schwinn Stingray – influencing generations of cool kids
1965 Tom Simpson becomes the first Brit to win the World Road Race Championship
1968 Cycling legend Eddy Merckx wins the Giro d'Italia – a race he would win four more times, along with five Tours de France, the Tour of Spain and the World Championships
1979 In the US Gary Fisher creates what many regard as the first mountain bike
1984 Scot Robert Millar wins "King of the Mountains" jersey on the Tour de France
1989 Greg Lemond uses aero bars and a specially designed helmet for the first time, to win the final time trial and claim overall victory on Le Tour
1993 Scot Graeme Obree breaks the world hour record, setting a distance of 51.596km and sparking a rivalry with fellow Brit Chris Boardman – who beats the record just a week later by 674 metres
1995 Spaniard Miguel Indurain becomes the first person to win five consecutive Tours de France
2000 Jason Queally wins Olympic gold on the track for Britain in Sydney – Team GB's track specialists would go on to much more success in 2004 and 2008
2008 BMX is included as a full medal sport at the Olympic Games for the first time
2008 Mark Cavendish wins his first stage of the Tour de France, going on to collect four stage victories – the first British rider to do so
2009 Bradley Wiggins finishes fourth overall in the Tour de France – the highest-placed finish by a British rider since Robert Millar
2010 Team Sky win 22 races in their debut season
2011 Cavendish becomes the first Brit to win the green sprinter's jersey on the Tour de France. He also wins the UCI Road World Championships, the first Brit to do so since Tom Simpson
2012 Running from 30 June to 22 July, the 99th Tour de France will feature 21 stages and cover 3,479km. Team Sky's Wiggins is one of the favourites for the overall winner's yellow jersey
• This content was Produced for Guardian Brand Partnerships by Seven Plus to a brief agreed with Sky and paid for by Sky
• This article was amended on 9 May 2012 to correct one reference to Miguel Indurain
