BRITISH overall success in the Tour de France has been hard to come by over the years – until the last two years.

No Briton had won the famous race before Bradley Wiggins did in 2012 and that was followed up by Chris Froome last year.

Indeed, only six Brits have even worn the prestigious Yellow Jersey, something Mark Cavendish is hoping to do if he wins the opening stage in Yorkshire on Saturday.

BRITONS IN YELLOW

TOM SIMPSON (1962, one day) The first Briton to wear the maillot jaune.

Echo: The son of a County Durham pitman, Tom Simpson was cycling’s celebrity in the 1960s

Cycling royalty - Tom Simpson

CHRIS BOARDMAN (1994, three days; 1997, one day; 1998, two days) Won the Tour prologue on three occasions to enjoy spells in yellow.

SEAN YATES (1994, one day) A short-lived spell in yellow came towards the end of his career.

DAVID MILLAR (2000, three days) Like Boardman, Millar took the Yellow Jersey on his Tour debut after a prologue success.

SIR BRADLEY WIGGINS (2012, 14 days) Wiggins took the Yellow Jersey on stage seven of the 2012 Tour and never relinquished it, becoming the first Briton to win the event as Chris Froome came in second.

CHRIS FROOME (2013, 14 days) Victory on stage eight in Ax 3 Domaines put Froome in a Yellow Jersey he never surrendered, following in the footsteps of Wiggins a year before.