麻豆社

It is estimated that the Tour de France is watched by billions of people across the world on TV over the three weeks it runs each summer.

But what draws people to watch the cycling race again and again? Is it the sport, sweat and lycra or something rather more glorious, the French landscape?

Sport and nature writer Simon Barnes reflects on the real star of the race.

(Photo: Cyclists riding past a field of sunflowers. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)