Every July, like clockwork, France transforms. Roads are re-surfaced, village squares are swept, bunting is hung, and roadsides fill with picnickers and painted slogans. For three glorious weeks, the country is gripped by a kind of collective madness: the Tour de France has arrived. Even if you don’t know your peloton from . . . → Read More: Le Tour de France – passion, picnics and plenty of lycra