Le Tour de France - Stage One

Tomorrow morning, I'll be popping down to Kent (well the bit near Dartford actually) to be one of the throngs of people who'll be watching the worlds single biggest sporting event, I mean the Tour de France and it's first stage which takes place here, in England!

This amazing annual event first came to my attention, as a child, when the great Tommy Simpson collapsed and died on Mt. Ventoux in 1967. Every July, for the next several years, I would look out for the results each day in the newspaper, normally the Daily Telegraph, to see how British riders were getting on.

In 1979, I finally managed to get a glimpse of the race in the flesh. It was the last day of the race and I and some friends were in Paris to see the 100 or so riders zoom past. Thrilling stuff.

Once again, I'm looking forward to terms like peloton, yellow jersey and King of the Mountains splashed across the TV screen.