Watching the Tour de France 2015 I’m reminded why I so often enjoy it, it’s the scenery filmed from helicopters. Simply put it’s relaxing. Let’s face it, watching live stages on the TV when the action is low is akin to watching snooker or darts in the interval periods – boring. Year after year though, I sit there in front of the TV, admiring the scenery and most especially those aerial shots. Even with all the will in the world, one could never see this much of France, or have a birds eye view over it as the peloton rolls through. Those long shots, where the alpine gives way to high mountains, rolling fields of sunflowers, the Brittany coast, castles and chateaus – it’s all there, day after day as the race courses across the country.

All of this wouldn’t be possible without the helicopters of the Tour de France and without them filming, the lull in the stages would be just that bit less enjoyable to watch purely from the ground. I know most of us criticise the commentary at times but, often than not I learn something of the area they’re passing through and the historic landmarks, I see no reason not to be educated and entertained at the same time. Needless to say I have a lot of admiration for the pilots that fly and film the Tour from above and the video here highlights what they do and how they operate. So next time your watching the tour, take a little time to admire the scenery.