What signifies the summer more to me than, cricket, tennis , Henley or Ascot, is that rather un-British event. The Tour de France.  Having seen a few stages of the tour myself, and travelled some of the stages. I am completely awestruck by the degree of physical fitness that must be required to  not only compete but to also race in such  event.

There are thousands of sites detailing out the the wonders of Le Tour. If you would like to see more about one of the biggest sporting events on earth, then I might suggest this excellent article and set of links from Wired Magazine.