Many have already migrated and those remaining are gearing up for the event of the summer for many Flemings: De Ronde van Frankrijk or de Tour de France or simply de Tour. You can be sure that many of those lining the flanks of Mont Ventoux will be Flemish. During the rest of the year, local tourism in that part of Provence seems to depend on cycling Flemings whose test of manhood is to climb that mountain.

At the beginning of July, the blocks of flats that adorn the Belgian coast fill up as people take to the beach and promenade. You don't need a watch to know when de Tour is on television: there is a sudden dearth of men on the beach, and the shopping streets are full of women and children. What more can a man want than to sit on his balcony overlooking the sand and sea, a well-stocked fridge and the sight of Tom Boonen making up for the embarrassment of being caught with some recreational drug in his blood.

The organisers of de Tour tried to ban our Tom from competing, but a last-minute appeal to a French judge cleared the way to allow him to compete. This was headline news. The goings-on at Werchter, the prima donna of the summer rock festivals, were interrupted for the good news. Or perhaps it was a marketing trick to ensure massive interest in Belgium for the race.

My first encounter with de Tour was when I was introduced to the in-laws all those years ago. I unwittingly arrived during de Tour and soon discovered that my future father-in-law and my girlfriend's brother Alex would be glued to the box every afternoon watching men on bikes. I have been trying ever since to develop an interest in bike racing in its various forms but, though I accept that two wheels are good, for me, four wheels are better.

Yet, I should add that some of the best Flemish TV and radio journalism comes from the reporters on the scene. As with cricket matches in the English-speaking world, you have a lot of filling in to do as you describe those wheels turning endlessly. Also the next day's newspaper will have pages devoted to the same.

I will miss de Tour next week, though I may wave as they fly over on their way to Limoges.