La Grande Boucle has been hit by a strong wind blowing in from the north west

The route of the Tour de France has a funny shape to it this year. Normally it is known as La Grande Boucle – literal translation 'the big loop' – as it is like a big belt or buckle that envelops the entire country.

This year it looks like a strong wind is blowing from the north west as, quite noticeably, there are no stages in the north west of the country and the big belt looks like it has been blown east across the map of France.

'ITV's commentators Ned Boulting and David Millar had to choke back their frustration and disappointment as they realised that somehow they were going to have to come up with a commentary to go with this desperate non-event of a race. Fortunately they were able to make an entertaining joke out of it...'

Whole swathes of the country which would traditionally host a stage – Normandy, Britanny, Pays de La Loire, Aquitaine – have been missed out. There's no stage finish in Bordeaux for example. In fact if it weren't for the race visiting the Pyrenees and Paris, the race would be entirely camped in the east of the country and Belgium.

It makes one wonder what the west of France did to upset the tour's general director Christian Prudhomme. Like everything in the Tour the answer probably lies in commerce. As Monsieur Prudhomme isn't given to answering my emails, I'll assume that the towns and villages in the west weren't prepared to play ball with the kind of prices the Tour demands to visit them. Money is king in the Tour, always has been.

The businessman Henri Desgranges is generally credited with having founded the race in 1903 to publicise his magazine L'Auto-Velo. The pages of his magazine were yellow, hence the Yellow Jersey is worn by the race leader. The race travelled to towns and villages across France, bringing Desgrange's magazine plenty of publicity. Of course the advent of television has changed all that and the race is now the product, raising millions every year as a great big advertisement for the whole of France.

This backstory helps to explain Friday's enormous 230km stage from Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saone.

Any cycling fan looking at the almost pan flat profile of Friday's stage would have predicted how the race was going to go. A small breakaway would be allowed to escape in the first few kilometres, which the peloton would pretend to hunt down until catching it in the last 20-30km. At the end there would be a mass sprint in the bunch to decide the winner. And so it turned out.

You could sense the consternation in ITV4's commentary box when just such a scenario began to play out. Except instead of a breakaway of four or five riders, just two riders attempted a break. Once they had rolled away from the bunch, even those two racers hesitated as they realised the enormity of what they were letting themselves in for – a 200km solo training ride with no prospect of staying away to the finish.

ITV's commentators Ned Boulting and David Millar had to choke back their frustration and disappointment as they realised that somehow they were going to have to come up with a commentary to go with this desperate non-event of a race. Fortunately they were able to make an entertaining joke out of it – but even they knew they would struggle to maintain a six-hour commentary on a stage in which nothing of interest was going to happen. And so it came to pass.

But that's the point of Tour de France. In the past the excitement of the race for French cycling fans was that it was going to come to their village. The whole day in that village would revolve around the Tour's visit. A big sit-down dinner would be prepared for the villagers to enjoy after the race had gone by where maybe the mayor would make a speech.

And to an extent this still goes on today - although the advent of television means these 'transitional' stages in the Tour are the backdrop of summer in pubs and homes all over France. You're not actually meant to sit down and watch the entire race, it's just on in the background. If something exciting happens then you can gather around the TV set and see what the commotion is about. Everyone, of course, gathers round to watch the finish.

With most European countries taking coverage the French broadcaster's role is now to find increasingly lavish ways of presenting France as a tourist destination. The camera lingers for many minutes at a time on the achingly beautiful landmarks - lakes, cathedrals and chateaux - that the race passes. Pre-prepared graphics, telling you the name of the landmark, are displayed on screen so if you wish to you can plan your next continental holiday around visiting this region. In this task the broadcaster is lovingly aided and abetted by its team of helicopters, which produce aerial shots of quite stunning beauty.

A telly reviewer in the Telegraph once memorably described the Tour as the French version of Test cricket – but on wheels and with a beautiful backdrop. Days like this in the Tour are ones you are intended to doze off to.

Knowing this, Ned and David in the commentary box resorted to reading out excerpts from the Tour guide book, hopefully enticing you to spend next summer looking at chateaux in the Saone-et-Loire departement. From time to time the commentary would switch back to London for some chatter with studio guest Andy Tennant (who he? – Ed).

And then, as if some hidden TV producer had flicked a switch, the stage burst into life. Teams jostled to get their sprinters near the front, while Ineos and the like battled to keep their GC favourites out of harm's way in an equally elevated position.

Ned's voice rose to an impossibly high pitch while David became increasing animated as the denoument approached. And then – like lazy afternoon sex that has suddenly gathered some urgency - it was all over.

Ned wasn't sure if it was Dylan Groenewegen or Caleb Ewan who had won. But as the cameramen on the ground gathered around the celebrating Jumbo-Visma rider the outcome soon became clear. A still photograph of the finish line showed the smallest possible margin in favour of the Dutchman Groenewegen over the Australian Ewan. With the rest of the peloton rolling across the line in the blink of an eye it was clear that there was no change to the Yellow, Green, White or Polka Dot Jersey classifications.

Fortunately Saturday's stage is entirely different in profile. It covers seven categorised climbs and normally would suit an exciting rider like Julien Alaphilippe. Whether the Deceuninck Quick Step rider who is currently embroiled in the battle for the Yellow Jersey will be allowed the freedom to show us what he is capable is another matter.

But being a weekend I'm sure the Tour will put on a race to savour, waking us from the slumber of a lazy, sunny afternoon - like Friday - when all France wants to do is snooze while it is en fete.

Full stage coverage on ITV4 and Eurosport. Highlights on ITV4 at 7pm.