Those helicopter shots from the Tour de France depicting a seemingly endless array of castles and châteaux the length and breadth of the country are purposely placed to whet the appetite and send us online to plan our next cycling holiday. For a special project like this issue, we knew we needed a spectacular setting to make the photos really fly, so we adopted the same approach. When we saw Château de Saint-Martory; hard on the banks of the mighty Garonne River in the Pyrenees and with the snow-capped Col de Portet d'Aspet as a background, we knew the Desire photo shoot was going to be good. Once we had met our host, Jean-François Delort, we knew it was going to be a great shoot. His father bought the dilapidated 16th century pile in 1991 and set about renovating it some years later. Now Jean­François runs this spectacular and immaculate building and estate which hosts weddings, holidays, seminars and - of course - luxury cycling trips. Former top US racer Chris Gutowsky and his company VeloSport Vacations take care of all the riders' needs - guiding, vehicle support, food and drink, bike hire if needed - with tailor-made holidays to suit the visitors' requirements. Breakfast and lunch are substantial, while dinner can be as nutritionally balanced or decadently overblown as you wish. We'd have tackled the 15-course cheese and wine evening, but there was lycra to be squeezed into and work to be done. Chris also has a fine line in anecdotes about racing against LeMond and the like back in the day, and a remarkable range of 'dad' jokes. How we laughed ... So ride your bike, take a dip in the pool, relax in one of the sumptuous bedrooms or luxurious living areas, then enjoy a fabulous meal over a drink or two. "The reason I like cycling is because I meet passionate people," says Jean-François, who is also passionate about wine. If you're really lucky, he might show you the wine cellar, like he did us. But that is all we can say on the matter, sorry. What happens in Saint-Martory, stays in Saint-Martory. @saintmartory.com

Those helicopter shots from the Tour de France depicting a seemingly endless array of castles and châteaux the length and breadth of the country are purposely placed to whet the appetite and send us online to plan our next cycling holiday. For a special project like this issue, we knew we needed a spectacular setting to make the photos really fly, so we adopted the same approach. When we saw Château de Saint-Martory; hard on the banks of the mighty Garonne River in the Pyrenees and with the snow-capped Col de Portet d'Aspet as a background, we knew the Desire photo shoot was going to be good. Once we had met our host, Jean-François Delort, we knew it was going to be a great shoot. His father bought the dilapidated 16th century pile in 1991 and set about renovating it some years later. Now Jean­François runs this spectacular and immaculate building and estate which hosts weddings, holidays, seminars and - of course - luxury cycling trips. Former top US racer Chris Gutowsky and his company VeloSport Vacations take care of all the riders' needs - guiding, vehicle support, food and drink, bike hire if needed - with tailor-made holidays to suit the visitors' requirements. Breakfast and lunch are substantial, while dinner can be as nutritionally balanced or decadently overblown as you wish. We'd have tackled the 15-course cheese and wine evening, but there was lycra to be squeezed into and work to be done. Chris also has a fine line in anecdotes about racing against LeMond and the like back in the day, and a remarkable range of 'dad' jokes. How we laughed ... So ride your bike, take a dip in the pool, relax in one of the sumptuous bedrooms or luxurious living areas, then enjoy a fabulous meal over a drink or two. "The reason I like cycling is because I meet passionate people," says Jean-François, who is also passionate about wine. If you're really lucky, he might show you the wine cellar, like he did us. But that is all we can say on the matter, sorry. What happens in Saint-Martory, stays in Saint-Martory. @saintmartory.com