Revolutionizing Sports Broadcasting: The Inside Story of Netflix's Tour de France Documentary Series
Netflix’s much-awaited documentary series on the Tour de France is set to premiere worldwide on June 8, as confirmed by race organizer ASO and the participating teams.
The eight-part series presents an intimate look at eight teams competing in the 2022 Grand Boucle. It promises to offer a behind-the-scenes glance into the emotional rollercoaster and intense challenges they endure, whether their aim is overall triumph, individual stage wins, or simply making it to Paris.
The teams under the spotlight include Jumbo-Visma, with eventual champion Jonas Vingegaard, and other prominent teams such as Ineos Grenadiers, Groupama-FDJ, EF Education-EasyPost, Alpecin-Fenix, Bora-Hansgrohe, and AG2R Citroën Team.
The series does not exclusively focus on two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates, due to their reservations about the representation of the team and its sponsors. However, they do make appearances in some race footage and interviews, as do other teams in the race. The series, produced by Quadbox, will be accessible in 190 countries worldwide. The English version is titled ‘Tour de France: Unchained’, while the French version is called ‘Tour de France: Au cœur du peloton’ (‘Inside the peloton’).
Netflix bore the production costs, reportedly €8 million. ASO and France Televisions, the host broadcaster, both earned €250,000 each. The participating eight teams divided the remaining €500,000, with each team receiving €62,000 ($67,000).
The official trailer was earlier disclosed by Cyclingnews, after its debut at the Mobile Live World Congress in Barcelona. It has now been officially released, with the participating teams announcing the June 8 launch.
The trailer offers glimpses from the series, with Marc Madiot, Groupama-FDJ team manager, inspiring his team in French, “You are soldiers, you are warriors. When you pull on a jersey, you become another person.” It also showcases compelling snippets from each episode, capturing key moments with racers like Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën in 2022), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), who eventually outpaces Pogačar to claim the 2022 Tour de France victory.
ASO managing director Yann Le Moënner expressed his excitement about the project as part of their broader ambition to bring the sport to a wider audience when he announced the Netflix series during the winter.
He said, “Through a narrative approach, which is additive to the competition itself, the public will be able to discover how the Tour de France represents the ultimate challenge for the competitors; in particular in terms of suffering, pushing their limits and team spirit.”
