The ‘Tour de France Unchained’ Netflix documentary has dropped and the debate has begun about the qualities of the series as people around the world start to watch the eight-episode series.
The EF Education-EasyPost team described the series as “Unflinching, ambitious, and beautifully shot” but they would, since they star in it and team manager Jonathan Vaughters is convinced it can give his sponsors extra visibility or even bring in new ones.
Sporza in Belgium were less impressed, quick to dub the series ‘Cycling for Dummies’, criticising the simplistic nature of the storytelling, while overlooking the fact that not everyone has raced a bike or has years of Flemish cycling culture ingrained in their minds.
Cyclingnews binged watched the eight episodes on Thursday morning with a critical eye, while understanding the series' wider aim of attracting new viewers to professional cycling and new fans to the sport, which worked so effectively for Formula 1 and Drive to Survive.
The combination of slick and fast editing, the constant showing of crashes and pain, the heightened drama levels and frequent background music left us a little nauseous, as if we had eaten too much Haribo on a hot day. But ‘Tour de France Unchained’, as the producers hoped and planned, is very addictive and entertaining to watch, whatever your level of understanding of the sport.
Eight carefully scripted episodes
The eight episodes are an excellent way to look back at the 2022 Tour de France and better comprehend what happened both out on the road and behind the scenes on every stage.
Each episode is carefully scripted to fit a simplistic, feel-good narrative, following the Drive to Survive formats. But they also capture the tensions and rivalries within teams and the peloton, the thrill of road racing, the emotions of success and the pain of defeat.
Watching Grand Tour racing live on television can be far less entertaining, with long waits for the most dramatic moments. Tour de France Unchained packages the action and splices it with interviews to create an intense and addictive summary. It’s like switching on Milan-San Remo from the foot of the Cipressa rather than appreciating and understanding the impact of the long ride from Milan.
The eight episodes remind us just how good the 2022 Tour de France was, from the rain-soaked opening time trial in Copenhagen, the daily battles for stage wins, the Vingegaard-Pogacar battles in the Alps and Pyrenees, the way Geraint Thomas fought for third place overall and the final stage in the Paris sunset on the Champs Elysees.
Tour de France Unchained is not complete because it focuses on just eight of the 22 teams but it offers a more complete, more layered, look back at the race than television ever can.
Some of the rider introductions feel very scripted - Geraint Thomas' spot in episode five starts out very stilted and entirely uncharacteristic of his usual affect but the series makes up for it with delightfully candid snippets sprinkled into the script.
Tom Pidcock admits to not enjoying the Tour de France before being given the opportunity to go for the Alpe d'Huez stage win. Neilson Powless' eyes cannot hide his heartbreak in the post-race vignette about the stage, after he suffered a stinging defeat on the climb.
The pre-Tour de France footage from training camps and other races helps present the riders at the centre of the episodes. Vignettes include Fabio Jakobsen's comeback from the terrible injuries of his 2020 Tour de Pologne crash and Thibaut Pinot’s unique character and many setbacks that make him so admired.
The intimate moments are revealing and give the riders a very human and fragile face, despite the over-use of crash footage and focus on the gladiator-esque suffering. There is lots of patriotic chest beating from Marc Madiot, lots of swearing in French from AG2R-Citroën directeur sportif Julien Jurdie and Patrick Lefevere can’t help but gloat after Yves Lampaert and Fabio Jakobsen win the opening two stages.
There are moving intimate family moments as Thomas talks about the risks he takes in races with his wife and Netflix even captures the post-stage phone conversations between Vingergaard and his partner.
Looking back at race tactics better than instant television ever can
The Netflix camera crews had all-area access to the eight teams and captured rarely-seen moments on team buses, in hotels and even meetings between directeur sportif and riders on the massage table.
Months of editing time allowed the producers to look back and dissect race tactics in a way that live and daily television never can. For example, the risks to Vingeggard’s overall chances of victory due to Wout van Aert's attacks to win stages are revealed in full.
The way tactical errors or just simple fate and misfortune can destroy a team and equally, how success brings exultation, leaves you mesmerised.
Tour de France Unchained reveals just how Vingegaard could have lost the Tour de France due to his bike swap chaos on the cobbles of northern France or when he crashed during stage 15 to Carcassonne.
Each of the eight episodes lasts around 40 minutes and combines two storylines from major moments of the race. AG2R Citroën Team, Alpecin-Fenix, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ cycling Team, Ineos Grenadiers, Bora-Hansgrohe, Team Jumbo-Visma and Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl all get their moment in the Netflix spotlight.
Tadej Pogcar's UAE Team Emirates opted not to be involved due to privacy and sponsor concerns but the Slovenian and the rest of the Tour de France peloton are included in the episodes because of the extensive use of television footage and on-bike video images.
Comments and context from French television commentator Steve Chainel, Britain’s David Millar and Orla Chennaoui help explain the unwritten rules of professional cycling and the Tour de France, while Vaughters, Lefevere, Madiot and Jumbo-Visma directeur sportif Grischa Niermann are natural storytellers, completing the picture.
A second series is all but confirmed with the producers ready to work on different storylines and secure even better access with the teams at this year’s Tour de France.
It’s easy to criticise Tour de France Unchained for its Netflix format, stereotypical overly dramatic musical overdubs and sweetened narratives but the drama of the 2022 Tour de France is addictive, arguably more than Formula 1 and other sports can ever be.
Our conclusion: Watch it, enjoy it, criticise it, enjoy the details it reveals and look forward to the 2023 Tour de France.
