Netflix’s Tour de France Doc Has Me Hooked to This Year’s Race
The American audience for cycling hasn’t been the same since Lance Armstrong’s blood doping-fueled fall from grace. But could Netflix come to the sport’s rescue?
Ahead of this year’s Tour de France, the global streaming service on June 8 released Tour de France: Unchained, an eight-part docuseries on last year’s competition, produced in part by Box to Box Films, the team behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Box to Box Films has become something of a hit factory for Netflix, and a key part of the streamer’s strategy to attract sports fans without paying for live rights.
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“Our philosophy at Box to Box is just go out and try and make the best version of the show … that you can and trust that audiences—whether diehard cyclists or non-cyclists—will gravitate towards the storytelling,” Box to Box cofounder and producer Paul Martin said.
While other Box to Box Films productions have been dinged for hand-holding general audiences, Unchained rarely slows down to explain the basics of competitive cycling. It also feels more foreign because it was commissioned by Netflix France. The documentary is listed under a different name there, Au Cœur du Peloton, and English is spoken only sporadically.
Biking diehards bought in quickly. Netflix doesn’t release detailed viewership numbers—not even to Martin—but the show reached No. 1 in cycling-mad Denmark and earned strong reviews from sport-specific publications.
But Box to Box’s ability to wring elemental drama from complicated sporting events is still here, and casual viewers have also been hooked. “The fact that anyone here is watching it is amazing,” Martin said.
I’m one of them.
Since this year’s Tour de France started on July 1, I’m now up each morning watching the peloton, the climbs and the sprints. Am I saying any of that right?
To find out—and to get a more experienced take on what Unchained does well, what it may overemphasize and the impact it’s already having—I spoke to Sportico reporter Eben Novy-Williams, an avid cyclist who tells anyone who’ll listen that the Tour de France is the best sporting event of the year.
Jacob Feldman: During our Monday staff meeting, I noticed you had one eye (at least) on the end of Stage 3 of the Tour. I actually had the stream up on my computer, too! So, what have you made of Tour de France, Unchained?
Eben Novy-Williams: Was I that obvious? I’m already thankful that next Monday is a rest day. As for the doc, I’m six episodes in and devouring it. There are three main things I love about the Tour—the grueling physical toll it takes, the beautiful French countryside and the many layers of overlapping strategy—and I think the series does a good job showing all three. I’ve liked it more than the tennis, golf and F1 series, three sports I know considerably less about.
Feldman: I agree; I think this is their best effort yet, especially for those, like us, who are obsessed with sports.
However, a few competitors and diehards have criticized producers for over-dramatizing the sport. And having watched a few live stages since, it’s become clear how much simplifying they’re doing to make the stories intelligible. Did that ever become an issue for you?
Novy-Williams: It definitely crossed my mind a few times. It’s no coincidence that Episode 1 leaned heavily into the scary crashes. And I think hardcore fans may take objection to the treatment of Belgian sensation Wout van Aert, the Shohei Ohtani of pro cycling. But there’s also some incredible behind-the-scenes footage. There’s a moment in Episode 2 when Jonas Vingegaard—the leader of van Aert’s Jumbo-Visma team—is pouting at a group dinner because van Aert expended a lot of energy for himself [instead of conserving to help Vingegaard later on]. That’s access you never get in coverage of the sport, at least not in English-language press. Imagine getting locker room footage of Mike Trout stewing over Ohtani’s pitch selection in the World Series. I think there’s actually a lot more drama in the peloton than the TV cameras and journalists catch during the race.
Feldman: And van Aert was among those grumbling about his portrayal. Yet Jumbo-Visma has reportedly signed on for an already announced Season 2, as did the other seven teams who participated in Season 1.
Novy-Williams: Do you have a sense of how teams are compensated? One thing that jumps out to me is just how little down time there is during the Tour. An F1 driver has time mid-week to sit for cameras; there’s very little time during the Tour de France where a rider isn’t on his bike, eating, massaging or sleeping. Teams must need convincing to interfere with the tight schedule.
Feldman: One of the notable absences from the doc’s list of subjects is two-time tour winner Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates, and they made that exact objection. “I can imagine it is going to be hard in the Tour de France having a crew on the bus all day when you want to relax after a stage,” Pogacar said in April. “I don’t mind that we don’t do it.”
The entire show reportedly cost nearly $9 million. I believe teams took home something like $67,000 each, with the Tour’s organizer [Amaury Sport Organisation] and host broadcaster splitting $500k.
Novy-Williams: What a great result for ASO. I think some people who watch this show might assume that ASO is paying to have the series made, not the other way around.
Feldman: Absolutely! There’s even already talk of a ‘Netflix Effect’ for cycling, as Americans recognized Soudal Quick-Step team manager Patrick Lefevere in Spain as that guy from that thing.
We’re seeing F1’s buzz appear to wane as the level of competitive balance suffers. So, do you think cycling—and the Tour de France specifically—is in position to make a comeback stateside?
Novy-Williams: It’s such a steep uphill battle, maybe steeper than the Alpe d’Huez. The sport is so complex, there’s so much competition on the calendar and there’s no American sniffing the podium (but where do I buy Sepp Kuss stock?). In my apartment, however, my partner is definitely watching more of this year’s tour because she’s enjoying the series. It used to be just something I had on the TV in the early mornings. Now she’s literally yelling from the couch when Fabio Jakobsen gets squeezed out of a bunch sprint. You said you’re also watching more of this year’s Tour?
Feldman: Oh ya. I’m personally curious how it will compete with Wimbledon time for me as that tournament progresses, but I’ll be following either way—and setting my calendar for the release of Season 2 next summer.
Novy-Williams: One other noticeable difference between this series and the other Box to Box docs I’ve watched: they seem to spend less time on the athletes’ parents, romantic partners, etc. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m happy to see that gone.
Feldman: Totally. This show, much like the event it tracks, is always on the move. And when a massage table comes out, you know it’s about to get good.
Novy-Williams: Last one for you. Does it make you want to buy a road bike and some colorful lycra, and suffer on a Sunday morning ride? We’ve discussed how it might help the Tour de France, but what about the $76 billion bike industry more broadly?
Feldman: Realistically? No chance. But I might go in for a fancy bidon or something.
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