Tour de France: Unchained

After the succes of Drive to Survive, Netflix decided to create a similar series about the worlds biggest bike race: Le Tour de France.

Just like Drive to Survive, Tour de France, au coeur du peleton (In the heart of the peleton) relies heavily on great images and exciting footage and music and supposed conflicts between riders and teams. The creators also tried to bring across the horrific effort the riders have to make each day. The just in time finish of Fabio Jakobsen was a good addition but in the end, eight episodes with a lot of other stories is a bit short for this.

In future years In hope they will extend the series to 10 episodes or more and that more teams will participate. I also hope they will not make the same mistake as the creators of with Drive to Survive did by focusing to much on conflicts and pulling comments out of context.

I did enjoy this first season though and rate it 7/10 plus one point extra for encouraging the makers to make another season.

For those, like me, who have never followed the TDF, or indeed really cares much for sport at all - this was an incredibly exhilarating series. The people and their inter-dynamics is practically Shakespearean, and the characters' arcs are as dramatic as any Oscar-worthy film. If you love documentary that is gripping and wildly engaging - dive in. I can't wait to watch the TDF in earnest this year and hope the series returns. I'm also pretty jazzed about the women's competition that follows immediately afterwards. Completely inspiring, I'm fully clipped in. My only criticism is I wish it was maybe two more episodes longer, I would have loved to get to know a few more riders and teams.

Great show, as good as Formula 1: Drive to Survive. But they left this out...

🚴 A CLASS ACT Tour de France, Stage 18 of 21 Lourdes to Hautacam (143km)

In Spandelles, Pogacar went wide and fell. By the time he got back on, Vingegaard - who had been wearing the yellow jersey since Stage 11 - had about 200m of daylight. Then an incredible gentlemanly act happened: when he realized his rival had fallen, Vingegaard refused to pull away. Instead, the yellow jersey on the line, he *waited* for the bruised Pogacar. When he caught up, Pogacar reached for Vingegaard's hand and the two competitors bumped hands. Sportscaster Phil Liggett commented, "In my 50 years in Tour de France, I have not seen anything like this."

At 5km, Vingegaard and Pogacar caught up with stage leader Van Aert (green jersey). Up for grabs were not only the stage win and yellow jersey but also green and polka dot points.

At 4.5km, Pogacar dropped! His green jersey points safe, Van Aert eventually left his team captain Vingegaard alone in front to win the stage. Vingegaard consolidated his supremacy by extending his lead over Pogacar by 1 minute 4 seconds to 3:26.

Three years ago, at 18 years old, Vingegaard was unknown, shoveling ice at a fish plant. This day, he is the leader at Le Tour, at the top of the Pyrenees. He might as well be at the top of the world.

NOTE: You can watch the above story on Peacock at the 30:34 mark of Stage 18 (each stage's highlights are still there as of June 2023).

Cycling fan or not, this is a story about raw human emotions and the drive to conquer one's own fears. So much drama, passion, joy, heartbreak, and enthusiasm... and a great scenery of the beautiful French country-side, and Champs-Élysées in Paris, not to mention the super-human speed and skills of mere mortals. The story is very well scripted and filmed, makes you feel close with all the characters and the roller coster of emotions that they go through every day. The only other thing coming close to this is the Formula 1 series. Whereas there, a victory is 'cool' and highly dependent on the engine in your car, in the Tour de France, a victory is purely based on the raw physical and mental strength of the rider; equipment doesn't play a role. Here, victory is truly victory in every sense of the word.

A must watch!

This documentary series is absolutely fantastic, terrific, thrilling, more than any movie or fiction stuff. It is incredible to watch, even for a sport buff as I am, and cycling in particular. Cycling is the most difficult and the most dangerous sport in the world. Skiing is dangerous too of course, especially in downhill - ha ha ha - as cycling, but admit there is less suffering too. Because in cycling you suffer during endless training, BUT ALSO DURING THE event - in uphill this time ha ha ha- especially TOUR DE FRANCE, three damn, f...weeks of suffering, with only two days rest- mondays - during those three weeks. You suffer on the competition even more than during the training period, which is exceptional, with marathon too. For any other sport, you suffer far less the day of the contest than BEFORE the contest. To win swimming 200 meters freestyle race for instance, you swim twenty kilometers per day, but on D Day, you don't swim twenty kilometers... On TOUR DE FRANCE or any big tour, you suffer hell, AND ALSO RISK YOUR LIFE in downhill runs at more than 90 kilometers per hour speed. So, to summarize, you have to fight against pain, endless torturous pain for UPHILL, but also against fear in DOWNHILL, fear to fall and kill yourself, or being paralyzed, or being unable to come back before months, months, without any compensation and the risk to lose everything you obtained over the years with your guts, your endless pain, your sweat. Your mind, your blood, your dedication, your endless sacrifices for yourself and your family and relatives. And you also have to endure pain whatever the temperature, one degree or on the contrary thirty degrees above zero, or rain, rain, with all the risks of falls that means. So, if you watch this awesome series, you'll understand what I mean. You will also sweat, weep, and maybe also feel the inhuman strength, rage that lead those gladiators to fight against the impossible, against themselves at the risk of their lives. They explain here so many things, including strategies, inner feelings, the fantastic pressure on those men. It is not only focused on favourites, the expected champions, but also the supporting cyclists, the "servants" in charge to carry water, bring trouble to the opponents. I hope I have been understood. I would have expected something related to doping, but it would have been a too delicate, sensitive subject to talk about anyway. For me, there is much much hypocrisy around it, so much. Authorities, federations, claim to fight against but without doping, ninety percent of those gladiators would never make it till the end, and in times.... From time to time, to give the illusion to do "something" against, they - authorities - find a scapegoat who pays for the others. Lance Armstrong affair is the best example. This is an ALIEN and INSANE sport, if you watch this series very carefully and then try to make the good analysis.