Tour de France organiser ASO has confirmed that a Netflix series on the 2022 race will be produced, also naming the teams that will be involved.
The series will focus on eight teams' build-up to the Tour and the race itself, with filming taking place between March and July 2022. Camera crews will closely follow the riders and staff members of seven WorldTour squads and one ProTour squad, which include: AG2R Citroën Team, Alpecin-Fenix (ProTour), Bora-Hansgrohe, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ, Ineos Grenadiers, Jumbo-Visma, and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
The production is a joint venture between Quad and Box to Box Films. The latter is the producer of the highly-rated Netflix series Drive to Survive, which tells the inside stories of selected Formula One teams throughout the racing season.
France Télévisions is also involved in the production and will broadcast a 52-minute documentary shortly before the start of the 2023 Tour de France. The full Netflix series wills consist of eight episodes, each lasting 45 minutes.
Yann Le Moënner, managing director of ASO said on the venture with Netflix: “We are proud of this partnership with Netflix, France Télévisions and the Tour de France teams, which will offer fans a unique immersion behind the scenes. 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.
"This project is part of our overall ambition to make our sport more accessible and meet an even wider audience.”
The glaring omission from the list of teams involved with the documentary is that of two-time winner and defending champion Tadej Pogačar; UAE Team Emirates opting not to take part.
The first season of Drive to Survive didn't feature two of the sport's top teams Mercedes and Ferrari, but saw them involved as the series proved a success. Broadcasters have also reported a significant uptick in viewership of F1 since the series aired, which the Tour organiser and teams will hope can be replicated in cycling.
Before the series was officially confirmed, EF Education-EasyPost boss Jonathan Vaughters expressed concern that the nuances of cycling maybe provide a bigger challenge than F1 to the filmmakers, though said the deal for the teams to be involved was "pretty good".
"Cycling is going to prove more challenging for the directors and producers of the film because it's a very subtle sport, the tactics and strategy and cycling are very subtle," Vaughters told Cyclingnews.
"It is a nuanced sport in a way that Formula One maybe isn't... I think somebody coming in for the first time from a filmmaking perspective is going to struggle to see the critical moments inside a team, so it'll be more challenging for the people making the films for sure."
