The official trailer for the upcoming Netflix documentary series Tour de France: Unchained was released online on Thursday, ahead of its release on 8 June. You can watch it at the bottom of this page.
It features Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), among others, as talking heads, giving a glimpse as to how the series will actually look. Along with race footage, behind-the-scenes content and interviews, there is also stuff filmed before the Tour began, with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) filmed at his home.
The highly-anticipated series, produced by Quadbox and Box to Box Films, the makers of F1: Drive to Survive, follows eight teams at the 2022 Tour de France, with exclusive behind-the-scenes access. It should help build excitement before this year's Tour, which begins on Saturday 1 July.
The eight-part programme will be available to stream on Netflix on Thursday 8 June, coinciding with this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, the key precursor to the Tour. The eight teams involved are Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers, Groupama-FDJ, EF Education-EasyPost, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Bora-Hansgrohe, Soudal Quick-Step and AG2R Citroën.
Last month, Cycling Weekly revealed that a second series would be filmed at this year's race.
In the trailer, which was shared by the teams involved, the Tour's official account and Netflix, a voiceover introduces the action: "The Tour de France is very simple. It is a bike race, every day, over 21 stages."
There are snippets inside the team cars and buses, as well as on-bike footage and interviews with team managers and the riders themselves.
It opens with the team presentation in Copenhagen, before a countdown happens and the action begins. There are clips from throughout the race, including Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)'s win on the Hautacam, Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) winning on stage two, and Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën) winning at Châtel.
Groupama-FDJ team boss Marc Madiot says: "If you can go further in suffering and sacrifice, you may have a chance to win... You put on the number, you become another man."
Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) is recorded saying: "I had to leave my home, my family. Winning a stage would make all the sacrifice worth it." The American came fourth twice and spent four stages in breakaways at last year's Tour.
Jakobsen, who won the second stage of last year's race in Nyborg, says: "The Tour de France is something you dream of when you’re a little kid... In the end, my only goal is to win." His Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere says: "To go to the Tour de France is alway pressured, it’s not easy."
Fan favourite Thibaut Pinot, who is retiring at the end of 2023, is emotional as he tells the audience: "When things don’t go as planned, it is difficult to live with." The Frenchman spent three days in long breakaways, but finished third in Mende and fourth in Châtel.
Van Aert, who finished second on the opening three stages before winning in Dunkerque, says: "It’s always a big rivalry in cycling."
According to reports, Netflix covered the production costs of €8 million to make the series, paying a total of €1 million to the different parties involved, with teams ending up with about €62,000 each. The streaming platform is also working on a documentary about British road champion Mark Cavendish, who holds the record for the number of stage wins at the Tour de France, tied with Eddy Merckx on 34.
The series is release on Thursday 8 June.
