Tour de France Unchained (Netflix)

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120714548#Comment_120714548

That just wouldn't work for cycling. The 3 GTs each have their own protagonists and plots and the monuments are split in 2 in that way and then you have the WC. It would have no narrative.

As well as that there is no single rights holder to all the races.

These embedded documentaries are always agreed to on the basis that they promote the sport/team so will always be a bit bias. Correct me if I am wrong but was Pep asked about his doping in the City doc or Juventus' finances dug into ?

gucci

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120693392#Comment_120693392

Crap, never realised there was a S3 of the least expected day. That was great lockdown TV for me when there was little or no sport on TV and i had an infant who didnt like to sleep!

07Lapierre

Another documentary worth watching: (and its free)

https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/play/?pid=6328596745112&title=Slaying%20The%20Badger&series=Slaying%20The%20Badger&genre=Faisneis&pcode=619900

dastardly00

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120714199#Comment_120714199

What's the book breezy?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120715395#Comment_120715395

It's called "The Green Bullet"

Had never heard of it but saw it in the shop window of O'Mahony's books last night. About Valverde and also Spanish cycling corruption it seems.

JMcL

I finished it last night, and thought it gripping.

I'll stick the rest in a spoiler in case anybody hasn't seen it, or last years Tour for that matter

Spoiler Warning

In my opinion, the 2022 tour was one of the best for decades (I discount anything from the early 90s through to the retirement of the Armstrong era brigade as I can't honestly believe any of them, and the stranglehold of Sky through the last decade was just.... meh). But last year almost every day you'd be wondering what was Wout going to do? How were Jumbo going to get the Jersey form Pog (WvA played a crucial role in stage 11 in bringing Rog back as a super domestique that wasn't mentioned)? and Pidcock's masterclass in descending like a maniac on the Galibier going on to win on the Alpe.

Getting to see a bit of other riders who rarely get the limelight was great, and I'm not sure if some of the stuff on the tour buses was actual fly on the wall or staged post (would they really discuss the days tactics in from of a camera crew?), but they paced it very well overall.

It wouldn't be without criticism however:

If I knew nothing about the race, I'd think it was only about the yellow jersey, why were Wout and Pog wearing randomly different coloured jerseys to their respective teammates? I'm not 100% sure they actually explained what the yellow jersey actually was - though I may have missed this

The main French talking head (Steve Chainel?) I found irritating by and large

Others have commented on the poor dubbing/subtitling. I can't comment on the dubbing, but I didn't really notice the subtitling, though I'm fairly proficient in French anyway so maybe didn't pay too much attention to it

I just don't buy the image of Lefevere as a nice guy as depicted, which would lead you to wonder about some of the rest

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120718547#Comment_120718547

I disagree about that Tour. I found it have very few narratives and 2 nice but fairly bland protagonists personality wise.

The other classifications were poor last year too.

billyhead

There's not many characters in pro cycling these days. You miss the likes of Sagan who would have been great on a show like this.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120719101#Comment_120719101

Sagan and Oss are a good laugh in interviews.

But they don't have to be outrageous personalities to make it work. Pinot/Ala/Bernal had plenty of drama or some of the Froome vs Movistar Tours.

Pog and Vingo just don't really seem to have much of a rivalry. The big stories in cycling currently seem to be in the classics.

My only complaint about the actual documentary is the team car cams are not used more. Those guys are more exciting than the talking heads.

kenmc

Watched first 4 episodes on a flight earlier in week will watch rest on way home tmw. Really enjoying it, particularly like the tactics discussions on the bus. Also like the occasional onboard cameras - I miss that view of bike racing since I quit racing

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120719351#Comment_120719351

I find that most are too polished media wise, and they’re also just all too sound to each other.

You need that rivalry and a few heads who are willing to take a dig at others to spice it up in the media.

Remco’s a bit more that style but just unfortunately doesn’t really have the results to back it up yet; whereas Vingegaard and Pog are just happy go lucky and everything’s rainbows and peace

Mefistofelino

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120720518#Comment_120720518

Remco can be accused of many things, but I didn't think "doesn't really have the results yet" was one of them.

mewso

2 Monuments, a Grand Tour and World Championships just doesn't cut it.

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120721570#Comment_120721570

Not for the level of arrogance especially when you take into account the depleted field at the Vuelta and the World Champs, I’m just saying I don’t think he has the credentials yet up against the likes of Pog to have the ego as big as he does but it’s off topic anyways

mewso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120722081#Comment_120722081

Ah yeah I agree. Just couldn't resist. He was arrogant before he won anything really but it is more fun when they are gobsh1tes. Pog has his moments (Flanders last year) but Vingegaard is too nice.

breezy1985

Remco might be the gobshte the sport needs. I cheer against as much as for in GC battles and I feel with Ineos not what they were the current GC battle could do with a villain.

Mefistofelino

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120722143#Comment_120722143

Maybe they can get Christopher Nolan to direct the next TdF Unchained series -

Commissaire Gordon: "Because Remco is the gobshite cycling deserves, but not the one it needs right now"

Patches oHoulihan

Great viewing

G1032

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120721509#Comment_120721509

😂😂😂

JMcL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120722965#Comment_120722965

But that would probably mean the race itself would extend from 3 weeks to about 2.7 years, developing a weird time fold last time around the Place de la Concorde leading to Bernard Hinault and Jaques Anqueil battling it out for GC victory, and the entirety of France going on the lash for the rest of the summer

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120699386#Comment_120699386

Just there now, the sad bit for me is I wonder how Nico would have done with AG2R if they took that approach of being supportive of non french riders years ago.

Junior

This assesment of the program is very fair I think, https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/netflix-tour-de-france-unchained-as-reviewed-by-a-cycling-newbie

For me, it's noticeable that the same devices as Drive to Survive are being used in this, which will no doubt causes issues later on. Things like mixed stage footage being used to "create a narrative", and also using commentary to sell a lie, the stuff with Alpecin and Jasper "Alpecin riding hard on the front, Philipsen near the front" and the camera is showing him being dropped into the cavlcade on a climb.

My own feeling is that is terribly lacking in lots of departments, for newbies to get engaged in the sport, it's very French, with Chainel, the commentary etc. It also doesn't make any effort to explain some rudimentary basics to people either. Which will further alienate people, now I know you can't explain everything, but give them enough to paint a broad picture or find out more themselves. And for those of us who are well versed, there was nothing new exciting about the footage, the presentation, no data, nothing.

Like for me, they could have given us the whole of Pidcocks descent on the Alpe winning stage and I'd have watched it all day every day, we got clips, commentary, in car stuff, we literally didn't see the actual product, the actual thing that might hook someone in..

I really feel that it will go the way of the Movistar documentary, 2 seasons and fade ..

ILikeBoats

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733777#Comment_120733777

I enjoyed it a lot. I went into it not knowing anything and as you said "It also doesn't make any effort to explain some rudimentary basics to people either. Which will further alienate people, now I know you can't explain everything, but give them enough to paint a broad picture or find out more themselves." I had to do a lot of googling throughout!

Paddigol

I'm not all the way through yet, but... did they possibly try to squeeze too much into too few episodes? As a long lapsed F1 fan I found the Drive to Survive series to be really well paced and balanced. Which I appreciated as someone coming from the outside in. If I wasn't a cycling fan I'm not sure that I'd have been hooked by the TdF series? Even to me it seemed a bit too fast paced... lots of dots to join, which you might not make the effort to do if you were just a casual viewer - the danger being that some viewers will watch a few episodes, find it 'grand' but no more, and not bother to watch the rest.

I'm enjoying it anyway.

It would never work because non cycling fans only know the TdF - but a series based on the Spring Classics would probably work better in the Netflix style as each race is an individual affair, has it's unique characteristics and probably involves more genuinely rivalries.

happytramp

Neighbour of mine with zero interest in cycling watched it and said he loved it and is going to watch the tour this year... So job done in regards to him I suppose.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120736062#Comment_120736062

Same here, the show has annoyed me with the fake, misleading commentary but a mate of mine is now all in for the tour.

Mercian Pro

As someone who hasn't raced since i was a kid, I'm really enjoying and on the 6th episode as I write. Episode 5 is terrific with the footage of Pidcock's descending even better than I remember watching it live (maybe it's the editing?). Hopefully it hasn't peaked too soon!

Nermal

The participants are certainly a lot more likeable than anyone who appeared in Drive to Survive.

gn3dr

FFS some of ye are a critical bunch. :-) For those of us who were cycling back in the 80"s, the idea of a show such as this being watched by the non cycling mainstream person would have been unthinkable. It’s great that it exists and so what if it has some drama added. At least it isn't fake manufactured drama like you see in the American car build shows. Just chill and go with it

Junior

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120737341#Comment_120737341

I did race in the 80s and do you not think the Wout Vs Jonas was heading along the lines of "fake" drama right up until the redemption arc for both of them ?