Tour de France: Unchained

Tour de France: Unchained is a television documentary series that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the major road cycling race the Tour de France.

Tour de France: Unchained
GenreDocudrama
ComposerSi Begg
Country of originFrance, United Kingdom
Original languagesEnglish, French
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
Editors
  • Franco Bogino
  • Luca Salvatori
  • Charlie Webb
Running time45 minutes
Production companiesBox to Box Films
Quad
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release8 June 2023 (2023-06-08) –
present (present)

About

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Released on 8 June 2023, the first season of Tour de France: Unchained followed selected riders and their teams through the 2022 Tour de France. The show attempts to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's most prestigious cycling races.

The series is produced by the same team from the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive and follows a similar structure.

The first season featured 8 of the Tour's 22 teams, in 8 episodes lasting around 40 minutes each. One of the biggest stars of the 2022 Tour de France, defending champion Tadej Pogačar, did not feature in this series after his team, UAE Team Emirates, opted out of any involvement.[1][2]

The show returned for a second series following the 2023 Tour de France.[3][4]

Episodes

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Season 1

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Season 1 covers the 2022 Tour de France.

No.TitleOriginal release date
1"The Grand Départ"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
2"Welcome to Hell"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
3"The Weight of a Nation"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
4"Attack, Counter Attack"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
5"Breakneck Speed"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
6"Plan B"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
7"Everything for the Podium"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
8"Road to Paris"8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)

Season 2

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Season 2 covers the 2023 Tour de France.

No.TitleOriginal release date
1"No Risk, No Reward"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
2"The Third Man"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
3"No Mercy"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
4"For Gino"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
5"The Enemy Within"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
6"Domination"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
7"Kamikaze Mission"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)
8"The Last Dance"11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)

Criticism

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While the show generally received positive reviews,[5][6] there has been some criticism from riders about how they have been portrayed by the show. In particular, Wout van Aert, who rides for Team Jumbo–Visma, was unhappy about how he was portrayed during the show,[7] telling Sporza, "It's quite disturbing that there were stories written in the documentary that weren't there. For me, the series is focused on commotion."[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Davidson, Tom (27 April 2023). "Everything you need to know about the Netflix series Tour de France: Unchained". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ^ Davidson, Robyn (9 June 2023). "Netflix's Tour de France Unchained review: An entertaining recap with a Pogačar-shaped hole". Cyclist. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  3. ^ Adam Becket (23 May 2023). "Netflix Tour de France TV show Unchained set to get second season". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  4. ^ Moore, Kasey (30 June 2023). "'Tour de France: Unchained' Renewed For Season 2: Coming to Netflix in 2024". What's on Netflix. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ^ Delingpole, James (21 June 2023). "Netflix has struck gold: Tour de France: Unchained reviewed". The Spectator. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. ^ Farrand, Stephen (8 June 2023). "Tour de France: Unchained review - An addictive and entertaining Netflix series". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  7. ^ Draper, Kevin (29 June 2023). "Tour de France: Vingegaard vs. Pogacar Is the Race to Watch". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  8. ^ Hansen, Matt (12 June 2023). "Wout van Aert is not a fan of the new Netflix Tour de France documentary". Canadian Cycling Magazine. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
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