what is the new documentary series from Netflix worth?

2023-06-08 12:16:00

The new sports series from Netflix immerses us in the heart of the most watched sporting event in the world: the Tour de France of cycling.

Par Julien Rebucci

The eight episodes of “Tour de France. Heart of the Peloton” is available on Netflix from June 8.
© A.S.O./Charly Lopez / A.S.O./Charly Lopez

Published on 06/08/2023 at 12:16 p.m.

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RTell the biggest indoor sporting event of the year in eight episodes. This is the goal that Netflix has set itself, which offers from June 8 Tour de France. In the heart of the peloton, real immersion in the heart of the 2022 edition of the Grande Boucle.

After the very successful Formula 1. Drive to Survive et Sunderland: against all odds (about the English football club) and the most disappointing Break Point (on tennis), the American video giant wanted to hit hard, three weeks before the start of the Tour de France 2023, the most watched sports competition in the world.

Beyond sports performance, the success of Tour de France. In the heart of the peloton lies in the narration installed by QuadBox, the production company which was able to make the best use of the images of the competition, transmitted by France Télévisions. Eight teams were selected from the 22 who had taken the start of the 109^e edition of the Tour, the 1^is July 2022 in Copenhagen: AG2R Citroën, Alpecin-Fenix, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ, Ineos Grenadiers, Bora-Hansgrohe, Jumbo-Visma and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. First disappointment to note: the refusal of UAE to open its doors to Netflix cameras, that is to say the formation of the double winner (2020 and 2021) of the event, the Slovenian prodigy Tadej Pogacar. The Emirates team wanted a final say on the edit, which was denied.

READ ALSO“Lens, blood and gold”: RC Lens as you’ve never seen itAlthough we know the end of the film before the start of the screening, the risk-taking of the riders, the passion of the team managers and the general atmosphere of the Tour caravan give us chills with each episode. Like their documentaries on Formula 1 or English football, the directors have managed to weave narrative arcs among the favorites as well as the worst ranked.

Episode 1, focused on the first three stages in Denmark, looks, for example, at the poor Swiss rider Stefan Bissegegr from the modest EF Education-EasyPost formation. The American team had indeed bet everything on the time trial of the first day to win at least one stage on this lap. Unfortunately, their rider fell twice and saw the dreams of victory vanish in favor of the Belgian Yves Lampaert. During the second stage, the victorious Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen then struggled to hide his emotion in front of the camera after his victory, two years after his terrible road accident which occurred on the Tour of Poland (his vital prognosis had been committed).

Amazing second episode

The second episode (one of the best in the series) ticks all the boxes. First the hell of the North and its paved roads, usually reserved for the classic Paris-Roubaix, as dangerous as telegenic. Then the internal duel within the Jumbo-Visma team between its stars Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard. We perceive in this episode to what extent cycling is not an individual sport but a collective one (Richard Plugge, the manager of the training moreover confides: “I hope that people will remember that we really do a sport of team.”), where radical decisions, such as giving up a yellow jersey or the possibility of winning a stage to favor another rider, are made in a very short period of time.

READ ALSOInside the cycling getaway of a Swiss diplomatTour de France. In the heart of the peloton also offers us touching moments, like this confidence of the popular and unfortunate French runner Thibaut Pinot who, in episode 3, confides, filled with emotion and explains that “there are days when [il préférerait] be less liked and win more races”. Endearing rider, never stingy with effort, the man from the Groupama-FDJ team is due to retire at the end of the season and we still do not know, at the time of writing these lines, if he will be selected. to take the start of the 2023 edition, on 1^is July in Bilbao, Spain.

Whether you’re a fan of cycling or not, it’s clear that you quickly get a taste for the noise of the derailleurs, the tension of falls within the peloton, the broken faces of the riders at the end of the stages and the general atmosphere of this demanding sport that is professional cycling. The soundtrack, the photo and the realization with a knife provide chills. The strategic and educational explanations in each episode, carried by the former runner Steve Chainel also provide a real complement to the most novice viewers. A bias that had already proven itself in the series Formula 1. Drive to Survive who had enjoyed five successful seasons. We can’t wait to see the second season of Tour de France. At the heart of the peloton…