Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has given a resounding thumbs-up to the Netflix series covering the Tour, arguing that the two combine well together to allow fresh insights both into cycling’s flagship event and the riders who take part in it.
During a lengthy recent interview with Belgian newspaper La Dèrniere Heure, Prudhomme discussed the first series of Tour de France:Unchained, first broadcast last June, with a second series currently due for release this summer.
Prudhomme also said he expected the battle for yellow next July to open up beyond the top two 2023 favourites, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), and include both Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), with the main GC narrative mutating from “a two-way duel” to “a race of aces” as a result.
“Evenepoel being in the Tour will hopefully make the peloton prone to panic,” Prudhomme said. “He could upset the applecart.”
“He really impressed me in the last Vuelta a España. I thought he was going to abandon after his jour sans [when Evenepoel cracked on the Tourmalet stage – Ed.] but instead he turned in an amazing performance right up to the last day.”
“Obviously we’d love to see him in the fight for the overall, but whatever happens, he’s sure to put on a great show. We’re very pleased he’s going to be part of the race.”
Although one top-name Belgian will hopefully be setting off fireworks next July on the roads of France, another – Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) – for the first time in six years.
“We always dream of having all the top names in the Tour de France, but there are always riders who, at one point or another, choose different races,” Prudhomme said.
“We’re also in an Olympic year and I imagine he’s got that at the back of his mind. But whatever he chooses, we’ll be delighted to see him back as soon as possible.”
A Race of Aces
Prudhomme was equally upbeat regarding the potential for a four-way GC battle for top spot in the 2024 Tour.
“Four different top names in four different teams is sparking a lot of enthusiasm,” Prudhomme, present in Belgium for a fundraising event for leucemia research organised by the Fonds Ariane association, told La Dernière Heure.
“And of the four, we know that we have two riders who can attack no matter…
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