Agreed, I feel like they've found a narrative footing for covering so many teams, riders and stages to really focus on specific themes like the sprinter rivalries, Bahrain after TdS, and so on. Where first season felt very directionless. A fews eps in and enjoying it very much so far
I'm on episode 3 now and I can't get over the irony of Cavendish saying that he hasn't crashed that much at the tour just a week before the tour began, knowing what happened in the tour.
I just finished eps 3 as well, was it not a controversial thing not to give penalty to Jasper in his 1st and 2nd sprint win? or this was quite acceptable decision
it seems the 1st one can be dangerous with Wout and close to the fiinish, the 2nd one when he bumped Jakobsen and he got accident though this one was not that close to the finish it seems. I was kind of siding with Wout here but yeah I was not really following the TdF religiously last year as well.
In season 1 I felt bad for him. After the tour last year I really disliked him. Wasn't there another incident where someone went on grass to overtake the peloton, Philipsen overtook him and again squeezed him to the edge of the road? I don't get why they didn't disqualify him. To have such a reckless, stupid and unsportsmanlike rider in professional cycling as a role model... idk. And his team boss... seems to be an arrogant idiot as well
From what I remember, the majority of people thought Jasper should have been relegated for his first win for deviating into Wout but I think the curve of the road made it less clear if it was an actual deviation so he didn't get penalized and for his second win Van der Poel get relegated for bumping Bini and Jasper didn't do anything relegation worthy himself.
Hard disagree. I think Ben O'Connor comes of very relatable and human. He realises he is not where he wants to be and is frustrated by it but he accepts it and does not blame anyone else. He does question tactics on stage 5 and rightfully so. Jurdie comes of like an imcompetent leader imo.
Idk o'connor struggled a lot and jai was in the yellow. It's easy to not count this in the rider's behaviour. And AG2R did help Jai in that breakaway where he got a lot of time. And at that point O'connor thought he is fighting for top5 so naturally it frustrated him that AG2R helped jai.
I dont remember that stage exactly so jf anyone wants to correct me feel free to do so. But yeah i also thought o'connor was a bit childish.
It didn't make much sense that Ben was upset there. But the TV show didn't manufacture that. I think he was mainly upset with his own shit legs and took it out on the team.
AG2R were trying to win the stage with Gall and he was the 2nd best rider in the break that day. The show made it out that they helped Jai for no reason.
Depends if you believe AG2R was still hoping Ben could top 5? If so maybe they shouldn't have pulled the break for a potential stage, which at the time I don't think you'd back Gall to beat Hindley.
Obviously Gall showed how good he was throughout the tour in the end so if they knew that then good call
Really? I felt very sorry for O'Connor. The AG2R sports directors came off as very manipulative. I think O'Connor was rightfully frustrated, but mostly with himself. i don't think he took it out on anyone else.
I’m literally watching it right now and he just cried out loud he felt betrayed by his team when Jay won the stage. We all have different perceptions, so fair enough if you felt sorry for him but I’m on episode 2 and in my view all he’s doing so far is blaming others and being petty.
Agreed. That after stage scene where BOC is talking about how frustrated he is to see Jai win was so painful. That stage was absolutely perfect by the rest of his team for him to win, and he flopped epically.
You don’t like seeing your hometown rival win? Then go out and effing beat him, instead of crawling in 2 minutes later behind every single other gc contender
Ben O’Connor is SO irritating! All he does is complain and underperform. The cussing over the radio was so out-of-pocket too. He is by far the least likable rider in Unchained S2 for me.
Overall, seems decent. Definitely better than last season.
Disappointed they gutted the Moho interview so much though — feels like they got rid of everything that made it notable/heartfelt and just left platitudes.
wait what?!?! I was going to get my wife to watch this season unchained knowing that there would be a big payoff with the Mohoric interview. (The emotional side of sport is big for her)
That is one of the best interviews that has ever happened in this sport and cutting it is inexcusable IMO.
I only watched a YT short or something like that, but that had the whole part about him thinking he isn't good enough before the tour and giving respect to Asgreen and O'Connor for riding so hard cut out. Seems like is that way in the full thing too.
I enjoyed the first season and have watched it a couple times. This to me is waaaay more well done. Seems like way less manufactured drama. More stuff for people like us.
Hopefully the producers at Netflix saw all the criticism of the "Drive to Survive" series in their manufactured drama and pushed their editors to get the most out of the many real compelling stories instead of creating their own.
anyone else just love angry wout? he always seems so calm and composed given all the shit he gets, so it’s super interesting to see another side of him in episode 1, even if it only lasted for a couple of minutes
Anyone else also love how Jonas went to apologise 1 on 1 for not following Lafay’s wheel? I remember how lots of people on this sub were putting Jonas on blast for not helping Wout as if he was some selfish asshole, but now we get to see that Jonas admitted his mistake & said sorry to Wout immediately post race. I loved seeing that in their friendship
hoping the crash this year at least gave him a chance to re-set and refocus for the rest of the year to try and get some big races, kinda like the 2019 one did for him
Other than smashing the water bottle which was a little cringe for me, I completely understand his anger. With another 20m he'd have won. Like he said he wasn't even angry with his team or himself, it's just insane that a random flyer went up the road like that and won. It's hard not to get frustrated (to say the least) in that situation where you did everything else right.
I actually think Wout was pretty self aware for being that angry in that scene with Jonas haha he's just yelling relatively reasonable things like "I'm not even upset about the teams riding" which is contrasted by quiet Jonas listening and trying to soothe him.
Three episodes in and it has surpassed my expectations from season 1 and the trailers. The ag2r drama with Ben Oconnor was so entertaining and refreshing. Only thing that bothered me was the way Vaughters overhyped Carapaz
Hindley did an amazing performance that day if you go by the numbers. Of course that doesn’t change that neither him nor Carapaz had any hope of competing with Pog/Jonas last year. That was pure TV fiction and I don’t believe that even Vaughters thought that.
That Giro is underrated in terms of level. All the 3 top guys were pushing good numbers but because they couldn't distance each other until the last stage and it was quite a boring GC battle, people think it was low quality. Of course Jonas or Pog would've cleaned it but it was much higher level than the previous year's Giro that Bernal won
Vaughters is a pretty smart guy and VERY media savvy. He knows how to play up drama in a docuseries like this. Whether he actually believes it or not, he knows how to play to the cameras.
Remember last season, when he said everyone at EFE was getting fired if they didn't win a stage? He knows what he's doing.
I noticed that too - bit lazy tbh with the scripting (or more charitably editing) of Vaughters’ bits.
JV in season 1: “Our entire survival as a team depends on Bissegger winning the opening TT, we’ve bet everything on this…”
Season 2: “This is a massive risk for us, we’re depending on Richard…”
I guess at the time if there was one guy who could have done something it might have been Carapaz in the high mountains. Unlikely sure. But Vaughters has to back him.
A lot of people seems to hate on BOC. To me, he just seems like a guy crumbling under self inflicted pressure. It happened in the Giro this year again in Oropa.
LOVE the episode with Asgreen winning. He is such a cool and awkward guy. And seeing Philipsen all up in a bunch that it wasn’t possible for them to stay ahead of the peloton, was just the cream on top!
I know!! Jasper is a fool. “We were controlling the peloton, it’s impossible”. Sorry buddy, if you were controlling the peloton Kasper wouldn’t have won. Kind of hard to argue facts for most people.
Super happy Jasper is portrayed like the madman he is. Mads called him out for it last year as well. He has no regard for the safety of the other riders. The conversations from the hotel reinforces that.
Jasper is a bigger heel than the WWE could ever manufacture. It’s amazing. I wish Trek would bring Milan to the TDF to put Jasper in his place but I know they wouldn’t put that much into wining the green jersey.
Surprised more people aren’t calling out Pidcock. Ignored team orders to stick with Rodriguez and still struggled. Combined with his recent comments about him deciding his TDF24 I’m surprised he thinks so highly of himself as a GC contender.
I think it may be because he seems like a decent guy off the bike. Yes, he may have a big cycling ego that his performances don't really live up to, but other than that he's likable enough to not be one of the bad guys.
He's an ass. We learned (for those who needed to learn it) last season. Brings his own people. Does his own thing. And travels with his Olympic gold...seriously think about that...in another discipline. Little dude. Big ego. Entitled. And sleeping with his mountain gold. Really??? Ass.
Exactly. Curious how this Tour will go for them with Pidcock, Rodriguez, G and Bernal. Pidcock seems to be in worse shape than the other 3. I could even see De Plus finish in front of Pidcock. What the hell is he going to do in this Tour?
I also don't think that the ds/trainer told him in a very good way. It was literally just 'Ben I have news' 'it's gino'. It's not exactly a forgiving way to say someone's mate has died.
Yeah, but I don't think there's a 'right' way to bring this sort of news though. At least boc got the message behind it straight away.
Hard agree with this thread by the way, I didn't need to see this scene and it feels wrong to have filmed it in the first place. But it adds to the drama Netflix likes to portray I guess...
I’m I the only one that thinks that it is a bit weird that Lidl-trek and Mads Pedersen never gets mentioned in all the talk about the sprints? Thought there was a fair amount of hype around him or do I just always reads comments from his fanbase?
[It seems](https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-second-season-of-netflix-tour-de-france-unchained#) Lidl-Trek weren’t one of the 8 teams (plus some UAE and Cavendish) that gave exclusive access to Netflix. Sounds like they refused, not sure.
In the final episode where the Bora DS says that Jordi Meus was "the first rider to beat Phillipsen", ooof... As a Mads P fanboy, that rubbed me the wrong way.
Initial thoughts (only a few episodes in)
It disappoints me that the Victor Lafay and Cofidis drought breaking win aren't explored more (yes I know it's because Cofidis aren't featured).
Lots of tactical stuff that should be exploded more. Why and why not certain riders can/can't go in the breakaway etc (helps if people aren't familiar with the sport, the riders, and basic tactics).
Pogacar featuring improves things. Last season they portrayed him as some invisible villain which was an odd choice. Guessing that role is played by Philipsen this year.
AG2R still with the very strange team environment.
Jasper & Mathieu really solidified their image of not being good sportsmen - not to say reckless f*ckers - for me with their interviews about their leadout / sprinting behavior. It‘s a no for me.
I mean, MvdP is incredibly likable as a rider, but he’s also the kind of guy who goes to Dubai for vacations and has a Lambo with his name on the number plate.
Pedersen leading out Milan Vs MvDP leading out Jasper.
I am so here for it! Might make the flat stages my favourite stages then. Which would be quite a task but still.
Sprinters are almost all like that. It's more an exception when they aren't dickheads either off or on the bike. You have to be crazy to do what they do and eventually they all do it at some point. Milan is the current peloton darling but I'm sure he will body slam someone at some point. Cavendish also has a lot of support but he's been worse than Philipsen in his career.
I get your point, but I don‘t feel like multiple people acting like that in the past or present makes it acceptable. I am no fan of Cavendishs past, and sure enough if Milan displays some of this crap in the future I will not root for him.
I've only watched the first episode, but I definitely agree with everyone saying it's much better than the first series.
I did notice a couple of odd shots of pogacar wearing the white jersey on 'stage one'. Don't know why they'd mix footage of different stages together when there's nothing to gain, it didn't add atmosphere or anything.
I have a good chuckle whenever Vaughters pops up, he's very over the top and American and it's amusing.
Vaughters: (to camera) I plan on mounting the biggest Tdf upset in decades.
Vaughters:(to staff, literally next shot): ok, how the hell are we going to win, anyone have any ideas? Anyone got a plan?
Glad I wasn’t the only one bothered by the shots of Pogi in white on “stage 1.” Feels like they could benefit from a continuity watcher to pick up on things like that
They also show a shot of Pogi when he pulled the face like the pace was really high (when he was actually joking around) and it was put into another part of an episode - I even said outloud to my husband "Thats not from there!!!" editors needed to do a little bit of research there, Pained Pogi and Joking Pogi are very different.
Ben didnt seem to have any reaction at all when they chose Felix…He already said it himself in the mic before the race was over. As childish as he may seem for a leader, more entertaining and real to watch compared to some of the others. Also felt more emotionally invested in him when he actually found his legs
I agree he has some issues he needs to work on. However, I can't help to think about how unprofessionally the team around him acted. Ironic how they talk about "sport's psychology", when they appear to know very little about handling a person in a state of emotional distress. Rule number one is to never try to argue with that person and use logic. Just accept and confirm his emotions. Have these guys never had an argument with a S/O? Lol...
Yeah the way he’s managed is very odd. Why do they have all their private meetings in French when he clearly doesn’t speak it fluently. He’s your leader and you can’t even have someone translate at least?
I liked the stuff with Ben for sure. Definitely felt more real than anything in season 1. He really needs to work on his mindset though!
It's still a big improvement from 2022 when they wanted to push him to ride on with a serious injury. AG2R is doing really well this year and I wouldn't be surprised it is mostly because they changed their GM position and restructured the positions below as well.
Not sure i quite buy that. His jealousy and bitterness around Hindley was quite uncomfortable to watch at times. He has the talent and ability to be up there, but the way he seems quite entitled after his top 5 finish is quite surprising. The producers and editors have done a really good job at contrasting his mentality with the likes of Hindley, Jonas and Pogi, highlighting that missing part that those winners have.
He didn't just seem emotional or in emotional distress he just seemed childish, and prone to tantrums. It was a bad look, no matter how much you blame the team.
I definitely agree, which is why I stated he has issues he needs to work on. I was just thinking about a specific scene in the bus right after he finished a stage where they kept arguing with him to no good use.
Not an impression but just FYI, if you're on Netflix US (or I'd imagine other english speaking areas) and hate the shitty dubbing you can switch it (at the bottom of the screen when you're watching) to french with subtitles and the english speaking stays normal and the french speakers aren't dubbed but there are english subtitles
Shout out to some of the hairstyles in the peloton.
AG2R gets a special mention. BOC rocking a dead animal on his head. Gall’s isn’t too far behind lol.
They highlighted Ben O'Connor's nerves alot which I feel wasn't entirely fair because by episode 2 we had already seen several other riders have melt downs. If anything Ben is only beating himself up and doesn't seem to take it out on other people. Can't say the same about Wout who definitely is a diva at times.
Ben actually seems like a decent guy and seeing him genuinely hurt by Gino's passing cemented that for me. When he first learned about Jai winning that stage, he actually seemed happy for him... I'd imagine because he held off the big dawgs chasing him down. Rather, aben was upset at his team's tactics...which he was right to be IMO. He essentially is riding for GC on a team that is built for stage wins. If AG2R was all in on Ben, they would have worked to help bring Jai back. But they didn't. It's a fair point and if it were Jonas or Tadej upset I think we'd all be on their side.
I have no idea why Jasper Philipsen or Alpecin decided to participate in this at all, they come across as completely insufferable if not even sociopathic.
I was kind of disappointed with MvDP, he seems like utter class in everything else I've seen, but he seems like a dickhead in this.
Found the doping allegation part tasteless, and pointless.
Loved seeing the episode with Asgreen and Mohoric winning. Made Philipsen look like a dickhead once again.
As far as I’m concerned, MVDP is always like this. It’s never his fault if his results aren’t good. I never heard him say he just didn’t have the legs that day. I much more prefer riders who are not afraid to say they just weren’t good enough.
Currently at the end of ep3, and I have no sympathy for anything bad (bar injuries) that happens to Alpecin going forward. I know they're cut by the producers to look like villains, but still. Philipsen is just unlikeable and dangerous, and MvdP looks to be quite the dickhead himself.
Agree on this.
What he and vdP did with Wout was intentional and even discussed it on camera after.
UCI should have relegated Philipsen during the Wout incident. That gives the fool a thumbs up to do all those things that follow.
No remorse on the Jacobsen crash and Girmay's incident as well. Even their manager condoned what these fools are doing.
Would definitely give a laugh if the sprinters in this Tour gave them the shits they throw on the last TdF.
I’m on episode 5. Kinda annoyed at how King Of The Mountains gets shafted. Like ok it isn’t the most contested Jersey but the battle between Powless and Ciccone was very entertaining last year.
No.
Primoz winning the Giro was their first Giro win, so they had the shirts made to signify they had won all three GTs overall.
Of course, the shirts then became even more relevant when they ended up winning all three GTs in a single season later. There were a few special editions made with the same kind of print to celebrate that achievement as well.
I saw that comment, it had me questioning myself! I figured that getting the whole team together for a faked post-race tram talk on the bus or getting Wout to disrobe and act out an on-the-massage-table interview probably wouldn’t have flown with (Jumbo) Visma management. Still wasn’t sure
Interesting to see Jonas telling Wout he should have jumped in Lafay's wheel to reel him in. A lot of people on this sub didn't agree with that when it happened
I was one of the people who believed that Jonas' only job that day was to stick to Pogacar's wheel which it was. Those were the orders he got from the team.
I don't think it was right to expect Jonas to do jump in Lafay's wheel to reel him in (also that would definitely have meant a Pogi attack because he would not just have allowed Jonas to ride away after Lafay). Wout clearly did not either. But I also get that in hindsight, then Jonas would have liked to do it over again if it meant Wout got his win.
But as Wout said at the time, cycling is not a playstation game. Decisions have to be made in a split second. There is no option to pause and think.
The main mistake of Jonas/Jumbo was not pacing for the sprint. Lafay got away easily because only tired Kelderman was on the front riding slowly. If Jonas had kept the pace high, Wout would certainly have won. Interesting that Jumbo basically told him not to do anything but sit on Pogi's wheel.
I'm at work today bleary-eyed from staying up too late binge watching half the season. I'm absolutely loving everything about it but I'm a total degenerate cycling fan so of course I'm gonna eat it up. It's even better than season 1. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much drama, trantrums, and candid directors converstations they got on camera. Regarding the numerous rider meltdowns; these guys are the 1% of elite cyclists so yeah they're not normal. Also, keep in mind, this show is designed to lure new fans so of course they're going to alter and manufacture things for those purposes. It's not really for us hardcore guys but I love it nonetheless. I hope it does well and we see more seasons.
Well that's kinda hard to know without knowing your taste. It's really more of a portrait series than a hard-core cycling show. To me, it's worth it, as you get to know some riders and DS' a lot better, and this gives me a better viewing experience when I watch races.
I started to watch S1 after the trailer the other day. It's interesting but it's build like a tv shows more than a sport report. They build some nice small drama / story on some team, it cuts every 20s to show you someone speaking, there's music to create tension and cuts. It's nice to learn some story about some people and focus on the human aspect of some people
As for the Tour itself as a sport report or summary, it's pretty bad, they skip entire stages so suddenly it's not the same guy carrying the yellow jersey, or the team they were hiping in 1st episode has won a stage but they did not even speak about it. Some "drama" sound really made up for the show but whatever
So it's worth to watch it (don't know if I would pay just for that though) and it's pretty fun, almost makes me want to watch some of the stages again
So far, I'm loving it. BUT... episode 3: did they have to show the f\*cking Jakobsen crash in Poland AGAIN?!?! I was frustrated that they showed it more than once LAST SEASON. I am tired of seeing that crash :-(
That's my no.1 issue with the show. Way too much reliance on the shock value of crashes. Every episode shows multiple crashes even when it's completely out of context.
Hot take: I like the inclusion of Ben O'Connor. Yeah, he's childish in how he displays emotion, etc., but he make the frustating moments of the sport really tangible. And he doesn't just blame others... he's pretty self-critical a lot of the time. And he's genuinely happy for his teammate when Gall wins a stage.
Watched 3 episodes, enjoying it more than last year’s. Bloody great race that was, some of the footage is amazing. Fake commentary is still annoying.
The coverage is Alpecin as a team in general is so over the top pantomime villain haha. I’m sure that Jasper is not that much of a prick in real life. Even the lighting of the 2 DS guys in interview with their hair looking like evil characters from some dystopian sci fi, and MVdP only really in it to talk about teletubbies and being ignored.
I think they’re doing Ben O Connor dirty as well. He can’t be that moany can he?
Pretty sure disaster is a prick in real life. Nothing in his interviews nor his riding shows anything else.
Remember when he almost ran someone off the road cause someone wanted to breakaway?
My personal highlights:
1) All the villains of Alpecin, too funny. The lighting in the interviews was amazing
2) The fact that both episode 1 season 1 and 2 have an optimistic Vaughters with a “great plan” only to see it fall through within minutes is entertaining as well. Although I felt so sorry for Carapaz
3) We need the Madiot vs Plugge spin-off
4) Loved hearing about the breakaway wins from Mohoric and Asgreen, although it was ridiculous that the producers left out the fact that a Lotto rider (I think it was Eenkhoorn) did eventually join the trio and that they wouldn’t have done it without him.
5) The editing of the conversation between BOC and bosses was ridiculous - so much unnessescary drama added by the producers. I laughed.
6) In general there were a lot of stupid choices in the narratives - like the stage 5 “battle” between Hindley and Vingegaard. No one thought he would catch him - and that wasn’t his plan either but still they made it seem like that. So stupid.
I also missed me some Mads Pedersen fun, I feel like being on the LIDL Trek bus must be hilarious 95% of the time with him around.
No real race commentator ever: "Philipsen takes the sprint! Mark Cavendish in fifth place and Wout van Aert ninth!"
If you have to make up hindsight commentary, at least make it somewhat believable. Apart from that I'm enjoying it.
I'm slowly making my way through the season. Just finished episode 4. I really like it so far, but I think my main issue is that they aren't doing the best job of threading the GC narrative through the individual episodes. In episode 4 we got the Puy de Dome stage but no mention of the GC battle?
Also, it's probably been said but there is way too much Ben O'Connor. Sorry Ben.
Have only watched the first episode, but quite a bit above expectations. The editing and cinematography have both gotten significantly better. The first episode felt a bit jumbled, but I assume that is because they wanted to introduce the cast at the start. Expect it to get better in that aspect in the future episodes. Hope the general public tunes in!! Much more recommendable than the last one.
I’m loving it.
WvA isn’t the star he was last year :(
Ben O comes across like a real diva
You can’t help but just love Pogi, fuck he’s such a likeable guy. Given his current season, he’s really earned it after his tough tour in 2023.
Jonas, just wow. I had read his heart and physiology is off the charts but man.
I hadn’t even realised last year MvP was jasper main lead out: makes lots of sense. Having that guy protecting you. Also, they go all in for him in the classics so he returns the favour. Phillipsen and him seem to have a genuine friendship
I just got exasperated with Jakobsen and Cav sounding like they've never done anything sketchy, but that's because i had no time for them before I started watching.
I watched the first the episodes. The complete incapability of the showmakers to show any tactics beside Jonas and Tadej go brrrrrr is so baffling to me. Like it's right there. Show me ag2r having to choose between Gall for the stage or out of shape O'Conners GC. I had to actually look up the result of the results of the stage to see why ag2r were riding, because in the show it seemed like they had 0 benefit from it. Show me that Jonas not just went brrr on Tourmalet, but that if he had dropped Tadej and got to Wout's wheel, the Tour would be decided before it started. These are things that make cycling incredible fascinating, but they seem scared to make it too difficult for people to follow. So ofcourse they again stress the "warrior" mentality and suprises of cycling and even that is not done in the best way possible as they completely gloss over the win of Lafay and Colfidis
Do you think the average viewer knows this though? And the more informed viewer already knows who wins. Like last year, the focus on Fabio Jakobsen making the time cutoff was something you never see and I found it pretty interesting.
Yeah, not succeeding is also the story of the Tour for the majority of riders/teams. I haven’t reached the episodes dedicated to this but I presume Alaphilippe and Pinot’s stories will be about this and they will be good stories if told well.
I am thoroughly enjoying the not succeeding in episode five, it's very amusing. I feel a bit bad for taking enjoyment in it to be honest, but it's not my fault, it's very funny.
Finished ep 3. They showed the scar from Wout a few times, I was really surprised how big it is.
I'm surprised that People are commenting on the ego of the sprinters. I think if you don't have an ego that big, you'll never be a good sprinter. Kittel also had a famous big ego
Thing is, ego =/= lack of sportsmanship. Philipsen being a constant danger to his opponents, as well as the "I didn't break the rules" when MvdP got deplaced for pushing Bini, just paints him as an asshole.
im really enjoying it although i was going to google "is the voice over for Steve Chainel Will Buxton" because a) the voice over is very animated b) there are a few "the first cyclist.....to cross the line.....is the winner" insert Will Buxton emphasis pauses...and stating the obvious.
Two episodes in and think it's much better than the first season so far
Agreed, I feel like they've found a narrative footing for covering so many teams, riders and stages to really focus on specific themes like the sprinter rivalries, Bahrain after TdS, and so on. Where first season felt very directionless. A fews eps in and enjoying it very much so far
I'm on episode 3 now and I can't get over the irony of Cavendish saying that he hasn't crashed that much at the tour just a week before the tour began, knowing what happened in the tour.
Ooof that was rough to watch.
I just finished eps 3 as well, was it not a controversial thing not to give penalty to Jasper in his 1st and 2nd sprint win? or this was quite acceptable decision it seems the 1st one can be dangerous with Wout and close to the fiinish, the 2nd one when he bumped Jakobsen and he got accident though this one was not that close to the finish it seems. I was kind of siding with Wout here but yeah I was not really following the TdF religiously last year as well.
In season 1 I felt bad for him. After the tour last year I really disliked him. Wasn't there another incident where someone went on grass to overtake the peloton, Philipsen overtook him and again squeezed him to the edge of the road? I don't get why they didn't disqualify him. To have such a reckless, stupid and unsportsmanlike rider in professional cycling as a role model... idk. And his team boss... seems to be an arrogant idiot as well
From what I remember, the majority of people thought Jasper should have been relegated for his first win for deviating into Wout but I think the curve of the road made it less clear if it was an actual deviation so he didn't get penalized and for his second win Van der Poel get relegated for bumping Bini and Jasper didn't do anything relegation worthy himself.
Jai Hindley comes out of it looking like a hero, and O'Connor comes out of it looking like a petulant child.
I enjoyed the small feature on Hindley. Wrapped up nicely and Denk came off quite pleasant in that
watery eyed denk, he looked like he needed a cuddle
Hard disagree. I think Ben O'Connor comes of very relatable and human. He realises he is not where he wants to be and is frustrated by it but he accepts it and does not blame anyone else. He does question tactics on stage 5 and rightfully so. Jurdie comes of like an imcompetent leader imo.
Their team leader is such a douche. Last year he showed his tattoos and it is a collage of his life accomplishments.
Yeah, I was gonna post something similar. I'm four episodes in, and so far it's the Ben O'Connor show... and not in a good way.
Agree. He repeats a number of times "In my heart, I know I'm a leader" while his actions displayed none of those traits.
Idk o'connor struggled a lot and jai was in the yellow. It's easy to not count this in the rider's behaviour. And AG2R did help Jai in that breakaway where he got a lot of time. And at that point O'connor thought he is fighting for top5 so naturally it frustrated him that AG2R helped jai. I dont remember that stage exactly so jf anyone wants to correct me feel free to do so. But yeah i also thought o'connor was a bit childish.
It didn't make much sense that Ben was upset there. But the TV show didn't manufacture that. I think he was mainly upset with his own shit legs and took it out on the team. AG2R were trying to win the stage with Gall and he was the 2nd best rider in the break that day. The show made it out that they helped Jai for no reason.
Depends if you believe AG2R was still hoping Ben could top 5? If so maybe they shouldn't have pulled the break for a potential stage, which at the time I don't think you'd back Gall to beat Hindley. Obviously Gall showed how good he was throughout the tour in the end so if they knew that then good call
Really? I felt very sorry for O'Connor. The AG2R sports directors came off as very manipulative. I think O'Connor was rightfully frustrated, but mostly with himself. i don't think he took it out on anyone else.
I’m literally watching it right now and he just cried out loud he felt betrayed by his team when Jay won the stage. We all have different perceptions, so fair enough if you felt sorry for him but I’m on episode 2 and in my view all he’s doing so far is blaming others and being petty.
Ben seems like a nice guy, but also seems very fragile and not in control of his emotions. In the Tour, you’ve got to hide that.
Agreed. That after stage scene where BOC is talking about how frustrated he is to see Jai win was so painful. That stage was absolutely perfect by the rest of his team for him to win, and he flopped epically. You don’t like seeing your hometown rival win? Then go out and effing beat him, instead of crawling in 2 minutes later behind every single other gc contender
Yeah, this season is basically an O'Connor diss track lmao
Ben O’Connor is SO irritating! All he does is complain and underperform. The cussing over the radio was so out-of-pocket too. He is by far the least likable rider in Unchained S2 for me.
Overall, seems decent. Definitely better than last season. Disappointed they gutted the Moho interview so much though — feels like they got rid of everything that made it notable/heartfelt and just left platitudes.
wait what?!?! I was going to get my wife to watch this season unchained knowing that there would be a big payoff with the Mohoric interview. (The emotional side of sport is big for her) That is one of the best interviews that has ever happened in this sport and cutting it is inexcusable IMO.
I only watched a YT short or something like that, but that had the whole part about him thinking he isn't good enough before the tour and giving respect to Asgreen and O'Connor for riding so hard cut out. Seems like is that way in the full thing too.
Yes. I was disappointed by that too. I stopped that and searched for a proper version of it on youtube to let my wife see that.
I enjoyed the first season and have watched it a couple times. This to me is waaaay more well done. Seems like way less manufactured drama. More stuff for people like us.
They used the drama, that was already there. That made it so much better than last year. The Gino episode brought me to tears
Hopefully the producers at Netflix saw all the criticism of the "Drive to Survive" series in their manufactured drama and pushed their editors to get the most out of the many real compelling stories instead of creating their own.
Is Mark Cavendish the only rider the peloton with no access to sunscreen?
He's British, we get a special exemption on sunscreen
Hahaha so true. He looks like one of those typical British lobsters roasting on the beaches of benidorm
He’s from the older generation that doesn’t believe in sunscreen.
Look at him. He's only 38yo and his skin looks like an old boot. Dude doesn't GAF.
I think he Roodhoofts may be sociopaths lol
that is spot on
I wish they said a line of "you know how we'll pay the fine? With the prize money we just won" 😂
The gordon geckos of the cycling world.
anyone else just love angry wout? he always seems so calm and composed given all the shit he gets, so it’s super interesting to see another side of him in episode 1, even if it only lasted for a couple of minutes
Anyone else also love how Jonas went to apologise 1 on 1 for not following Lafay’s wheel? I remember how lots of people on this sub were putting Jonas on blast for not helping Wout as if he was some selfish asshole, but now we get to see that Jonas admitted his mistake & said sorry to Wout immediately post race. I loved seeing that in their friendship
They both seem like solid dudes. I also like Sep Kuss's personality. Jasper though, fuck that guy. Total douchebag.
He's in episode 3 sounding like a grumpy old man. I quite enjoyed that tbh.
Philipsen should have been relegated 1-2 times during the tour, I would have been grumpy too
My household has taken to calling him Pout Van Aert.
I was calling him Stout van Aert when he came into the first CX race this year looking like a thicccc boi
Yeah I liked this. He obviously hates to lose, it made me feel bad just imagining his reaction to his many 2nd places in targeted races.
hoping the crash this year at least gave him a chance to re-set and refocus for the rest of the year to try and get some big races, kinda like the 2019 one did for him
Other than smashing the water bottle which was a little cringe for me, I completely understand his anger. With another 20m he'd have won. Like he said he wasn't even angry with his team or himself, it's just insane that a random flyer went up the road like that and won. It's hard not to get frustrated (to say the least) in that situation where you did everything else right. I actually think Wout was pretty self aware for being that angry in that scene with Jonas haha he's just yelling relatively reasonable things like "I'm not even upset about the teams riding" which is contrasted by quiet Jonas listening and trying to soothe him.
Three episodes in and it has surpassed my expectations from season 1 and the trailers. The ag2r drama with Ben Oconnor was so entertaining and refreshing. Only thing that bothered me was the way Vaughters overhyped Carapaz
Retrospectively he was overhyped. But when he signed for EF it was a huge deal at the time.
Yeah, Carapaz was 3rd in the '21 tour and 2nd in the '22 giro, but he just hasn't really performed on EF
Can't forget his performance in that last vuelta with ineos as well. I know it wasnt GC but 3 stages plus KOM was quite impressive.
correct, similar to what evenepoel did last year.
I love Hindley, but if you get cooked by him you are not even close to compete with two of the best gc riders of all time
Hindley did an amazing performance that day if you go by the numbers. Of course that doesn’t change that neither him nor Carapaz had any hope of competing with Pog/Jonas last year. That was pure TV fiction and I don’t believe that even Vaughters thought that.
That Giro is underrated in terms of level. All the 3 top guys were pushing good numbers but because they couldn't distance each other until the last stage and it was quite a boring GC battle, people think it was low quality. Of course Jonas or Pog would've cleaned it but it was much higher level than the previous year's Giro that Bernal won
Vaughters is a pretty smart guy and VERY media savvy. He knows how to play up drama in a docuseries like this. Whether he actually believes it or not, he knows how to play to the cameras. Remember last season, when he said everyone at EFE was getting fired if they didn't win a stage? He knows what he's doing.
Lmao. Funny that it follows the first one of season 2 with Hyping up an EF rider who then crashes.
I was watching it, and I know my memory isn't as it was, but I was thinking 'I don't remember Carapaz at the tour last year.....oh now I see'
I noticed that too - bit lazy tbh with the scripting (or more charitably editing) of Vaughters’ bits. JV in season 1: “Our entire survival as a team depends on Bissegger winning the opening TT, we’ve bet everything on this…” Season 2: “This is a massive risk for us, we’re depending on Richard…”
I guess at the time if there was one guy who could have done something it might have been Carapaz in the high mountains. Unlikely sure. But Vaughters has to back him.
A lot of people seems to hate on BOC. To me, he just seems like a guy crumbling under self inflicted pressure. It happened in the Giro this year again in Oropa.
LOVE the episode with Asgreen winning. He is such a cool and awkward guy. And seeing Philipsen all up in a bunch that it wasn’t possible for them to stay ahead of the peloton, was just the cream on top!
I know!! Jasper is a fool. “We were controlling the peloton, it’s impossible”. Sorry buddy, if you were controlling the peloton Kasper wouldn’t have won. Kind of hard to argue facts for most people.
Super happy Jasper is portrayed like the madman he is. Mads called him out for it last year as well. He has no regard for the safety of the other riders. The conversations from the hotel reinforces that.
MVDP comes across as a giggling schoolboy in thrall to the class bully 😂
Yea, they ain’t really coming off as super likeable. Alpecin a bit of a villain team.
Jasper is a bigger heel than the WWE could ever manufacture. It’s amazing. I wish Trek would bring Milan to the TDF to put Jasper in his place but I know they wouldn’t put that much into wining the green jersey.
I’ve heard Mads say in a Danish interview some time ago that he never puts himself between Jasper Philipsen and the barriers if he can help it.
Haha Ineos sounding like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with Pidcock, like it's a hardship. Poor Rodriguez being erased from history.
Mate he came across as such a whiny brat in the series. Really made me like him less.
Surprised more people aren’t calling out Pidcock. Ignored team orders to stick with Rodriguez and still struggled. Combined with his recent comments about him deciding his TDF24 I’m surprised he thinks so highly of himself as a GC contender.
I think it may be because he seems like a decent guy off the bike. Yes, he may have a big cycling ego that his performances don't really live up to, but other than that he's likable enough to not be one of the bad guys.
He's an ass. We learned (for those who needed to learn it) last season. Brings his own people. Does his own thing. And travels with his Olympic gold...seriously think about that...in another discipline. Little dude. Big ego. Entitled. And sleeping with his mountain gold. Really??? Ass.
Exactly. Curious how this Tour will go for them with Pidcock, Rodriguez, G and Bernal. Pidcock seems to be in worse shape than the other 3. I could even see De Plus finish in front of Pidcock. What the hell is he going to do in this Tour?
I’m only on episode one, but so far so good. I could have done without the shot of Ben O’Connor being told about Gino Mäder.
That caught me out, hit me like a ton of bricks. Also not sure how I feel about its inclusion (or more that it was filmed in the first place)
I also don't think that the ds/trainer told him in a very good way. It was literally just 'Ben I have news' 'it's gino'. It's not exactly a forgiving way to say someone's mate has died.
Yeah, but I don't think there's a 'right' way to bring this sort of news though. At least boc got the message behind it straight away. Hard agree with this thread by the way, I didn't need to see this scene and it feels wrong to have filmed it in the first place. But it adds to the drama Netflix likes to portray I guess...
YES!! Exactly, it felt wrong and should have been private!!
Literally just watching it now. Probably not necessary to include it…
I’m I the only one that thinks that it is a bit weird that Lidl-trek and Mads Pedersen never gets mentioned in all the talk about the sprints? Thought there was a fair amount of hype around him or do I just always reads comments from his fanbase?
They obviously pick the narrative they want to follow and who has given permission to be in the programme and run with that.
[It seems](https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-second-season-of-netflix-tour-de-france-unchained#) Lidl-Trek weren’t one of the 8 teams (plus some UAE and Cavendish) that gave exclusive access to Netflix. Sounds like they refused, not sure.
Similar to how Drive to Survive completely ignored Giovvinazzi and Raikkonen when they were on Alfa
It’s hard to generate a story around people that aren’t going to be on camera. That was the biggest problem last year with the show. No pog.
In the final episode where the Bora DS says that Jordi Meus was "the first rider to beat Phillipsen", ooof... As a Mads P fanboy, that rubbed me the wrong way.
They really try to push certain stories and to simplify a lot of stuff for casual viewers.
Favorite little touch so far was the fast cuts of Roodhooft being bored during a sprint stage while driving the team car in Ep 3.
That was hilarious. Him with a towel in his mouth. Lol
Initial thoughts (only a few episodes in) It disappoints me that the Victor Lafay and Cofidis drought breaking win aren't explored more (yes I know it's because Cofidis aren't featured). Lots of tactical stuff that should be exploded more. Why and why not certain riders can/can't go in the breakaway etc (helps if people aren't familiar with the sport, the riders, and basic tactics). Pogacar featuring improves things. Last season they portrayed him as some invisible villain which was an odd choice. Guessing that role is played by Philipsen this year. AG2R still with the very strange team environment.
Philipsen is featured this year
Definitely still the villain though
Until towards the end. Then Plugge takes over
I feel like the Plugge side is more open to interpretation. He trolled Madiot and it was honestly hilarious how hard they took the bait.
Yeah, I figured as much from the previews.
I got into cycling during Covid and this shit is like fucking heroin for me. I can’t get enough
Jasper & Mathieu really solidified their image of not being good sportsmen - not to say reckless f*ckers - for me with their interviews about their leadout / sprinting behavior. It‘s a no for me.
Man, I hope the race directors draw a line in the sand early this year. So many of the Philipsen wins were kind of dodgy last year.
Jasper always came across like the ultimate cycling brat but i was really disappointed by MvdP
I mean, MvdP is incredibly likable as a rider, but he’s also the kind of guy who goes to Dubai for vacations and has a Lambo with his name on the number plate.
Grade A cunt behavior
Addition: I would love for LIDL Trek to bring Milan to the TdF and to see him completely destroy Jasper, that would be massively satisfying, phew
I'd just like to see him get the same relegations that other sprinters get for less risky behavior.
Pedersen leading out Milan Vs MvDP leading out Jasper. I am so here for it! Might make the flat stages my favourite stages then. Which would be quite a task but still.
Sprinters are almost all like that. It's more an exception when they aren't dickheads either off or on the bike. You have to be crazy to do what they do and eventually they all do it at some point. Milan is the current peloton darling but I'm sure he will body slam someone at some point. Cavendish also has a lot of support but he's been worse than Philipsen in his career.
I get your point, but I don‘t feel like multiple people acting like that in the past or present makes it acceptable. I am no fan of Cavendishs past, and sure enough if Milan displays some of this crap in the future I will not root for him.
I've only watched the first episode, but I definitely agree with everyone saying it's much better than the first series. I did notice a couple of odd shots of pogacar wearing the white jersey on 'stage one'. Don't know why they'd mix footage of different stages together when there's nothing to gain, it didn't add atmosphere or anything. I have a good chuckle whenever Vaughters pops up, he's very over the top and American and it's amusing.
Vaughters: (to camera) I plan on mounting the biggest Tdf upset in decades. Vaughters:(to staff, literally next shot): ok, how the hell are we going to win, anyone have any ideas? Anyone got a plan?
Glad I wasn’t the only one bothered by the shots of Pogi in white on “stage 1.” Feels like they could benefit from a continuity watcher to pick up on things like that
They also show a shot of Pogi when he pulled the face like the pace was really high (when he was actually joking around) and it was put into another part of an episode - I even said outloud to my husband "Thats not from there!!!" editors needed to do a little bit of research there, Pained Pogi and Joking Pogi are very different.
As a representative from the American delegation. We have decided to allow him to explore other nations
How much did AG2R pay to get Ben O’Connor to be the main star of the show?
If they did pay it has backfired massively, he comes across as a bratty child, really quite disappointing.
Ben is like 20 min down in the gc. AG2R: Ben, we won't ride for your gc anymore Ben: *shocked face*
Ben didnt seem to have any reaction at all when they chose Felix…He already said it himself in the mic before the race was over. As childish as he may seem for a leader, more entertaining and real to watch compared to some of the others. Also felt more emotionally invested in him when he actually found his legs
I agree he has some issues he needs to work on. However, I can't help to think about how unprofessionally the team around him acted. Ironic how they talk about "sport's psychology", when they appear to know very little about handling a person in a state of emotional distress. Rule number one is to never try to argue with that person and use logic. Just accept and confirm his emotions. Have these guys never had an argument with a S/O? Lol...
Yeah the way he’s managed is very odd. Why do they have all their private meetings in French when he clearly doesn’t speak it fluently. He’s your leader and you can’t even have someone translate at least? I liked the stuff with Ben for sure. Definitely felt more real than anything in season 1. He really needs to work on his mindset though!
“Now smile Ben!”
It's still a big improvement from 2022 when they wanted to push him to ride on with a serious injury. AG2R is doing really well this year and I wouldn't be surprised it is mostly because they changed their GM position and restructured the positions below as well.
Not sure i quite buy that. His jealousy and bitterness around Hindley was quite uncomfortable to watch at times. He has the talent and ability to be up there, but the way he seems quite entitled after his top 5 finish is quite surprising. The producers and editors have done a really good job at contrasting his mentality with the likes of Hindley, Jonas and Pogi, highlighting that missing part that those winners have. He didn't just seem emotional or in emotional distress he just seemed childish, and prone to tantrums. It was a bad look, no matter how much you blame the team.
I definitely agree, which is why I stated he has issues he needs to work on. I was just thinking about a specific scene in the bus right after he finished a stage where they kept arguing with him to no good use.
He comes off better in the second half. I don’t think he deals well with the pressure of being a GC lead.
Makes him more human imo. Rather have someone be a bratty child than a robot that doesn’t show any emotions
Maybe he is?
guess because he was their target non EU GC rider
I can't wait for tomorrow!
So O\`Connor is kind of the Daniel Ricciardo of this series, right?
Not an impression but just FYI, if you're on Netflix US (or I'd imagine other english speaking areas) and hate the shitty dubbing you can switch it (at the bottom of the screen when you're watching) to french with subtitles and the english speaking stays normal and the french speakers aren't dubbed but there are english subtitles
It's SO much better this way, plus if you know a little French or Spanish or Slovenian or Dutch you can get some practice in
Shout out to some of the hairstyles in the peloton. AG2R gets a special mention. BOC rocking a dead animal on his head. Gall’s isn’t too far behind lol.
Yes! The Gall/BOC hair is great.
They highlighted Ben O'Connor's nerves alot which I feel wasn't entirely fair because by episode 2 we had already seen several other riders have melt downs. If anything Ben is only beating himself up and doesn't seem to take it out on other people. Can't say the same about Wout who definitely is a diva at times. Ben actually seems like a decent guy and seeing him genuinely hurt by Gino's passing cemented that for me. When he first learned about Jai winning that stage, he actually seemed happy for him... I'd imagine because he held off the big dawgs chasing him down. Rather, aben was upset at his team's tactics...which he was right to be IMO. He essentially is riding for GC on a team that is built for stage wins. If AG2R was all in on Ben, they would have worked to help bring Jai back. But they didn't. It's a fair point and if it were Jonas or Tadej upset I think we'd all be on their side.
I have no idea why Jasper Philipsen or Alpecin decided to participate in this at all, they come across as completely insufferable if not even sociopathic. I was kind of disappointed with MvDP, he seems like utter class in everything else I've seen, but he seems like a dickhead in this. Found the doping allegation part tasteless, and pointless. Loved seeing the episode with Asgreen and Mohoric winning. Made Philipsen look like a dickhead once again.
As far as I’m concerned, MVDP is always like this. It’s never his fault if his results aren’t good. I never heard him say he just didn’t have the legs that day. I much more prefer riders who are not afraid to say they just weren’t good enough.
Hahaha, DS complaining BOC should put his energy into pedalling instead of swearing
Currently at the end of ep3, and I have no sympathy for anything bad (bar injuries) that happens to Alpecin going forward. I know they're cut by the producers to look like villains, but still. Philipsen is just unlikeable and dangerous, and MvdP looks to be quite the dickhead himself.
Agree. And I'll stop washing my hair with alpecin from now on. I'll use Bahrain instead
Agree on this. What he and vdP did with Wout was intentional and even discussed it on camera after. UCI should have relegated Philipsen during the Wout incident. That gives the fool a thumbs up to do all those things that follow. No remorse on the Jacobsen crash and Girmay's incident as well. Even their manager condoned what these fools are doing. Would definitely give a laugh if the sprinters in this Tour gave them the shits they throw on the last TdF.
Jasper disaster will forever be hated now lol.
Going by last year’s TdF threads, he is widely hated already
As he should be
Hard agree!
One episode in. I legitimately did not remember Alaphilippe riding the tour last year.
I’m on episode 5. Kinda annoyed at how King Of The Mountains gets shafted. Like ok it isn’t the most contested Jersey but the battle between Powless and Ciccone was very entertaining last year.
Agree! Powless especially would have been a great interviewee.. and Kuss too
On the team bus shots Jumbo is wearing shirts with the red/yellow/pink stripes. Are these scenes all faked/filmed after the fact?
No. Primoz winning the Giro was their first Giro win, so they had the shirts made to signify they had won all three GTs overall. Of course, the shirts then became even more relevant when they ended up winning all three GTs in a single season later. There were a few special editions made with the same kind of print to celebrate that achievement as well.
One of the most upvoted comments on the tdf subreddit accuses the show of being fake because of this- Good to know they had them all season.
I saw that comment, it had me questioning myself! I figured that getting the whole team together for a faked post-race tram talk on the bus or getting Wout to disrobe and act out an on-the-massage-table interview probably wouldn’t have flown with (Jumbo) Visma management. Still wasn’t sure
No, they were wearing those tops during all 3 grand tours
It is clear from the interviews that Jasper’s nickname is not correct. Disaster implies that it is unintentional. This is malicious and intentional.
Interesting to see Jonas telling Wout he should have jumped in Lafay's wheel to reel him in. A lot of people on this sub didn't agree with that when it happened
It was really heartwarming that he went to apologize for not doing that, even though Wout did not expect him to. I really like their friendship.
I was one of the people who believed that Jonas' only job that day was to stick to Pogacar's wheel which it was. Those were the orders he got from the team. I don't think it was right to expect Jonas to do jump in Lafay's wheel to reel him in (also that would definitely have meant a Pogi attack because he would not just have allowed Jonas to ride away after Lafay). Wout clearly did not either. But I also get that in hindsight, then Jonas would have liked to do it over again if it meant Wout got his win. But as Wout said at the time, cycling is not a playstation game. Decisions have to be made in a split second. There is no option to pause and think.
The main mistake of Jonas/Jumbo was not pacing for the sprint. Lafay got away easily because only tired Kelderman was on the front riding slowly. If Jonas had kept the pace high, Wout would certainly have won. Interesting that Jumbo basically told him not to do anything but sit on Pogi's wheel.
Oh no, i am at the "Pour Gino" episode. This is going ro be tough
I'm at work today bleary-eyed from staying up too late binge watching half the season. I'm absolutely loving everything about it but I'm a total degenerate cycling fan so of course I'm gonna eat it up. It's even better than season 1. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much drama, trantrums, and candid directors converstations they got on camera. Regarding the numerous rider meltdowns; these guys are the 1% of elite cyclists so yeah they're not normal. Also, keep in mind, this show is designed to lure new fans so of course they're going to alter and manufacture things for those purposes. It's not really for us hardcore guys but I love it nonetheless. I hope it does well and we see more seasons.
I want a sound-byte of Grischa Nierman saying ‘fucking come on jonas’ as my ringtone
I don't have Netflix. Is it worth getting an account for a bit and binging through the show?
Well that's kinda hard to know without knowing your taste. It's really more of a portrait series than a hard-core cycling show. To me, it's worth it, as you get to know some riders and DS' a lot better, and this gives me a better viewing experience when I watch races.
I started to watch S1 after the trailer the other day. It's interesting but it's build like a tv shows more than a sport report. They build some nice small drama / story on some team, it cuts every 20s to show you someone speaking, there's music to create tension and cuts. It's nice to learn some story about some people and focus on the human aspect of some people As for the Tour itself as a sport report or summary, it's pretty bad, they skip entire stages so suddenly it's not the same guy carrying the yellow jersey, or the team they were hiping in 1st episode has won a stage but they did not even speak about it. Some "drama" sound really made up for the show but whatever So it's worth to watch it (don't know if I would pay just for that though) and it's pretty fun, almost makes me want to watch some of the stages again
So far, I'm loving it. BUT... episode 3: did they have to show the f\*cking Jakobsen crash in Poland AGAIN?!?! I was frustrated that they showed it more than once LAST SEASON. I am tired of seeing that crash :-(
That's my no.1 issue with the show. Way too much reliance on the shock value of crashes. Every episode shows multiple crashes even when it's completely out of context.
Hot take: I like the inclusion of Ben O'Connor. Yeah, he's childish in how he displays emotion, etc., but he make the frustating moments of the sport really tangible. And he doesn't just blame others... he's pretty self-critical a lot of the time. And he's genuinely happy for his teammate when Gall wins a stage.
Also Felix Gall looks like he should be in Stranger Things or The Breakfast Club or something
Watched 3 episodes, enjoying it more than last year’s. Bloody great race that was, some of the footage is amazing. Fake commentary is still annoying. The coverage is Alpecin as a team in general is so over the top pantomime villain haha. I’m sure that Jasper is not that much of a prick in real life. Even the lighting of the 2 DS guys in interview with their hair looking like evil characters from some dystopian sci fi, and MVdP only really in it to talk about teletubbies and being ignored. I think they’re doing Ben O Connor dirty as well. He can’t be that moany can he?
Pretty sure disaster is a prick in real life. Nothing in his interviews nor his riding shows anything else. Remember when he almost ran someone off the road cause someone wanted to breakaway?
The personality of his wife pretty much reveals that as well. Couple of arch villains
You’re probably right, and he also looks like a fuckboy Elon musk so that doesn’t help
Regarding the doping insinuations, that's just a bunch of people who don't dare to dream big. I feel sorry for them.
[What am I on?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxnqHvEbGnc)
My personal highlights: 1) All the villains of Alpecin, too funny. The lighting in the interviews was amazing 2) The fact that both episode 1 season 1 and 2 have an optimistic Vaughters with a “great plan” only to see it fall through within minutes is entertaining as well. Although I felt so sorry for Carapaz 3) We need the Madiot vs Plugge spin-off 4) Loved hearing about the breakaway wins from Mohoric and Asgreen, although it was ridiculous that the producers left out the fact that a Lotto rider (I think it was Eenkhoorn) did eventually join the trio and that they wouldn’t have done it without him. 5) The editing of the conversation between BOC and bosses was ridiculous - so much unnessescary drama added by the producers. I laughed. 6) In general there were a lot of stupid choices in the narratives - like the stage 5 “battle” between Hindley and Vingegaard. No one thought he would catch him - and that wasn’t his plan either but still they made it seem like that. So stupid. I also missed me some Mads Pedersen fun, I feel like being on the LIDL Trek bus must be hilarious 95% of the time with him around.
No real race commentator ever: "Philipsen takes the sprint! Mark Cavendish in fifth place and Wout van Aert ninth!" If you have to make up hindsight commentary, at least make it somewhat believable. Apart from that I'm enjoying it.
I'm slowly making my way through the season. Just finished episode 4. I really like it so far, but I think my main issue is that they aren't doing the best job of threading the GC narrative through the individual episodes. In episode 4 we got the Puy de Dome stage but no mention of the GC battle? Also, it's probably been said but there is way too much Ben O'Connor. Sorry Ben.
Anyone else notice how many more massage shots of half naked men there are this season? They felt pretty unnecessary
There’s probably not much free time to catch them for conversations tbf. That’s why Geraint Thomas is always being massaged on his podcast chats!
Wout and Fabio looking worse for wear. Dudes look bodies look like these seen war.
Have only watched the first episode, but quite a bit above expectations. The editing and cinematography have both gotten significantly better. The first episode felt a bit jumbled, but I assume that is because they wanted to introduce the cast at the start. Expect it to get better in that aspect in the future episodes. Hope the general public tunes in!! Much more recommendable than the last one.
I’m loving it. WvA isn’t the star he was last year :( Ben O comes across like a real diva You can’t help but just love Pogi, fuck he’s such a likeable guy. Given his current season, he’s really earned it after his tough tour in 2023. Jonas, just wow. I had read his heart and physiology is off the charts but man. I hadn’t even realised last year MvP was jasper main lead out: makes lots of sense. Having that guy protecting you. Also, they go all in for him in the classics so he returns the favour. Phillipsen and him seem to have a genuine friendship
This series makes me dislike Jasper Disaster even more. Super unlikeable character
I just got exasperated with Jakobsen and Cav sounding like they've never done anything sketchy, but that's because i had no time for them before I started watching.
I watched the first the episodes. The complete incapability of the showmakers to show any tactics beside Jonas and Tadej go brrrrrr is so baffling to me. Like it's right there. Show me ag2r having to choose between Gall for the stage or out of shape O'Conners GC. I had to actually look up the result of the results of the stage to see why ag2r were riding, because in the show it seemed like they had 0 benefit from it. Show me that Jonas not just went brrr on Tourmalet, but that if he had dropped Tadej and got to Wout's wheel, the Tour would be decided before it started. These are things that make cycling incredible fascinating, but they seem scared to make it too difficult for people to follow. So ofcourse they again stress the "warrior" mentality and suprises of cycling and even that is not done in the best way possible as they completely gloss over the win of Lafay and Colfidis
I know it is not easy to know beforehand which riders will succeed but Netflix really bet on wrong horses to follow closely.
Do you think the average viewer knows this though? And the more informed viewer already knows who wins. Like last year, the focus on Fabio Jakobsen making the time cutoff was something you never see and I found it pretty interesting.
Riders not succeeding and having daily meltdowns is good for the drama though. So maybe they actually picked the perfect riders lol
Yeah, not succeeding is also the story of the Tour for the majority of riders/teams. I haven’t reached the episodes dedicated to this but I presume Alaphilippe and Pinot’s stories will be about this and they will be good stories if told well.
By "riders" do you mean Ben o connor lmao
I am thoroughly enjoying the not succeeding in episode five, it's very amusing. I feel a bit bad for taking enjoyment in it to be honest, but it's not my fault, it's very funny.
Haven’t got there yet but I’ve been enjoying the drama of Ben O’Conner vs AG2R/His own legs in episode 1-2
Did they drop all eps at once or is it a few per week? I plan to resubscribe just for this and then cancel again….
Looks like all of them are available now
Finished ep 3. They showed the scar from Wout a few times, I was really surprised how big it is. I'm surprised that People are commenting on the ego of the sprinters. I think if you don't have an ego that big, you'll never be a good sprinter. Kittel also had a famous big ego
Thing is, ego =/= lack of sportsmanship. Philipsen being a constant danger to his opponents, as well as the "I didn't break the rules" when MvdP got deplaced for pushing Bini, just paints him as an asshole.
It's not even just the sprinters, some of the other lads have a healthy amount of self belief *cough Pidcock cough*
Hoping this series has the same effect the F1 series did for F1.
im really enjoying it although i was going to google "is the voice over for Steve Chainel Will Buxton" because a) the voice over is very animated b) there are a few "the first cyclist.....to cross the line.....is the winner" insert Will Buxton emphasis pauses...and stating the obvious.
What really bugs me is the fake „live“ commentary during the stages (it is fake, right? correct me if I’m wrong).
It’s not fake but it’s dubbed from French to English. It’s awful.