Tour de France: Unchained, the Netflix documentary series about the greatest cycling race, has been renewed for a third season.
The announcement was made on Wednesday morning via Netflix’s official French social media accounts with the slogan “We’re starting a new tour!”.
In the series, which was created as a joint venture between the production companies Quadbox and Box to Box Films, camera crews are integrated into the teams at the Tour de France and offer behind-the-scenes footage.
Teams in the first season, released in June 2023 and following the 2022 edition of the race, included: Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, AG2R Citroën, Groupama-FDJ, Alpecin-Deceuninck and EF Education-EasyPost.
The second season went live on the streaming platform last month and featured two key additions, including exclusive interviews with two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and all-time stage win record holder Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan).
After watching all eight episodes of the last season, Cycling weekly News editor Adam Becket concluded that the film was a “must-see” and offered “great insight into the greatest cycling race of all”.
However, the series has come under criticism for putting accidents in the spotlight, especially in the trailers. The latest trailer shows Jayco AlUla rider Lucas Hamilton doing a somersault over a road barrier at the 2022 Itzulia Basque Country.
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At the time of the release of the first season, Yann le Moënner, CEO of ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, said: “We are proud of this partnership with Netflix, France Télévisions and the Tour de France teams, which offers fans a unique behind-the-scenes insight.”
“Through a narrative approach that complements the competition, the audience can experience that the Tour de France represents the ultimate challenge for the participants, particularly in terms of suffering, overcoming one’s own limits and team spirit.”
“This project is part of our overall goal to make our sport more accessible and reach an even wider audience.”
The second season of Unchained seemed to reveal tensions over the leadership of Ineos Grenadiers in the 2023 Tour de France. “I was portrayed as the bad guy,” Tom Pidcock said after the release. “It just makes a drama out of it, you know, and it’s not even in chronological order.”
Although the participating teams for the upcoming third season have not yet been confirmed, Cycling weekly has seen camera crews accompanying Ineos Grenadiers and Astana-Qazaqstan, among others, at this year’s race.
This year’s Tour de France has already seen some historic events: Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) became the first black African to win a stage and Cavendish broke the record for stage wins.
It is not known when the next season of Unchained will be released, but it is expected in June 2024.
Cycling weekly also understands that discussions are ongoing about a possible series following the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift
