Netflix documentary "Tour de France - In the peloton": Interview with producer Le Bourbouach and expert Chainel
Thomas Huber
· 22.06.2024
"Tour de France: In the peloton" is a documentary from the streaming service Netflix about the biggest cycling event in the world: the Tour de France. TOUR spoke to producer Yann Le Bourbouach and expert Steve Chainel after the release of the second season.
The second season of the Netflix series "Tour de France: In the peloton" was released on 11 June 2024. While the first season already caused quite a stir and picked up on the events of the 2022 Tour de France, the new season looks at the 2023 Tour of France. TOUR spoke to producer Yann Le Bourbouach and expert Steve Chainel immediately after the release and looks at the production of the series and a possible third instalment, among other things.
Yann Le Bourbouach: It's about getting into the depths of cycling. We want to illuminate the characters in all their facets. On the one hand, there are characters that were already introduced in season one, such as Tom Pidcock, Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert. At the same time, there are new characters such as Tadej Pogacar. By delving deeper into these people, we were able to tell their stories in full. That's the main difference compared to the first season.
It is our job to tell the stories of people and their characteristics.
Steve Chainel's role in the Tour de France: In the peloton
TOUR: Mr Chainel, what is your role in the series?
Steve Chainel: I am the expert. I explain the sporting and tactical situation. If the public doesn't understand the teams' strategy, I'm there to explain it. I also talk about different riders and explain their role. My job is to explain what actually happens in cycling.
TOUR: Do you also help the team behind the camera with your knowledge as a long-time professional cyclist or is your area of responsibility exclusively in front of the camera?
Steve Chainel: I'm only active in front of the camera. I explain what I see. Yann [Le Bourbouach; editor's note] organises interviews with me for this. I work in TV anyway and I'm quite relaxed in front of the camera. If someone asks me something about cycling, its tactics and riders, I usually have a good answer ready. Within a few days, I explain how I see things for the series. I don't help behind the camera.
Yann Le Bourbouach: Steve [Chainel; editor's note] is not part of the storytelling. My colleagues and I do that. We want to give the audience an objective assessment - especially the viewers who are not so well versed in cycling. We need people like Steve who can explain the sport to these people.
It was also important for us to pick up the younger generation with the documentation.
A series for cycling purists and tourists
TOUR: Interesting point. What is the target audience for the series? Is it more cycling fans or the broad mass of Netflix consumers who may not be as familiar with the sport?
Yann Le Bourbouach: It's for the purists and the tourists. So we want to cover both groups. As a Netflix producer, it's also about adding the touch of the platform. If someone watches "House of Money" on Netflix first and then watches our documentary, it should be a clean transition. That's another point we tried to realise. It was also important for us to pick up the younger generation with the documentary.
Steve Chainel: This series is one of the best publications on cycling. Many people know about cycling but don't understand the sport and the competition behind it. They know the word "Tour de France" - but they don't know everything that happens in this race. And that's exactly what's important to me and to Netflix: to open the door to people who aren't so familiar with the sport. It was the same with "Drive to Survive", where Formula 1 also attracted a lot of new viewers because people started to understand the sport.
TOUR: Would you say that "Drive to Survive" a kind of role model for "Tour de France: In the peloton" is?
Yann Le Bourbouach: In their form, yes, but not in their nature. I don't think you can compare Formula 1 and cycling. You can't use the same storytelling. Formula 1 is a championship in which there are many races within a year. The Tour de France is one race within three weeks. Therefore, the storytelling cannot be the same from the ground up and is clearly different. However, it is similar in its form and structure.
We need drivers with clear goals and character traits.
TOUR: In season two, the AG2R La Mondiale team and its rider Ben O'Connor are always in the spotlight. Why did you choose to focus on them and what criteria do you use to select the riders?
Yann Le Bourbouach: It's all about storytelling. As producers, it's our job to tell the stories of people and their characteristics. It's a character-led storyline. When I go to Bora-Hansgrohe, I know that Ralph Denk has had some great stories. There was also Jai Hindley. He had the goal of riding into the yellow jersey and he did it. We need riders with clear goals and character traits, that's what it's all about. It's not just about the teams.
Steve Chainel: In the first season, the focus is on AG2R sports director Julien Jurdie. Although he is not a rider, he is an important part of the series - precisely because of his character. That's why season two is also often about AG2R, Jurdie simply has a great character.
At the Champs Elysees, I realised how big this production is.
Bora-Hangrohe will "definitely" play an important role in the third season
Recordings & 3rd season of "Tour de France: In the peloton"
TOUR: The camera shots in the series are always impressive. How do they come about?
Yann Le Bourbouach: We have twelve shooting teams at the Tour de France. They consist of a film maker, a sound operator and a field operator. The latter is important for getting from A to B in a coordinated manner. The other two are supposed to concentrate fully on filming. In addition, we have cameras on the riders' bikes and access to all the cameras working for the Tour de France itself. We have a huge number of cameras.
Steve Chainel: I saw Yann for the first time on the Champs Elysees while filming the first season. When he showed me that all twelve camera teams were capturing this one moment on the Champs Elysees, I realised just how big this production was.
TOUR: It has already been rumoured in advance that a third season could also be released. Could there be a greater focus on Bora-Hansgrohe? With the signing of Primoz Roglic and the involvement of Red Bull, the team is gaining in appeal.
Yann Le Bourbouach: Definitely, we like the team!
