The Tour de France will come into sharp streaming focus.
More wheel-to-wheel action is coming to your respective viewing device.
Following on from the tearaway success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Netflix will continue with the formula as it pivots to the exciting world of professional cycling.
Drive to Survive producers will be tasked with putting the new, currently untitled show together.
It will focus on the 2022 Tour de France, with an official partnership in place with the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which oversees several sports including cycling.
The new series will follow eight teams involved in the Tour de France, going behind the scenes and delivering up close and personal access to the riders and the overall race itself.
The teams on display will be AG2R Citroën Team, Alpecin-Fenix, BORA-hansgrohe, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ cycling Team, Ineos Grenadiers, Team Jumbo-Visma, and Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
Filming has already begun and will continue through until July, with the resultant series expected to hit Netflix in the first quarter of 2023.
“Through a narrative approach, which is additive to the competition itself, the public will be able to discover how the Tour de France represents the ultimate challenge for the competitors — in particular in terms of suffering, pushing their limits and team spirit,” said ASO Director General Yann Le Moënner.
Season four of Drive to Survive premiered on the streaming giant earlier this month.
Shortly after its debut, news emerged that Formula 1 officials intend to speak with Drive to Survive producers over alleged “distorting” of rivalries as portrayed in the series.
Max Verstappen, the current World Champion, refused to take part in the series, claiming that the show “faked a few rivalries which didn’t really exist”.
While footage of Verstappen driving and interacting with teammates featured in the latest season, Drive to Survive was unable to fully showcase his controversial rise to the top.
CEO for F1 Stefano Domenicali spoke about how the popularity of the series has brought many positives to the sport, but has also left drivers concerned about how they are represented on the small screen.
“In order to ignite the interest of a new audience, a tone was used that in some ways focused on dramatising the story,” Domenicali said, according to Motorsport.com Italy.
“It’s an opportunity, but I think it needs to be understood. We talked about it this weekend at a meeting with the teams as well.
“A driver who refuses to participate because he feels he is not being represented in the right way is not being constructive; so a dialogue is needed to understand how he can be included in a format that he feels is correct.
“We will also talk to Netflix, because it is necessary that the story does not move away from reality, otherwise it no longer fits.
“It is a topic that we will address together with the drivers,” Domenicali continued.
‘We have to make sure that a project that has generated such exceptional traction has a language that continues to appeal, but without distorting the image and the meaning of the sport that we live with every day.”
Filming for Drive to Survive season five is presently underway.
ON YOUR BIKE: Netflix is partnering with the ASO to make a documentary series on the 2022 Tour de France.
From the producers of Drive to Survive, the series will follow 8 teams as they prepare for the iconic road race. 🚴🚴🚴
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 31, 2022
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