I started watching Netflix's Tour de France Unchained Season 2 a few days ago. I have finished episode 3.
It's a great series. I'm a bit wary of the drama being shown mainly because I don't know if it's video editing being done by the producers of the show or if it's an actual storyline that happened. One thing is for sure, the issues with the sprinters, namely Jasper Philipsen, were indeed happening during the 2023 TdF.
I was sort of following the 2023 Tour de France as it happened and I didn't appreciate the antics of Philipsen and Alpecin-Deuceninck. Watching the series up to episode 3 has made me dislike Philipsen even more. As for his more famous teammate, Mathieu van der Poel, I can respect him as a pro cyclist and amazing athlete but seeing the behind the scenes of the TdF 2023 has changed my views on him a bit.
For me they're painted as the villains, guys who are out to win stages and not make friends. They even said it in one of the episodes. I'd like to temper my bias against them with the fact that they're from a different culture, they wouldn't be elite athletes if they didn't have a competitive edge, and they're also human beings.
I still dislike Jasper Philipsen. I find him a dirty sprinter, though I've only started watching pro road racing the past three or so years so I have no idea if what he does is normal or not.
So give Tour de France Unchained a watch. I like the editing, despite the fact that they've reused shots multiple times in different episodes, and I like how it shows the human side of the pro cyclists.
Out.
