Tour de France: Unchained (2023) s01e01 Episode Script
The Grand Départ
1
[crowd cheering]
[man 1] You are soldiers.
You are warriors.
[intense music playing]
Once you put on that number,
you become a different man.
We're going to win this fucking stage!
[man 2] It burns.
You're out of breath.
[commentator] That's an incredible speed.
[man 3] Overcook the corner,
you go off the edge of the mountain
- dressed in a layer of Lycra this thick.
- [commentators] Ooh!
Jesus Christ! Just don't do that again.
[man 4] It's the biggest
bike race in the world.
[commentator 2]
And three weeks of racing start now.
[slow cover of "La Vie En Rose" playing]
[man 5] The Tour de France is very simple.
It's a cycle race.
A stage a day for 21 days.
A massive circus that
travels from town to town.
It's the toughest race in the world.
[cyclist yelping]
[man 6] There'll be crashes,
a show, all that. It's cool.
Fuck off!
But when you're on the other side,
you think, "Oh, fuck."
[crying] He's my friend.
[man 7] When you're French
and in a French team,
you know there's
going to be a lot of pressure.
I want warriors, I want gladiators.
Cycling was born here.
Just be ready for anything.
- [man 8] Everyone's in tears.
- Don't give up, we're gonna make it!
[intense music resumes]
Come on, Neilson. Go!
Everyone's ass, legs, and heads hurt.
- [commentator 2] The shouting of the fans.
- [screaming] Yeah!
3328 KILOMETRES
[commentator 2]
Jumbo-Visma are in absolute chaos.
26 NATIONALITIES
France expects victory.
- Hip, hip!
- [all] Hurray!
176 RIDERS
[man 9] It's an elimination race.
1 YELLOW JERSEY
They will have to do things
that are basically extraordinary.
[man 10] When you ride the Tour de France
you're in something special.
Yes, man! Yes, man! Yes!
[intense music rising]
- [music stops]
- [yelling]
["La Vie En Rose" resumes]
[man 1] Pain shows us who we are.
If you're able to go
beyond suffering and sacrifice
then maybe you have a chance to win.
[song fades]
TOUR DE FRANCE: UNCHAINED
THE GRAND DÉPAR
COPENHAGEN
29 JUNE 2022
[crowd cheering]
[commentator] Welcome to
the team presentation of the 109th edition
of the Tour de France.
[cheering]
TEAM PRESENTATION
TWO DAYS BEFORE THE GRAND DÉPAR
[cheering continues]
The Tour de France is a national monument
with an international appeal.
It's the world's biggest cycle race.
It's a challenge that touches everyone.
[tense music playing]
EX PROFESSIONAL RIDER
The Tour de France is simple.
Twenty-one stages,
there's a stage winner every day.
And the person
wearing the famous yellow jersey
is the rider who has
the best time over all the stages.
But cycling isn't an individual sport.
There are 22 teams
made up of 8 riders each
who work together
to carry their leader to victory.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Making their way to the stage,
the most winning team for years and years,
it's Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team.
GENERAL MANAGER
Good?
I am Patrick Lefevere,
CEO of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team.
I started competing at 15.
I was a winner.
For sure, I wanted to win always.
And now, with the team,
we want to win every race.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
is a very aggressive team.
They've already had 47 stage wins
in the Tour de France.
And this year, again,
they're a team to be feared.
[tense music playing]
28 DAYS BEFORE THE TOUR DE FRANCE
SIERRA NEVADA
SPAIN
QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL
TRAINING CAMP
We call ourselves "The Wolfpack."
Everybody knows who it is. It's us.
A wolf doesn't ever hunt alone.
We hunt in a group to victory.
To go to the Tour de France,
there's always pressure,
but '22 is not our lucky year.
We have 11 ill and injured,
and all the shit you can't imagine.
That's not easy, huh?
There's just the descent
down to the park, right?
- [rider] No.
- Just one more climb.
[rider] Pretty much.
[Julian Alaphilippe]
It's my second year as world champion.
But I've not had an easy start
to the season. Just one win.
And then there were the few crashes, so
MARCH 5 2022
[rider yells]
[Alaphilippe] That last crash in Liège
APRIL 24 2022
[commentator]
Massive crash in the peloton.
A lot of riders are on the ground.
Julian Alaphilippe is in a ditch.
[Alaphilippe] That really affected me,
physically and mentally.
And recovery has gone quite well,
so I always have the Tour
in a little corner of my mind.
And that motivates me to train every day.
I can't wait to race.
I'm done with training.
[water squirts]
[laughing]
[Lefevere] For the Tour de France,
we have to choose
the eight strongest riders out of 30.
Because we want to win
the most stages possible.
We will see if Julian is ready.
But, if not, we have
another rider who can do it.
I'm Fabio Jakobsen.
I'm a sprinter.
So that means I'm fast at the finish line.
Tour de France is something
you dream of when you're a little kid.
I never did the Tour de France.
It's always a bit of a dot on the horizon.
You never really know
if you're gonna make it.
I could not say
the eight names that go now.
Nobody's 100% sure.
[Lefevere] With Fabio,
two years ago, he crashed.
But it was quite nasty.
[tense music playing]
[crashing]
[Lefevere] He almost died.
I know what it's like, you know,
coming back from almost zero.
Maybe even below that.
Some nasty injuries
that take time to heal.
But if all goes well the next three weeks,
I'll be there
on the start line, I think. Yeah.
Look! [inhales sharply]
Sweat like a pig, huh?
[water dripping]
If you sweat now,
you don't sweat on the Tour de France.
[Lefevere] We have to try
to bring the best possible leader.
Fabio,
we hope he's recovered from his injuries.
But with Julian,
world champion or not,
if you're not in the shape you have to be,
we cannot bring him.
I have to take tough decisions.
[driver] Come on. Let's go!
COPENHAGEN
DENMARK
[cheering]
[Chainel] Patrick Lefevere's talent
lies in successfully creating a team,
the famous Wolfpack,
which unites around one shared goal.
To win stages, to do
the best possible, and, I want to say,
shut up those who
might have been critical of the selection.
[announcer] Here they are,
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.
[announcer] Michael Mørkøv.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] From Belgium, Yves Lampaert.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] And from France,
Florian Sénéchal.
[announcer 3] This year, Quick-Step's
main sprinter is Fabio Jakobsen.
[crowd cheering]
RADIO SHOW
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has revealed
its list of Tour de France riders.
Julian Alaphilippe won't be at the start
of the Tour on Friday in Denmark.
He was not chosen to be part
of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.
I cannot be the good guy.
I chose Fabio.
Somebody has to
to push the red button, you know.
[Jakobsen] It's amazing, uh,
to see all the people here.
I got goosebumps
when I entered the stage, so
[crowd cheering heartily]
[reporter] Are you really hoping you made
the right choice bringing Fabio Jakobsen?
I think everybody who is here
deserves to be here.
It's very tough to make the selection.
But I think, my hand on heart,
I took the best possible decision to make.
I don't care what people think about us.
I know cycling so long.
At the end of the Tour,
you will see our results.
[Jakobsen] We take it day by day,
and we go just all in for the win.
I just enjoy winning.
As much as I hate losing, I enjoy winning.
For some teams, winning a stage
in the Tour de France is already huge.
The Tour offers 21 opportunities to win
and show that they're not just there
to make up the numbers on the team.
[announcer 2] Here comes
EF Education EasyPost!
[cheering]
[Vaughters] This team
has been my life for the last 20 years.
My name is Jonathan Vaughters.
I'm the CEO of Team EF Education EasyPost.
I think probably a lot of other teams
would describe us as being
fun-loving, not as serious,
as a lot of the other teams.
[rider] Jonas plays
the long ball, huh? Pretty far.
- Very long.
- Then, Ruben runs here.
[Vaughters] That's the image
we put on to the outside world.
- Big ball to the middle. Ruben scores.
- [man] Big ball?
[all laughing]
[Vaughters]
I don't think that's true, actually.
If you look at the history
of this team over a 15-year period,
we've been somewhat successful.
But this year,
we had such a poor early season.
We drastically underperformed
in a lot of races.
Ah, it was so close, man.
So close.
We're in a rough spot, man.
We are not in a great spot.
Let's get the shit out of the way.
TEAM MEETING
The reality of our situation right now
is that, so far this year,
we are the lowest-scoring team out there.
If things continue to be
as they are right now, we're done.
Sponsors would just leave.
We would be shutting down business.
Listen, if this doesn't turn out right,
we're all getting fired.
I'll be the first one that gets fired.
[tense music playing]
If the team did not exist
I don't know who I am.
Starting the team was
a redemption for mistakes, the errors
um, that I made in my own career.
I rode for the US Postal Service
cycling team.
It was the American team
that did the Tour de France.
You had Lance Armstrong
as a former world champion on that team.
So, it was a big deal.
That's me with Lance.
This is where my doping
is at its absolute peak.
All I was worried about was getting caught
for doping the next day,
and I couldn't sleep, da-da-da.
And, like, with Lance
I don't think any of that was true.
I think he slept like a baby.
The entire sport,
at that point in time, was doping.
It wasn't that I was
morally upset with the riders
that were doping, I just
I no longer
really understood
where my own moral compass was.
The decision finally
ground me down to the point
that I needed to walk away.
The whole purpose of this team
being so loud about anti-doping
was literally to make it cool.
And it just quickly changed
the whole landscape of the sport.
I'm actually very proud of that.
If we really want to pull
this season out of the shitter,
winning day one of the Tour de France
is the way to do it.
The survival of the organisation is
really dependent upon us performing well.
And the highest points-carrying race
in the world,
for your ranking points,
is the Tour de France.
But I hope that the pressure
will not be rolling across to the riders.
STAGE 1 - COPENHAGEN
TIME TRIAL - 13.2 KM
The Tour de France is everywhere.
In France and other countries.
We chose to start
the Tour de France in Copenhagen.
The reason for that is quite simple.
The biggest cycling city in the world
meets the biggest cycle race in the world.
It's like, like with the old one?
Yeah, like before with the speed,
don't squeeze too hard
and the wheel starts moving.
Like, for me,
I'm better when I'm just fucking
Take the pin out, y'know, just fucking go.
[commentator] Today is
the 13.2 km time trial
in the city of Copenhagen.
STAGE 1 - COPENHAGEN - 13.2 KM
[woman] A time trial
is known as "the race of truth,"
because it is the simplest discipline.
It is rider and machine, A to B,
in the quickest time possible.
Whoever's quickest wins
the first yellow jersey
of this year's Tour de France.
[crowd clapping, chanting]
[Vaughters] Today is the key day
of the Tour de France.
It's something that we've spent
probably a year and a half
on what we would call "Project Stefan."
Stefan has
a real specific mission in the Tour,
trying to win stage one,
trying to get the yellow jersey.
The Tour de France is so big.
If you win a stage here,
it's probably one of the biggest things
you can win in your whole career.
I'm focusing full gas on today.
It's gonna be showtime.
Stefan, one of
the best time trialists in the world.
But, often times, beaten by
the two more powerful rivals,
which would be Filippo Ganna
and Wout van Aert.
The absolute most
talented riders in the world,
they can be around
five-six million euros a year,
more expensive than what we can afford.
And so we have to kind of hire,
like, the guy one notch down.
So we're trying to find
that last little magical thing
that gets these riders
all the way to the top level.
[fan whirring]
SILVERSTONE
UNITED KINGDOM
WIND TUNNEL TESTS
[upbeat music playing]
4 MONTHS BEFORE
THE TOUR DE FRANCE
You're flat to this point,
and you've got to practise like this.
[Vaughters] We've put years of work
into trying to optimise
every last little thing for Stefan.
So going into the corner, coming out
to the corner, if we have a benchmark,
what not to do, or what to do,
would be world-class.
You know, with a guy like Stefan,
who's got a good chance at winning,
like, if Stefan doesn't win,
our next guy is 20th.
[thunder rumbling]
[tense synth music playing]
[Marc Madiot] The rain gods
don't seem to know what to do.
It arrived earlier than expected
and doesn't look like stopping.
CEO/GROUPAMA-FDJ
[race announcer] Ladies and gentlemen
of Copenhagen, are you ready?
[crowd cheering]
[Vaughters] When it rains,
it becomes incredibly dangerous
because everyone is risking
everything in the corners.
Most of the riders you will see
will go considerably slower
in the wet corners.
Most guys, they lose
the back wheel, they're on the ground.
[commentator] Oh!
[rain pattering]
Quick-Step is a team of sprinters,
so time trial isn't their main objective.
I think I did a good effort.
Fourteen kilometres is not my speciality,
but felt good on the bike.
The legs was okay.
So, the condition is there and, uh
yeah, from here we go to tomorrow.
In a stage like this one,
a favourite usually wins.
But today, with this rain, who knows.
Anything could happen.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
has got off to a great start.
This could be
the time trial of his career.
[tense music pounding softly]
[commentator] Could this be
the big surprise of the day?
Best provisional time for Yves Lampaert.
Marichal!
Lampy, to be honest, yeah, he was lucky.
We will see.
My expectation is he finishes
in between five and ten in this stage.
Nothing more, nothing less.
[rain pattering]
[Vaughters] For us, the rain means
we have a better chance of winning.
Because Stefan is, again,
such a technically good rider.
In the rain,
he's gonna knock it out of the park.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
- Now it's windy.
- The temperature's supposed to drop fast.
- Yep.
- Which that's also good.
[commentator] Stefan Bissegger,
convinced that he can win this stage
and take the yellow jersey.
The one they call "The Bison"
is on the launchpad.
We've got to get out
of the downward spiral that we've been on.
And it's imperative that
that we win something
in this Tour de France.
That has to happen.
[announcer] For the 23-year-old
Swissman time-trial expert,
- please welcome Stefan Bissegger!
- [timer beeps]
[crowd cheering]
[man on radio] Stay more on the right.
Very good, stay on the right.
Watch for potholes.
When we started the race, I saw how
he went into the first left-hand corner,
and I knew what his mindset was.
He wasn't there to play it safe.
He was really going for it.
[man on radio] And accelerate.
Stay on the left.
[Madiot] He's cornering. Second time.
Second time he's sliding
on the road markings.
[suspenseful music playing]
[man on radio] More on the left.
[music continues]
Oh, shit.
Don't stress. Don't stress.
[crowd cheers]
Get back in rhythm. Get back in rhythm.
Fuck. He's scared now.
Keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going!
Ooh!
Help him.
[crowd cheering]
[Vaughters] Yeah, Stefan,
he took it too far.
And I think in his head
he was like, "This is all or nothing."
And there was
no temperance to that whatsoever.
Which I respect, actually.
[commentator] What a disappointment
for Stefan Bissegger.
You wouldn't want to be in his shoes.
We put so much into that.
I mean, that was our best chance
to win a stage on the Tour.
Fucking fuck.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
YELLOW JERSEY
[commentator] We expected
to see him at the top with the best,
so this is a terrible
disappointment for the EF team.
[Vaughters] The second crash was
kind of sad because he, you know,
he's sitting on his ass, on the road,
and he just goes like this.
And that was just like
So often at the Tour de France,
we see teams coming in
with one set ambition.
That ambition is ripped to shreds.
And EF, for sure,
they're going to be devastated at,
not just missing out on the yellow jersey,
but missing out on it
in the way that they did.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
is making history.
The Belgian from the Wolfpack
will be the first yellow jersey
in the 109th edition
of the Tour de France.
[Vaughters] Quick-Step winning,
I think that was
a surprise for a lot of people.
It's not often you see someone
beat the big favourites like that
at the start of the Tour de France.
Rain played a part,
but Yves Lampaert rode
a very brave and fearless race.
[muffled yell]
[reporter] You've just won
the first stage of the Tour de France,
and you're gonna have the yellow jersey.
My mind is exploding, I can't
[emotionally] I'm just
a farmer's son from Belgium and
to do this
I never expected.
It's always more beautiful
when it's unexpected
than when you say
it's normal that you win.
It's never normal that you win.
It is a really nice surprise
for everybody and then,
yeah, of course, you cannot celebrate
because the next day
you have to work again.
Because we want to win with Fabio.
STAGE 2
[commentator] There's a massive crowd at
Roskilde for the start of today's stage.
This is the first time
the sprinters get to go into battle.
The second stage of the Tour de France
and the first time that the 176 riders
will compete together.
It's a stage that usually suits sprinters.
Tension levels will be very high,
which will make this finale
extremely dangerous.
Okay, boys. The only thing we have to do
is stick together as glue
in a very hostile environment.
Fabio, you're the best sprinter.
To be honest, that doesn't say
you've already won a stage in the Tour.
You will have to fight for it,
but, uh, just believe
you can win the stage.
[dramatic music playing]
I think we are not the big favourites.
The other teams have very fast sprinters.
We know how strong Wout van Aert is,
but Fabio is a fantastic rider.
So the best thing for Fabio
is that he wins the first sprint.
It should give him such confidence.
But, of course, it will be a big battle.
[Jakobsen] I've been a part
of this team now for five years.
So, that would make me
a child of the team.
I was raised here.
They put a lot of faith in me,
and, yeah, I think I paid back
quite good with, uh, some wins.
[commentator]
Jakobsen and Van Aert, neck and neck.
[Jakobsen] I have a nickname,
the Hurricane of Heukelum.
[commentator] Jakobsen wins the stage.
Because a hurricane is a big storm.
[crowd cheering]
TOUR DE HUNGARY
[Jakobsen] A hurricane
is something which is very powerful
and can reach high speeds.
So, yeah, I can relate to that nickname.
I love to sprint.
But, um
Sprinting for the win can be dangerous.
[commentator] Groenewegen now
hits the front with 50 metres to go.
It's Groenewegen up against Jakobsen.
Groenewegen, Jakobsen.
Oh! Jakobsen into the bars!
[Jakobsen] That's where my memory ends.
I wake up in the hospital
on the intensive care,
and it's a Saturday.
And I realised I started on a Wednesday.
So, I was fighting for my life
in the days I was sleeping.
[indistinct chatter]
I lost ten teeth.
Uh, I had 130 stitches.
I lost bone in the upper jaw.
A little bit of bone in the lower jaw.
So, when I opened my mouth, you could
basically almost look into my nose.
I had a lot of, uh, cracks in the skull.
Maybe I'm forgetting something,
but I think it's already
quite enough to tell.
[chuckles softly]
It should never happen.
It doesn't make sense
to create dangerous situations.
And what happened that day
was neither fair nor safe.
I want to put the crash
in Poland behind me.
It's both physical and mental.
Patrick always supported me.
And I think he took
a bit of a gamble with me.
So, I will try to win because
that's what you do for your leader.
[chanting] Lampaert! Lampaert!
Lampaert! Lampaert! Lampaert!
[reporter 3] Hello, Yves. What will you do
for the team today? What is your role?
We are going to try
to do a lead-out for Fabio.
Yves Lampaert is the one
wearing the yellow jersey,
but holding on to it
is clearly not the goal.
He is solely there
to be Fabio Jakobsen's lead-out man.
The lead-out man
is like the sprinter's guide dog.
He is there to guide, deliver
position and launch the sprinter,
and then immediately move out the way.
[Jakobson] Yeah, my lead-out
in the yellow jersey,
that's going to put me
in the sprint, that's super.
We know it's gonna be tough
for him, but, uh, can he handle it?
Can he handle the stress?
Will he be ready? You never know.
[Chainel] Fabio Jakobsen is up against
the superstar from the world's best team.
Wout van Aert.
[Van Aert] Today is
the most important race.
I want to win.
There's always a big rivalry in cycling.
But in the end, my motivation
is to win a stage in the Tour.
We've talked about this a lot.
This will be a very tricky stage.
It will be very chaotic.
Main goal for today,
sprint with Wout.
I mean, we have the strongest team here.
We can be really confident.
Wout van Aert, you sense
that he's a real champion.
His dream, his goal,
is to win, to take it all.
[Van Aert] My biggest rivals,
I'd say, are really the pure sprinters.
I'm thinking about Jakobsen.
I'm not really a pure sprinter.
I'm fast at the finish.
But I think I'm able to hang on longer
when the course is tough.
So, yeah, it's always
a nice battle for the win.
[tense music playing]
[commentator]
A quick look at today's stage.
It's a big day along the coast,
finishing with 18 kilometres
across the Great Belt Bridge
before a sprint finish.
[wind whistling]
[Julien Jurdie] This is the second stage.
Anything's possible.
There's a bridge.
The approach will be
very technical, very dangerous.
[Vaughters] The reason that bridge is
so crucial is that it's so exposed.
There's nothing to break the wind.
What happens is crashes. Lot of crashes.
[cheers and applause]
VOICE OF RADIO TOUR
Good morning, good morning, good morning.
Okay. Raising position.
[radio beeps]
Fabio, radio check.
[Jakobsen] Yes, copy.
[commentator] The countdown begins.
The race is about to start.
[crowd] Two, one
[suspenseful music playing]
I am focused.
And even though I'm a little bit scared,
I still want to do it.
Because, in the end,
my only goal is to win.
[crowd] Go!
Okay, the race's actual start time
at 12:39 for this second stage.
[Van Aert] We have
kind of a plan in our head
of how we want to approach the sprint.
For me, it's never really difficult
to find the right motivation.
I just want to race.
I want to feel the pressure.
[loud cheering]
[Plugge] There is such strength in him
to always go for the victory.
And he is strong physically,
but also mentally very strong,
so that makes him a winner.
[Piquet] The peloton
is moving at great speed.
[loud thud]
[indistinct chatter]
[Piquet] Watch out, there may be a crash.
May be a crash in the peloton.
First crash of the Tour.
I felt the bunch was
a bit more nervous than usual.
The roads were narrow.
So, trying to stay
in the first part of the peloton,
so I avoid any problems.
You always have
the possibility for a crash.
Cycling, especially, can be dangerous.
We always go as close
to the limit as possible,
with the goal of winning.
I'd like to be the guy
who just doesn't give up.
Get my head down.
Survive.
We have to be in position because
we're going to hit the narrow roads.
Traffic islands, heads up.
[commentator] Quick-Step
brings Fabio Jakobsen to the front.
Fabio Jakobsen must be
floating on an air cushion
to let himself be moved along
by all his teammates.
The whole team
has to form a shield around Fabio
to shelter him and steer him clear
of any dangers on the road.
[commentator]
Yves Lampaert leads the peloton.
The first yellow jersey leads his team
as they aim for
their second victory in two days.
25 KM FROM THE FINISH
[radio beeps]
[man] Before the bridge,
we have a left-right coming up.
From there on, guys,
we have to be well organised
and in good position,
so don't give up the fight.
[commentator] Jostling starts
at the front of the peloton.
Everyone wants a good position
as they approach the bridge.
Wout van Aert is there.
I'd say the last 50 K
is stressful already.
Fighting for position.
It's really already a sprint
before the real sprint.
So, there are dangerous, uh, moves.
Everyone wants to beat each other.
[commentator] This is the start of the
18 kilometres Great Belt Bridge crossing.
Come on boys, eh?
First four K are slightly up.
Then slightly down, most dangerous point.
Come on, stick together, stay in front.
[tense music playing]
As soon as we hit the bridge,
I'm not giving away places anymore.
I'm fighting for position,
trying to save as much energy,
while maintaining the spot where I am.
[intense music playing]
[commentator] Things are getting livelier,
speeding up at the front.
Lampaert is prepared
to sacrifice his yellow jersey
to lead Jakobsen to his first w in.
[rider] Oh fuck!
[Piquet] The yellow jersey is down!
Crash, crash! A crash
on the left side of the road.
The yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert, is down.
Stick with them.
[commentator] The yellow jersey
has crashed. So has number 112.
112 and the yellow jersey!
Lampy's down here.
Come on!
[Lefevere] There was a lot of chaos.
The distress, the nervosity was so big.
[camera shutter clicking]
There's Ruben! Fuck!
[Lampaert] I had no chance anymore
to avoid it, and I went over.
And I was laying down on the floor.
Yeah, at that moment, I
I thought everything was finished.
[commentator] Jakobsen was
slowed down by the crash but didn't fall.
[Jakobsen] I just braced myself
and tried to ride through it.
Which I did.
Then I looked back,
and I thought, "Oh, shit."
[dramatic music playing]
[camera shutter clicking]
[commentator]
Lampaert is already on his feet.
The yellow jersey is ready to go.
The peloton keeps moving. It never stops.
If you're in the peloton, you're alive.
If you're not in the peloton,
you risk death.
The yellow jersey has fallen behind
because of the crash.
[commentator]
The peloton has split in two.
Lampaert has to get back quickly
because there's just one goal
in this second stage.
To return to lead Jakobsen
in the last 200 metres
so he wins the sprint.
[commentator] And Lampaert
works hard to catch up to the peloton.
Some riders are fighting
to make their way back.
[Lampaert] It was torture, actually.
I just have to be as fast as possible
back in the bunch.
Michael, if you can just wait
in the back of the bunch for Lampy.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[commentator] Quick-Step are going all out
to get the yellow jersey to the front.
They don't want to be left without
Yves Lampaert in today's finale.
And returning to the peloton,
we have the yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert,
and his two teammates.
[man on radio] Excellent job, boys.
Excellent job.
Slowly, we're gonna
bring him again in good position.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
is back on the right of the peloton.
His goal now is to recover.
He has a job to finish,
take Jakobsen to his first stage victory.
The exit off the bridge, we kind of
grouped together, I think on the left.
There was Van Aert and Jumbo,
who also took control.
That's really good in front, stay there.
Stay sharper. Stay concentrated.
5 KM FROM THE FINISH LINE
[commentator] Now a big
acceleration at the start of the descent.
[Steels] Sprinting, mentally, is probably
the hardest discipline in cycling.
Because you have to be fearless.
If you go 60, 65 into a corner,
you look at the shadows,
listen to the sounds,
you see the side of the road,
and it's all high speed.
It's like being in a traffic jam
at 200 kilometres an hour.
[dramatic music playing]
[commentator] They're off,
two kilometres in a straight line.
They're getting faster and faster.
Ah! Another crash!
Lots of riders on the ground.
Oh! Shit.
Oh, watch out!
There's a big crash in the pack.
It's within the time.
Are any of our guys on the ground?
[man on radio] A Quick-Step rider.
Oh fuck!
[commentator] A lot of riders
were caught up in this crash.
[man on radio]
Can you keep the left side clear
for the ambulances, please?
[clamouring]
[tense music playing]
[commentator] The sprinters are fine.
They're all there for the final.
[male voice] Don't be crazy, yeah?
[commentator]
Sixteen hundred metres to go.
The yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert,
leads Fabio Jakobsen,
who is already focusing on his sprint.
[Jakobsen] In the last K for me,
it's like a slow-motion film, you know.
I look around to see
where my competitors are.
And if you are behind
some other guys, you try to find a way.
But the fear is always there on the bike.
[commentator] Quick-Step train
is in position for Jakobsen.
The last kilometre
Oh no! avoided a fall!
Eh!
[exciting string music playing]
And it's the yellow jersey himself
who will drop Jakobsen in position.
[Jakobsen] Lampaert dropped me off
500 metres to go,
so I just tried to stay calm.
[commentator]
Jakobsen isn't yet in position.
Mads Pedersen starts the sprint
with 100 metres to go.
Wout van Aert is on his wheel!
Fabio Jakobsen on the right!
Van Aert!
Jakobsen wins!
[all screaming] Yeah!
Congrats, boys. Congrats! Congrats!
Yeah!
[yells]
[commentator] A win for Fabio Jakobsen,
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
Come on Fuck!
Well, if you can read lips,
you'll understand how Wout van Aert feels.
[crowd applauding]
[Lampaert] Congratulations.
You worked hard, man.
[Jakobsen] Thanks for everything.
Yes, guys. Thank you all!
You are the best. This is the Wolfpack.
As a sprinter you never win alone.
I was relying on everybody's experience.
Thank you, my friend.
Well done, well done.
And then, yeah, that's how
we win and that's how we howl.
[announcer] He's the winner
of the second stage of the Tour de France,
the Dutchman, Fabio Jakobsen.
[crowd cheering]
[Lefevere] We're very proud.
Today was a big start for Fabio.
The big test, I would say.
We had quite a lot of pressure,
criticism about our selection.
But while I'm old and grey,
I'm not stupid.
Thank you very much, Fabio.
Congratulations. Thank you, man.
[Chennaoui] There was something absolutely
incredible about Fabio Jakobsen.
From death's door to victory at his first
ever Tour de France within two years?
It's remarkable. He's remarkable.
His comeback is truly
one of the greatest in sport.
[Lefevere] Goddammit. Well done.
[Jakobsen] It's like a fairy-tale, huh?
This is what we do it for. You know?
I'm a sprinter,
you wanna win sprint stages, so, yeah
Doesn't get any better than this.
It was a really good start.
I think we can be happy.
Now, we're gonna go to France for the
for the real start of the Tour de France.
[dramatic music playing]
Of course, I was not happy with the stage.
A lot can happen in this race,
and things can change.
I'm looking at what can we do
better tomorrow to win.
[Van Aert] There are definitely
big plans in our team.
I'm only thinking about
being as fast as possible
on the finish line.
We have to refocus.
[commentator] Welcome to hell!
The cobbles have arrived.
[man] The real Tour starts here.
I'm the sports director for Jumbo-Visma.
And I'm here to win the Tour de France.
Biggest goal of the day, drop Pogačar,
get a gap for the GC
with Jonas and Primož.
Stage five, the cobblestones, it's shit.
[Chaniel] You don't
win the Tour on the cobblestones.
But you can lose it.
Take a bike from us,
take the bike for Jonas!
The whole Tour
is going the wrong way at that moment.
- [commentator] Oh, Roglič crashed!
- Fuck!
[reporter] This is a nightmare scenario
for the Jumbo-Visma team.
[man 2] France expects victory.
When you're French and in a French team,
you know there's going to be
a lot of pressure.
Come on, Thibaut, go, go, go!
[commentator]
Pogačar and Vingegaard neck and neck.
Damn it, what are
they doing to each other?
Three hundred metres,
we're going to win this fucking stage!
[intense synth theme music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[man 1] You are soldiers.
You are warriors.
[intense music playing]
Once you put on that number,
you become a different man.
We're going to win this fucking stage!
[man 2] It burns.
You're out of breath.
[commentator] That's an incredible speed.
[man 3] Overcook the corner,
you go off the edge of the mountain
- dressed in a layer of Lycra this thick.
- [commentators] Ooh!
Jesus Christ! Just don't do that again.
[man 4] It's the biggest
bike race in the world.
[commentator 2]
And three weeks of racing start now.
[slow cover of "La Vie En Rose" playing]
[man 5] The Tour de France is very simple.
It's a cycle race.
A stage a day for 21 days.
A massive circus that
travels from town to town.
It's the toughest race in the world.
[cyclist yelping]
[man 6] There'll be crashes,
a show, all that. It's cool.
Fuck off!
But when you're on the other side,
you think, "Oh, fuck."
[crying] He's my friend.
[man 7] When you're French
and in a French team,
you know there's
going to be a lot of pressure.
I want warriors, I want gladiators.
Cycling was born here.
Just be ready for anything.
- [man 8] Everyone's in tears.
- Don't give up, we're gonna make it!
[intense music resumes]
Come on, Neilson. Go!
Everyone's ass, legs, and heads hurt.
- [commentator 2] The shouting of the fans.
- [screaming] Yeah!
3328 KILOMETRES
[commentator 2]
Jumbo-Visma are in absolute chaos.
26 NATIONALITIES
France expects victory.
- Hip, hip!
- [all] Hurray!
176 RIDERS
[man 9] It's an elimination race.
1 YELLOW JERSEY
They will have to do things
that are basically extraordinary.
[man 10] When you ride the Tour de France
you're in something special.
Yes, man! Yes, man! Yes!
[intense music rising]
- [music stops]
- [yelling]
["La Vie En Rose" resumes]
[man 1] Pain shows us who we are.
If you're able to go
beyond suffering and sacrifice
then maybe you have a chance to win.
[song fades]
TOUR DE FRANCE: UNCHAINED
THE GRAND DÉPAR
COPENHAGEN
29 JUNE 2022
[crowd cheering]
[commentator] Welcome to
the team presentation of the 109th edition
of the Tour de France.
[cheering]
TEAM PRESENTATION
TWO DAYS BEFORE THE GRAND DÉPAR
[cheering continues]
The Tour de France is a national monument
with an international appeal.
It's the world's biggest cycle race.
It's a challenge that touches everyone.
[tense music playing]
EX PROFESSIONAL RIDER
The Tour de France is simple.
Twenty-one stages,
there's a stage winner every day.
And the person
wearing the famous yellow jersey
is the rider who has
the best time over all the stages.
But cycling isn't an individual sport.
There are 22 teams
made up of 8 riders each
who work together
to carry their leader to victory.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] Making their way to the stage,
the most winning team for years and years,
it's Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team.
GENERAL MANAGER
Good?
I am Patrick Lefevere,
CEO of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team.
I started competing at 15.
I was a winner.
For sure, I wanted to win always.
And now, with the team,
we want to win every race.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
is a very aggressive team.
They've already had 47 stage wins
in the Tour de France.
And this year, again,
they're a team to be feared.
[tense music playing]
28 DAYS BEFORE THE TOUR DE FRANCE
SIERRA NEVADA
SPAIN
QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL
TRAINING CAMP
We call ourselves "The Wolfpack."
Everybody knows who it is. It's us.
A wolf doesn't ever hunt alone.
We hunt in a group to victory.
To go to the Tour de France,
there's always pressure,
but '22 is not our lucky year.
We have 11 ill and injured,
and all the shit you can't imagine.
That's not easy, huh?
There's just the descent
down to the park, right?
- [rider] No.
- Just one more climb.
[rider] Pretty much.
[Julian Alaphilippe]
It's my second year as world champion.
But I've not had an easy start
to the season. Just one win.
And then there were the few crashes, so
MARCH 5 2022
[rider yells]
[Alaphilippe] That last crash in Liège
APRIL 24 2022
[commentator]
Massive crash in the peloton.
A lot of riders are on the ground.
Julian Alaphilippe is in a ditch.
[Alaphilippe] That really affected me,
physically and mentally.
And recovery has gone quite well,
so I always have the Tour
in a little corner of my mind.
And that motivates me to train every day.
I can't wait to race.
I'm done with training.
[water squirts]
[laughing]
[Lefevere] For the Tour de France,
we have to choose
the eight strongest riders out of 30.
Because we want to win
the most stages possible.
We will see if Julian is ready.
But, if not, we have
another rider who can do it.
I'm Fabio Jakobsen.
I'm a sprinter.
So that means I'm fast at the finish line.
Tour de France is something
you dream of when you're a little kid.
I never did the Tour de France.
It's always a bit of a dot on the horizon.
You never really know
if you're gonna make it.
I could not say
the eight names that go now.
Nobody's 100% sure.
[Lefevere] With Fabio,
two years ago, he crashed.
But it was quite nasty.
[tense music playing]
[crashing]
[Lefevere] He almost died.
I know what it's like, you know,
coming back from almost zero.
Maybe even below that.
Some nasty injuries
that take time to heal.
But if all goes well the next three weeks,
I'll be there
on the start line, I think. Yeah.
Look! [inhales sharply]
Sweat like a pig, huh?
[water dripping]
If you sweat now,
you don't sweat on the Tour de France.
[Lefevere] We have to try
to bring the best possible leader.
Fabio,
we hope he's recovered from his injuries.
But with Julian,
world champion or not,
if you're not in the shape you have to be,
we cannot bring him.
I have to take tough decisions.
[driver] Come on. Let's go!
COPENHAGEN
DENMARK
[cheering]
[Chainel] Patrick Lefevere's talent
lies in successfully creating a team,
the famous Wolfpack,
which unites around one shared goal.
To win stages, to do
the best possible, and, I want to say,
shut up those who
might have been critical of the selection.
[announcer] Here they are,
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.
[announcer] Michael Mørkøv.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] From Belgium, Yves Lampaert.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] And from France,
Florian Sénéchal.
[announcer 3] This year, Quick-Step's
main sprinter is Fabio Jakobsen.
[crowd cheering]
RADIO SHOW
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has revealed
its list of Tour de France riders.
Julian Alaphilippe won't be at the start
of the Tour on Friday in Denmark.
He was not chosen to be part
of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.
I cannot be the good guy.
I chose Fabio.
Somebody has to
to push the red button, you know.
[Jakobsen] It's amazing, uh,
to see all the people here.
I got goosebumps
when I entered the stage, so
[crowd cheering heartily]
[reporter] Are you really hoping you made
the right choice bringing Fabio Jakobsen?
I think everybody who is here
deserves to be here.
It's very tough to make the selection.
But I think, my hand on heart,
I took the best possible decision to make.
I don't care what people think about us.
I know cycling so long.
At the end of the Tour,
you will see our results.
[Jakobsen] We take it day by day,
and we go just all in for the win.
I just enjoy winning.
As much as I hate losing, I enjoy winning.
For some teams, winning a stage
in the Tour de France is already huge.
The Tour offers 21 opportunities to win
and show that they're not just there
to make up the numbers on the team.
[announcer 2] Here comes
EF Education EasyPost!
[cheering]
[Vaughters] This team
has been my life for the last 20 years.
My name is Jonathan Vaughters.
I'm the CEO of Team EF Education EasyPost.
I think probably a lot of other teams
would describe us as being
fun-loving, not as serious,
as a lot of the other teams.
[rider] Jonas plays
the long ball, huh? Pretty far.
- Very long.
- Then, Ruben runs here.
[Vaughters] That's the image
we put on to the outside world.
- Big ball to the middle. Ruben scores.
- [man] Big ball?
[all laughing]
[Vaughters]
I don't think that's true, actually.
If you look at the history
of this team over a 15-year period,
we've been somewhat successful.
But this year,
we had such a poor early season.
We drastically underperformed
in a lot of races.
Ah, it was so close, man.
So close.
We're in a rough spot, man.
We are not in a great spot.
Let's get the shit out of the way.
TEAM MEETING
The reality of our situation right now
is that, so far this year,
we are the lowest-scoring team out there.
If things continue to be
as they are right now, we're done.
Sponsors would just leave.
We would be shutting down business.
Listen, if this doesn't turn out right,
we're all getting fired.
I'll be the first one that gets fired.
[tense music playing]
If the team did not exist
I don't know who I am.
Starting the team was
a redemption for mistakes, the errors
um, that I made in my own career.
I rode for the US Postal Service
cycling team.
It was the American team
that did the Tour de France.
You had Lance Armstrong
as a former world champion on that team.
So, it was a big deal.
That's me with Lance.
This is where my doping
is at its absolute peak.
All I was worried about was getting caught
for doping the next day,
and I couldn't sleep, da-da-da.
And, like, with Lance
I don't think any of that was true.
I think he slept like a baby.
The entire sport,
at that point in time, was doping.
It wasn't that I was
morally upset with the riders
that were doping, I just
I no longer
really understood
where my own moral compass was.
The decision finally
ground me down to the point
that I needed to walk away.
The whole purpose of this team
being so loud about anti-doping
was literally to make it cool.
And it just quickly changed
the whole landscape of the sport.
I'm actually very proud of that.
If we really want to pull
this season out of the shitter,
winning day one of the Tour de France
is the way to do it.
The survival of the organisation is
really dependent upon us performing well.
And the highest points-carrying race
in the world,
for your ranking points,
is the Tour de France.
But I hope that the pressure
will not be rolling across to the riders.
STAGE 1 - COPENHAGEN
TIME TRIAL - 13.2 KM
The Tour de France is everywhere.
In France and other countries.
We chose to start
the Tour de France in Copenhagen.
The reason for that is quite simple.
The biggest cycling city in the world
meets the biggest cycle race in the world.
It's like, like with the old one?
Yeah, like before with the speed,
don't squeeze too hard
and the wheel starts moving.
Like, for me,
I'm better when I'm just fucking
Take the pin out, y'know, just fucking go.
[commentator] Today is
the 13.2 km time trial
in the city of Copenhagen.
STAGE 1 - COPENHAGEN - 13.2 KM
[woman] A time trial
is known as "the race of truth,"
because it is the simplest discipline.
It is rider and machine, A to B,
in the quickest time possible.
Whoever's quickest wins
the first yellow jersey
of this year's Tour de France.
[crowd clapping, chanting]
[Vaughters] Today is the key day
of the Tour de France.
It's something that we've spent
probably a year and a half
on what we would call "Project Stefan."
Stefan has
a real specific mission in the Tour,
trying to win stage one,
trying to get the yellow jersey.
The Tour de France is so big.
If you win a stage here,
it's probably one of the biggest things
you can win in your whole career.
I'm focusing full gas on today.
It's gonna be showtime.
Stefan, one of
the best time trialists in the world.
But, often times, beaten by
the two more powerful rivals,
which would be Filippo Ganna
and Wout van Aert.
The absolute most
talented riders in the world,
they can be around
five-six million euros a year,
more expensive than what we can afford.
And so we have to kind of hire,
like, the guy one notch down.
So we're trying to find
that last little magical thing
that gets these riders
all the way to the top level.
[fan whirring]
SILVERSTONE
UNITED KINGDOM
WIND TUNNEL TESTS
[upbeat music playing]
4 MONTHS BEFORE
THE TOUR DE FRANCE
You're flat to this point,
and you've got to practise like this.
[Vaughters] We've put years of work
into trying to optimise
every last little thing for Stefan.
So going into the corner, coming out
to the corner, if we have a benchmark,
what not to do, or what to do,
would be world-class.
You know, with a guy like Stefan,
who's got a good chance at winning,
like, if Stefan doesn't win,
our next guy is 20th.
[thunder rumbling]
[tense synth music playing]
[Marc Madiot] The rain gods
don't seem to know what to do.
It arrived earlier than expected
and doesn't look like stopping.
CEO/GROUPAMA-FDJ
[race announcer] Ladies and gentlemen
of Copenhagen, are you ready?
[crowd cheering]
[Vaughters] When it rains,
it becomes incredibly dangerous
because everyone is risking
everything in the corners.
Most of the riders you will see
will go considerably slower
in the wet corners.
Most guys, they lose
the back wheel, they're on the ground.
[commentator] Oh!
[rain pattering]
Quick-Step is a team of sprinters,
so time trial isn't their main objective.
I think I did a good effort.
Fourteen kilometres is not my speciality,
but felt good on the bike.
The legs was okay.
So, the condition is there and, uh
yeah, from here we go to tomorrow.
In a stage like this one,
a favourite usually wins.
But today, with this rain, who knows.
Anything could happen.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
has got off to a great start.
This could be
the time trial of his career.
[tense music pounding softly]
[commentator] Could this be
the big surprise of the day?
Best provisional time for Yves Lampaert.
Marichal!
Lampy, to be honest, yeah, he was lucky.
We will see.
My expectation is he finishes
in between five and ten in this stage.
Nothing more, nothing less.
[rain pattering]
[Vaughters] For us, the rain means
we have a better chance of winning.
Because Stefan is, again,
such a technically good rider.
In the rain,
he's gonna knock it out of the park.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
- Now it's windy.
- The temperature's supposed to drop fast.
- Yep.
- Which that's also good.
[commentator] Stefan Bissegger,
convinced that he can win this stage
and take the yellow jersey.
The one they call "The Bison"
is on the launchpad.
We've got to get out
of the downward spiral that we've been on.
And it's imperative that
that we win something
in this Tour de France.
That has to happen.
[announcer] For the 23-year-old
Swissman time-trial expert,
- please welcome Stefan Bissegger!
- [timer beeps]
[crowd cheering]
[man on radio] Stay more on the right.
Very good, stay on the right.
Watch for potholes.
When we started the race, I saw how
he went into the first left-hand corner,
and I knew what his mindset was.
He wasn't there to play it safe.
He was really going for it.
[man on radio] And accelerate.
Stay on the left.
[Madiot] He's cornering. Second time.
Second time he's sliding
on the road markings.
[suspenseful music playing]
[man on radio] More on the left.
[music continues]
Oh, shit.
Don't stress. Don't stress.
[crowd cheers]
Get back in rhythm. Get back in rhythm.
Fuck. He's scared now.
Keep going, keep going,
keep going, keep going!
Ooh!
Help him.
[crowd cheering]
[Vaughters] Yeah, Stefan,
he took it too far.
And I think in his head
he was like, "This is all or nothing."
And there was
no temperance to that whatsoever.
Which I respect, actually.
[commentator] What a disappointment
for Stefan Bissegger.
You wouldn't want to be in his shoes.
We put so much into that.
I mean, that was our best chance
to win a stage on the Tour.
Fucking fuck.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
YELLOW JERSEY
[commentator] We expected
to see him at the top with the best,
so this is a terrible
disappointment for the EF team.
[Vaughters] The second crash was
kind of sad because he, you know,
he's sitting on his ass, on the road,
and he just goes like this.
And that was just like
So often at the Tour de France,
we see teams coming in
with one set ambition.
That ambition is ripped to shreds.
And EF, for sure,
they're going to be devastated at,
not just missing out on the yellow jersey,
but missing out on it
in the way that they did.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
is making history.
The Belgian from the Wolfpack
will be the first yellow jersey
in the 109th edition
of the Tour de France.
[Vaughters] Quick-Step winning,
I think that was
a surprise for a lot of people.
It's not often you see someone
beat the big favourites like that
at the start of the Tour de France.
Rain played a part,
but Yves Lampaert rode
a very brave and fearless race.
[muffled yell]
[reporter] You've just won
the first stage of the Tour de France,
and you're gonna have the yellow jersey.
My mind is exploding, I can't
[emotionally] I'm just
a farmer's son from Belgium and
to do this
I never expected.
It's always more beautiful
when it's unexpected
than when you say
it's normal that you win.
It's never normal that you win.
It is a really nice surprise
for everybody and then,
yeah, of course, you cannot celebrate
because the next day
you have to work again.
Because we want to win with Fabio.
STAGE 2
[commentator] There's a massive crowd at
Roskilde for the start of today's stage.
This is the first time
the sprinters get to go into battle.
The second stage of the Tour de France
and the first time that the 176 riders
will compete together.
It's a stage that usually suits sprinters.
Tension levels will be very high,
which will make this finale
extremely dangerous.
Okay, boys. The only thing we have to do
is stick together as glue
in a very hostile environment.
Fabio, you're the best sprinter.
To be honest, that doesn't say
you've already won a stage in the Tour.
You will have to fight for it,
but, uh, just believe
you can win the stage.
[dramatic music playing]
I think we are not the big favourites.
The other teams have very fast sprinters.
We know how strong Wout van Aert is,
but Fabio is a fantastic rider.
So the best thing for Fabio
is that he wins the first sprint.
It should give him such confidence.
But, of course, it will be a big battle.
[Jakobsen] I've been a part
of this team now for five years.
So, that would make me
a child of the team.
I was raised here.
They put a lot of faith in me,
and, yeah, I think I paid back
quite good with, uh, some wins.
[commentator]
Jakobsen and Van Aert, neck and neck.
[Jakobsen] I have a nickname,
the Hurricane of Heukelum.
[commentator] Jakobsen wins the stage.
Because a hurricane is a big storm.
[crowd cheering]
TOUR DE HUNGARY
[Jakobsen] A hurricane
is something which is very powerful
and can reach high speeds.
So, yeah, I can relate to that nickname.
I love to sprint.
But, um
Sprinting for the win can be dangerous.
[commentator] Groenewegen now
hits the front with 50 metres to go.
It's Groenewegen up against Jakobsen.
Groenewegen, Jakobsen.
Oh! Jakobsen into the bars!
[Jakobsen] That's where my memory ends.
I wake up in the hospital
on the intensive care,
and it's a Saturday.
And I realised I started on a Wednesday.
So, I was fighting for my life
in the days I was sleeping.
[indistinct chatter]
I lost ten teeth.
Uh, I had 130 stitches.
I lost bone in the upper jaw.
A little bit of bone in the lower jaw.
So, when I opened my mouth, you could
basically almost look into my nose.
I had a lot of, uh, cracks in the skull.
Maybe I'm forgetting something,
but I think it's already
quite enough to tell.
[chuckles softly]
It should never happen.
It doesn't make sense
to create dangerous situations.
And what happened that day
was neither fair nor safe.
I want to put the crash
in Poland behind me.
It's both physical and mental.
Patrick always supported me.
And I think he took
a bit of a gamble with me.
So, I will try to win because
that's what you do for your leader.
[chanting] Lampaert! Lampaert!
Lampaert! Lampaert! Lampaert!
[reporter 3] Hello, Yves. What will you do
for the team today? What is your role?
We are going to try
to do a lead-out for Fabio.
Yves Lampaert is the one
wearing the yellow jersey,
but holding on to it
is clearly not the goal.
He is solely there
to be Fabio Jakobsen's lead-out man.
The lead-out man
is like the sprinter's guide dog.
He is there to guide, deliver
position and launch the sprinter,
and then immediately move out the way.
[Jakobson] Yeah, my lead-out
in the yellow jersey,
that's going to put me
in the sprint, that's super.
We know it's gonna be tough
for him, but, uh, can he handle it?
Can he handle the stress?
Will he be ready? You never know.
[Chainel] Fabio Jakobsen is up against
the superstar from the world's best team.
Wout van Aert.
[Van Aert] Today is
the most important race.
I want to win.
There's always a big rivalry in cycling.
But in the end, my motivation
is to win a stage in the Tour.
We've talked about this a lot.
This will be a very tricky stage.
It will be very chaotic.
Main goal for today,
sprint with Wout.
I mean, we have the strongest team here.
We can be really confident.
Wout van Aert, you sense
that he's a real champion.
His dream, his goal,
is to win, to take it all.
[Van Aert] My biggest rivals,
I'd say, are really the pure sprinters.
I'm thinking about Jakobsen.
I'm not really a pure sprinter.
I'm fast at the finish.
But I think I'm able to hang on longer
when the course is tough.
So, yeah, it's always
a nice battle for the win.
[tense music playing]
[commentator]
A quick look at today's stage.
It's a big day along the coast,
finishing with 18 kilometres
across the Great Belt Bridge
before a sprint finish.
[wind whistling]
[Julien Jurdie] This is the second stage.
Anything's possible.
There's a bridge.
The approach will be
very technical, very dangerous.
[Vaughters] The reason that bridge is
so crucial is that it's so exposed.
There's nothing to break the wind.
What happens is crashes. Lot of crashes.
[cheers and applause]
VOICE OF RADIO TOUR
Good morning, good morning, good morning.
Okay. Raising position.
[radio beeps]
Fabio, radio check.
[Jakobsen] Yes, copy.
[commentator] The countdown begins.
The race is about to start.
[crowd] Two, one
[suspenseful music playing]
I am focused.
And even though I'm a little bit scared,
I still want to do it.
Because, in the end,
my only goal is to win.
[crowd] Go!
Okay, the race's actual start time
at 12:39 for this second stage.
[Van Aert] We have
kind of a plan in our head
of how we want to approach the sprint.
For me, it's never really difficult
to find the right motivation.
I just want to race.
I want to feel the pressure.
[loud cheering]
[Plugge] There is such strength in him
to always go for the victory.
And he is strong physically,
but also mentally very strong,
so that makes him a winner.
[Piquet] The peloton
is moving at great speed.
[loud thud]
[indistinct chatter]
[Piquet] Watch out, there may be a crash.
May be a crash in the peloton.
First crash of the Tour.
I felt the bunch was
a bit more nervous than usual.
The roads were narrow.
So, trying to stay
in the first part of the peloton,
so I avoid any problems.
You always have
the possibility for a crash.
Cycling, especially, can be dangerous.
We always go as close
to the limit as possible,
with the goal of winning.
I'd like to be the guy
who just doesn't give up.
Get my head down.
Survive.
We have to be in position because
we're going to hit the narrow roads.
Traffic islands, heads up.
[commentator] Quick-Step
brings Fabio Jakobsen to the front.
Fabio Jakobsen must be
floating on an air cushion
to let himself be moved along
by all his teammates.
The whole team
has to form a shield around Fabio
to shelter him and steer him clear
of any dangers on the road.
[commentator]
Yves Lampaert leads the peloton.
The first yellow jersey leads his team
as they aim for
their second victory in two days.
25 KM FROM THE FINISH
[radio beeps]
[man] Before the bridge,
we have a left-right coming up.
From there on, guys,
we have to be well organised
and in good position,
so don't give up the fight.
[commentator] Jostling starts
at the front of the peloton.
Everyone wants a good position
as they approach the bridge.
Wout van Aert is there.
I'd say the last 50 K
is stressful already.
Fighting for position.
It's really already a sprint
before the real sprint.
So, there are dangerous, uh, moves.
Everyone wants to beat each other.
[commentator] This is the start of the
18 kilometres Great Belt Bridge crossing.
Come on boys, eh?
First four K are slightly up.
Then slightly down, most dangerous point.
Come on, stick together, stay in front.
[tense music playing]
As soon as we hit the bridge,
I'm not giving away places anymore.
I'm fighting for position,
trying to save as much energy,
while maintaining the spot where I am.
[intense music playing]
[commentator] Things are getting livelier,
speeding up at the front.
Lampaert is prepared
to sacrifice his yellow jersey
to lead Jakobsen to his first w in.
[rider] Oh fuck!
[Piquet] The yellow jersey is down!
Crash, crash! A crash
on the left side of the road.
The yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert, is down.
Stick with them.
[commentator] The yellow jersey
has crashed. So has number 112.
112 and the yellow jersey!
Lampy's down here.
Come on!
[Lefevere] There was a lot of chaos.
The distress, the nervosity was so big.
[camera shutter clicking]
There's Ruben! Fuck!
[Lampaert] I had no chance anymore
to avoid it, and I went over.
And I was laying down on the floor.
Yeah, at that moment, I
I thought everything was finished.
[commentator] Jakobsen was
slowed down by the crash but didn't fall.
[Jakobsen] I just braced myself
and tried to ride through it.
Which I did.
Then I looked back,
and I thought, "Oh, shit."
[dramatic music playing]
[camera shutter clicking]
[commentator]
Lampaert is already on his feet.
The yellow jersey is ready to go.
The peloton keeps moving. It never stops.
If you're in the peloton, you're alive.
If you're not in the peloton,
you risk death.
The yellow jersey has fallen behind
because of the crash.
[commentator]
The peloton has split in two.
Lampaert has to get back quickly
because there's just one goal
in this second stage.
To return to lead Jakobsen
in the last 200 metres
so he wins the sprint.
[commentator] And Lampaert
works hard to catch up to the peloton.
Some riders are fighting
to make their way back.
[Lampaert] It was torture, actually.
I just have to be as fast as possible
back in the bunch.
Michael, if you can just wait
in the back of the bunch for Lampy.
[helicopter blades whirring]
[commentator] Quick-Step are going all out
to get the yellow jersey to the front.
They don't want to be left without
Yves Lampaert in today's finale.
And returning to the peloton,
we have the yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert,
and his two teammates.
[man on radio] Excellent job, boys.
Excellent job.
Slowly, we're gonna
bring him again in good position.
[commentator] Yves Lampaert
is back on the right of the peloton.
His goal now is to recover.
He has a job to finish,
take Jakobsen to his first stage victory.
The exit off the bridge, we kind of
grouped together, I think on the left.
There was Van Aert and Jumbo,
who also took control.
That's really good in front, stay there.
Stay sharper. Stay concentrated.
5 KM FROM THE FINISH LINE
[commentator] Now a big
acceleration at the start of the descent.
[Steels] Sprinting, mentally, is probably
the hardest discipline in cycling.
Because you have to be fearless.
If you go 60, 65 into a corner,
you look at the shadows,
listen to the sounds,
you see the side of the road,
and it's all high speed.
It's like being in a traffic jam
at 200 kilometres an hour.
[dramatic music playing]
[commentator] They're off,
two kilometres in a straight line.
They're getting faster and faster.
Ah! Another crash!
Lots of riders on the ground.
Oh! Shit.
Oh, watch out!
There's a big crash in the pack.
It's within the time.
Are any of our guys on the ground?
[man on radio] A Quick-Step rider.
Oh fuck!
[commentator] A lot of riders
were caught up in this crash.
[man on radio]
Can you keep the left side clear
for the ambulances, please?
[clamouring]
[tense music playing]
[commentator] The sprinters are fine.
They're all there for the final.
[male voice] Don't be crazy, yeah?
[commentator]
Sixteen hundred metres to go.
The yellow jersey, Yves Lampaert,
leads Fabio Jakobsen,
who is already focusing on his sprint.
[Jakobsen] In the last K for me,
it's like a slow-motion film, you know.
I look around to see
where my competitors are.
And if you are behind
some other guys, you try to find a way.
But the fear is always there on the bike.
[commentator] Quick-Step train
is in position for Jakobsen.
The last kilometre
Oh no! avoided a fall!
Eh!
[exciting string music playing]
And it's the yellow jersey himself
who will drop Jakobsen in position.
[Jakobsen] Lampaert dropped me off
500 metres to go,
so I just tried to stay calm.
[commentator]
Jakobsen isn't yet in position.
Mads Pedersen starts the sprint
with 100 metres to go.
Wout van Aert is on his wheel!
Fabio Jakobsen on the right!
Van Aert!
Jakobsen wins!
[all screaming] Yeah!
Congrats, boys. Congrats! Congrats!
Yeah!
[yells]
[commentator] A win for Fabio Jakobsen,
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.
Come on Fuck!
Well, if you can read lips,
you'll understand how Wout van Aert feels.
[crowd applauding]
[Lampaert] Congratulations.
You worked hard, man.
[Jakobsen] Thanks for everything.
Yes, guys. Thank you all!
You are the best. This is the Wolfpack.
As a sprinter you never win alone.
I was relying on everybody's experience.
Thank you, my friend.
Well done, well done.
And then, yeah, that's how
we win and that's how we howl.
[announcer] He's the winner
of the second stage of the Tour de France,
the Dutchman, Fabio Jakobsen.
[crowd cheering]
[Lefevere] We're very proud.
Today was a big start for Fabio.
The big test, I would say.
We had quite a lot of pressure,
criticism about our selection.
But while I'm old and grey,
I'm not stupid.
Thank you very much, Fabio.
Congratulations. Thank you, man.
[Chennaoui] There was something absolutely
incredible about Fabio Jakobsen.
From death's door to victory at his first
ever Tour de France within two years?
It's remarkable. He's remarkable.
His comeback is truly
one of the greatest in sport.
[Lefevere] Goddammit. Well done.
[Jakobsen] It's like a fairy-tale, huh?
This is what we do it for. You know?
I'm a sprinter,
you wanna win sprint stages, so, yeah
Doesn't get any better than this.
It was a really good start.
I think we can be happy.
Now, we're gonna go to France for the
for the real start of the Tour de France.
[dramatic music playing]
Of course, I was not happy with the stage.
A lot can happen in this race,
and things can change.
I'm looking at what can we do
better tomorrow to win.
[Van Aert] There are definitely
big plans in our team.
I'm only thinking about
being as fast as possible
on the finish line.
We have to refocus.
[commentator] Welcome to hell!
The cobbles have arrived.
[man] The real Tour starts here.
I'm the sports director for Jumbo-Visma.
And I'm here to win the Tour de France.
Biggest goal of the day, drop Pogačar,
get a gap for the GC
with Jonas and Primož.
Stage five, the cobblestones, it's shit.
[Chaniel] You don't
win the Tour on the cobblestones.
But you can lose it.
Take a bike from us,
take the bike for Jonas!
The whole Tour
is going the wrong way at that moment.
- [commentator] Oh, Roglič crashed!
- Fuck!
[reporter] This is a nightmare scenario
for the Jumbo-Visma team.
[man 2] France expects victory.
When you're French and in a French team,
you know there's going to be
a lot of pressure.
Come on, Thibaut, go, go, go!
[commentator]
Pogačar and Vingegaard neck and neck.
Damn it, what are
they doing to each other?
Three hundred metres,
we're going to win this fucking stage!
[intense synth theme music playing]