Netflix has unveiled the trailer and release date for the third and final season of the Tour de France: Unchained documentary, which gives a detailed insight into the behind-the-scenes action of the 2024 race.
It's set to release on the streaming service on July 2, just three days before the Grand Départ of this year's Tour de France in Lille on July 5. In 2024, the series was released 18 days before the race's start, while the year prior, fans had 22 days to digest the episodes before the first stage.
The trailer, released by Netflix France on Wednesday morning, shows a heavy focus on eventual race winner Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, with several frames filmed in the UAE.
Mark Cavendish's record 35th stage win will also be one of the key storylines, likely alongside Biniam Girmay taking three historic victories, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard challenging the Slovenian, and the crashes and chaos of the race, which have featured heavily in the first two seasons.
It was confirmed in February that this would be the final season after just three series, with a statement being issued to several media outlets to explain the decision to cancel Unchained.
"After three seasons, we are naturally coming to an end of this cycle. We're very proud of the work we've done and of the public response to the documentary series, which has allowed us to offer a fresh take on this legendary competition," the statement read.
"Netflix France will continue to explore new territories in the world of sport."
The series was designed to introduce cycling to a wider audience, with a focus on countries like the USA, where Formula 1 has seen a big boost in recent years, thanks primarily to the popularity of Netflix's Drive to Survive series.
Unchained was announced back in March 2022 with a host of top WorldTour teams signing on to take part in filming. It cut the 2022 and 2023 Tours, both won by Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike, into eight-episode chunks, and was broadcast in 190 territories around the world.
Before the cancellation was confirmed, Le Parisien reported that the viewing figures for season 2 of the series were "judged to be average" across the board, and "a little disappointing" in France, with production costs and payments to teams and Tour organiser ASO are also cited as factors in the decision to end the programme.
