The Tour de France has grown into a global TV juggernaut over the years but viewers may be about to get a lot more insight into the riders and their teams if the race owners, ASO, get their way. The proposal is that the broadcasting of race radio conversations will be part of the TV coverage next month, for the first time ever.
If the conversations were broadcast, we'd get to hear the riders talking to their team mates and directeurs issuing orders, encouragement and advice on the road. The development could be a big step forward in offering insight into the thinking of riders and their managers and would also be sure to catch moments of tension as the three-week event unfolds.
While some teams would obviously be concerned about discussing tactics over race radio if their rivals could hear, the idea is that portions of conversations would be broadcast in a near-live format, similar to Formula 1 at present.
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That means a time delay which would result in the conversations only being broadcast at least minutes after they took place. There would also be a moderator system in place, meaning staff members responsible for deciding on the move what can be broadcast and what should remain private.
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Jean-René Bernaudeau, manager of TotalEnergies said: “We have nothing to hide, so it was okay for us." His colleague, Benoît Génauzeau, sports director at the team, echoed those sentiments.
"It is part of the evolution of our sport, and as much as not to slow down this type of evolution," he told Ouest-France. "I don't think it's going to betray any secrets, there will be a filter, I trust."
However, Marc Madiot, team boss at Groupama-FDJ, was less sure, citing concerns around revealing team tactics.
“Do you imagine that we are going to reveal our exchanges on TV? But can we imagine a camera filming a football coach at half-time giving his instructions to his players?"
