'Cut the cameras' - Tour de France: Unchained series 2 exposes discord within Ineos Grenadiers

After the crash-filled frenzy of Tour de France: Unchained series 1, the hit Netflix documentary series is set to return next week and according to those who have been privy to early screenings, series 2 promises to offer a greater focus on the emotions and feelings of the riders involved.

Known in France as Tour de France: Au cœur du peloton (at the heart of the peloton), series 2 is said to be an improvement on the opening act, with less emphasis on the brutality of the event – crashes, fatigue and high mountains included – and more eyes on the personalities of those at the heart of the action.

Emotions, in particular, are reported to have boiled over within the Ineos Grenadiers team at the 2023 Tour de France.

Last year's race is the focus of the new series of Tour de France: Unchained, and French newspaper Le Parisien has been given an early look at the series, with Christophe Bérard reporting that the discord within the British team is one of the most startling moments of the show.

Ineos Grenadiers headed into the 2023 Tour with Tom Pidcock and Carlos Rodríguez as co-leaders, with both men dreaming of top-five finishes come the end of the race in Paris. After 12 stages, however, Rodríguez sat fourth overall whilst Pidcock sat over a minute back in eighth. At this point, Le Parisien reports, Ineos Grenadiers are shown to throw their weight behind Rodríguez's ambitions and explain the decision to Pidcock.

"Cut the cameras," is the vociferous demand from Pidcock towards the Netflix camera crew, who are offered an unprecedented position within many teams to capture behind-the-scenes footage for the documentary. Pidcock, clearly irritated by the decision, is said to have defied team orders in the following stage to Grand Colombier, in which the British talent rides away from Rodríguez and crosses the line in fifth place.

The French newspaper reports that at this point in the race, the crisis within Ineos Grenadiers is apparent, with the disharmony only settled on stage 14 when Rodríguez produced a stellar ride to win the stage and finish over eight minutes ahead of Pidcock, who dropped outside of the top 10.

Read more: Tadej Pogačar confirmed to appear in series 2 of Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained

Vulnerability, anger and deception from within the peloton

As was promised in the second trailer for the new series, the vulnerability, sacrifice and fragility of the riders within the peloton are set to be front and centre of series 2, something that will come as welcome news to those who felt uncomfortable with the dramatisation of the first series focused on the 2022 Tour de France.

"Some of the eight episodes look like a dive into a pack of mixed feelings. Almost like on a psychiatrist's couch, it's about grief, fear, anger, betrayal and pride," writes Bérard.

One of the more moving moments of series 2 looks set to be the peloton's reaction to the death of Bahrain Victorious' Gino Mäder, who was killed by the injuries sustained in a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse last year.

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's Ben O'Connor is told of the news on a training ride captured by Netflix, whilst Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step cuts an emotional figure during a minute's silence.

"We are nothing on Earth and even less on a bike. Just to evoke Gino gives me chills everywhere," he tells Netflix.

Read more: Tour de Suisse to honour Gino Mäder with KoM prize and memorial ride fundraiser

As we have come to expect from sports documentaries, however, Tour de France: Unchained will not be without its moments of scandal, with O'Connor himself said to suffer a fallout with his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale bosses.

"I feel betrayed," he utters at one particular moment following stage 5.

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe enjoys his own moments of candour, and Visma-Lease a Bike's team boss Richard Plugge reveals his nefarious reason for openly accusing Groupama-FDJ riders of drinking beer rather than training.

"We diverted people's attention with this story when we were only talking about Jonas [Vingegaard]," he admits.

Read more: Netflix trailer reveals what to expect from series 2 of Tour de France Unchained

With its swing of emotions and an unprecedented level of access to the professional peloton, Tour de France: Unchained returns for its second series on Netflix next week, available in select territories from 11 June.

For all the latest developments from the world of professional cycling, make sure to head over to our dedicated racing news section of the GCN website.