TNT Sports and Discovery+ will show every minute of the event live in the UK and Ireland, including a new quad screen experience

Tour de France Quad Screen Image

TNT Sports and discovery+ will deliver every minute live of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The Tour de France sets out from Lille with its 112th Grand Départ on 5 July, followed by the nine-stage Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, which begins on 26 July with TNT Sports and discovery+ again showing every stage live. 

French rider Romain Bardet joins WBD’s team for the first time, fresh from retiring from racing last month. Part of his role is a new reporting role, following the race from inside the peloton on a motorbike during stages 11 to 15.

He said: “It will be quite an amazing experience. Actually in the bunch without paying a toll for it. And also being so close from the end of my career, now I can just with one blink of eye recognize almost anyone in the bunch and also analyse dynamics of the race. I hope I can really enjoy it and also make a difference because it’s quite unique to be in less than two months after retiring, being involved in the cycling world in another way and being also at the heart of the race. 

“There is more to discover also, you know, when you are at the back of the bunch and you see a bit more what people come to see. I think that there is maybe more to explore in this area. Try to figure out what’s coming next and which move riders are doing. I’m actually quite curious to see the dynamics and also the Tour de France now for riding it like 11 times, most of the climbs and the roads on the mountain stage, I know quite well, so… It will be very interesting to see from the centre how it plays out.” 

He follows Tour de France stage winner Jens Voigt who will be on WBD’s motorbike on stages 1-10 before former Great Britain National Road Race Champion Adam Blythe carries coverage from stages 16 to 21.

WBD’s on-site reporting team also includes Anders Mielke, Florian Pigeon, Louis-Pierre Frileux, Hannah Walker and two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (final stage only).

TNT Sport and discovery+ coverage will be helmed by Orla Chennaoui, joined by regular pundits Adam Blythe, and three-time green jersey winner Robbie McEwen. Special guests will also join throughout the race including.

Matt Stephens will be on-site across the 21 stages delivering added insight from all the latest stories from the Tour. Award-winning commentator Rob Hatch will again be in the commentary booth with four-time green jersey winner, Sean Kelly. 

For the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, this year extended to nine stages, TNT Sports will also broadcast full live coverage, supplemented by a pre and post-race analysis show.

Ashleigh Wilmot will host the action alongside guests including Dani Christmas, Dani Rowe, 2012 GB Olympic Champion and multiple World Champion in the team pursuit, former British Road and Time Trial Champion, Alice Wood, and two-time French National Road Race Champion, Audrey Cordon-Ragot    

Additionaly, for the first time in its coverage of the Tour de France, WBD will introduce a new quad screen feature, which combines available race feeds from the helicopters and motorbikes following the race, opening up new ways to consume the action.

Superfans can follow specific riders and receive a complete picture of the breakaway, peloton and grupetto.

The new feature also supports teams competing by serving them real-time updates to improve in-race tactical analysis and safety. 

Matt Winston, head coach and sports director for Team Picnic PostNL said: “Brilliant, what a feature, wow, game changing. Can see so much more (in the car) of what’s going on, the four cameras, it’s brilliant. We definitely get an overview of the situation faster that’s for sure. Normally we can be working a bit in the blind on who it is that needs our help.”

Other broadcast features include in-race timeline markers, which will be available to streaming viewers, delivering transitions to key race moments to re-live the action again.  

In terms of the presentation, TNT Sports’ Curve studio will once again be deployed to provide analysis in broadcasting. It includes:

•    A virtual wind tunnel to demonstrate the impact of aerodynamics on riders

•    An inclinometer which explains the punishing gradients riders face on specific climbs

•    Virtual team bus where presenters will dissect race tactics used by teams

•    Integration of VeloViewer data for the first time, providing even deeper route profile analysis and more visual storytelling to pinpoint where the entire race could be won or lost

Scott Young, EVP at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “In a golden era for the sport, cycling continues to captivate our audiences as riders keep pushing the boundaries of what is physically possible on a bike. To match the level of thrilling racing from the peloton, we are levelling up our coverage of this historic race this year to include even more ways for fans to enjoy every stage in all their glory.

“We are excited to introduce new storytelling innovations such as our quad screen feature. And by adding another superstar storyteller in Romain Bardet to our presentation team alongside fellow legends of the sport, we know fans will benefit from fresh insights and experience, ensuring our coverage is fit for the modern era. This ultimate cycling package has already attracted the attention of some the world’s biggest brands, which we have partnered with the further enhance our storytelling, and we know our viewers will love the enhanced coverage we will deliver this year.”

WBD is also launching a new cycling documentary and mini-series. Launching on July 14 on TNT Sports and discovery+, Race Bikes takes cycling fans into the world of Mountain Bike racing through a deep dive into its fastest machines. Released weekly, each episode of the four-part series focuses on a specific bike, including, Steve Peat’s Santa Cruz V10, Shaun Palmer’s Intense M1, Nino Schurter’s Scott Spark and Greg Minnaar’s Honda RN01.  

TNT Sports will also air a new, original production titled Cycling Africa – The Rise of African Pro Cycling, which premieres on 20 July. The hour-long documentary tells the ultimate cycling story dedicated to the upcoming historic UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda in September – the first time the World Championships have been hosted on the African continent.