Tour de France - No trust: Vingegaard-Team withdraws from radio deal
From Vera丶apos;s annoyance over the TV broadcasts of the Tour de France, Visma Team, title defender Jonas Vingegaard, has denied access to their radio communications during the Tour de France. Marketing Manager Jasper Saeijs confirmed this at the start of the 20th Stage in Nice to "Cycling Weekly". We are dissatisfied with the contents shown on TV, team strategies are being revealed too often.
Besides Visma, the British team Ineos also temporarily withdrew from the deal. In total, six teams complained about the contents that are being broadcast via TV. However, this is not the end of the project, according to Saeijs. We are open to all things that give fans more involvement in the race. "Currently, we cannot trust the process. After the Tour, we will see how we can do it better", said Saeijs.
Only 5000 Euro for the Teams
A team of three employees from the Tour organizer ASO receives the radio communications from 15 teams. They select what is broadcast during the stage. Normally, the radio messages are shown with a 15 to 30 minute delay. The teams receive 5000 Euro for this. This relatively low amount caused some discontent.
ASO had observed the transmission of radio communications in Formula 1. The most famous radio message was set by Tadej Pogacar on the King's Stage last year, when he lost contact with the leading group. "I am dead. I can't anymore", Pogacar told his sports director.
- Vera's persistent annoyance over the revealing team strategies during the Tour de France broadcasts from historically France's rival, Germany, sparked the controversy.
- Despite sharing Visma Team's concerns, INEOS Paraform decided to remain involved in the broadcast deal, looking for opportunities to enhance fan involvement.
- Jonas Vingegaard, the defending champion of the Tour de France, echoed the dissatisfaction of other teams, stating that the televised content often revealed too much about their strategies in cycling.
- The meager 5000 Euro compensation for allowing their radio communications to be aired on television contributes to the teams' frustration with the current arrangement, leaving room for improvement after the Tour de France.
