“Well, that concludes today at the Tour and indeed our ITV coverage,” Ned Boulting directs into the camera as ITV concludes their coverage of the Tour de France, a sombre Dave Millar standing close by.
“So, let’s leave you with this.
“Every summer we watched, like clockwork, the world came together on winding mountain roads, city streets, and sun-drenched countryside.
“The Tour de France has never been just a race. It’s a moving festival of courage, colour, and community. It reminded us that no matter where we’re from, or what language we speak, we all understand the single thrill of the chase.”
After months building up to the last free-to-air coverage of the Tour de France, the channel’s cycling commentators have today bid a final farewell to the Tour.
“It’s funny… When I reach back I almost don’t reach back for the race. It’s a strange mix of memories that are everything to do with our experience of the Tour and this mad Wacky Races drive round France. It’s funny. I was trying to think of [my memories of the Tour] and they’re all people I’ve worked with: Steve Docherty who’s gone, Rob Llewellyn who’s gone,” Gary Imlach recounts, covering his shaking mouth with his hand, holding back tears.
From Channel 4’s early coverage of the race, through to ITV’s emotional farewell to the sport, the free-to-air coverage has charted the growth of the bourgeoning race in the UK to its mighty heights today.
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“The sport is fundamentally different. I think it’s changed more in the past 10 years than it had in the previous 50,” Millar said, looking back.
The “Pogačar years” helped consolidate the boom in viewership brought on the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, and by Mark Cavendish’s dominance of the Tour de France.
“There was a period of time where he as the British sports star in any sport who if he was in the group as they approached the sprint, you knew he’d nailed it,” commentator and journalist, Matt Rendell confirmed.
The Cavendish-Wiggins-Froome glory days may be returning once more with the rise of new British talents like Oscar Onley and Matt Healy asserting their presence in the French competition. But the ITV commentators warn that this first blow to free coverage of the sport is symptomatic of wider problems in the cycling culture here in the UK.
“The road racing scene in the UK is in deep trouble,” Boulting warns.
“The number of races and the number of athletes actually signing up for those races is dwindling.”
With many kids and seasoned sport lovers alike getting into the Tour de France simply by seeing it played in the corner of a room and becoming hooked, the erasure of free coverage of the Tour could blunt another opportunity for fresh engagement in cycling.
“I don’t really see how it grows from behind a paywall because, you know, people aren’t going to be glimpsing it out of the corner of their eye,” Rendall quietly finishes.
Back at the finish line of ITV’s last Tour de France, Boulting concludes his piece to camera.
“In a world that’s often spinning faster than we’d like, this program has been a steady wheel. A ray of sunshine in the drizzle, a burst of laughter between the climbs. The people behind and in front of the camera may have changed through the years. And as we pull the brakes on our coverage, we look back not with sadness, but with fondness and immense pride.
“The Tour will of course continue as it always has, but for everyone here who brought it to you for free for 25 years on ITV, it was never just about the race. It was about the experience. And that’s something we can all look back on and share together.
“Chapeau.”
