"We’re going to have to review the number of vehicles in these difficult sections" - Tour de France race director

The recent Netflix documentary series on the Tour de France could have been one of the reasons behind the rowdier crowds and frequently chaotic scenes at this year’s race, the race director Thierry Gouvenou has acknowledged.

"This year the Tour has been exciting and there are many, many more spectators than in other years," Gouvenou told the Guardian.

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"And it’s a slightly different crowd, one that’s a bit more festive and less respectful, that doesn’t know the etiquette of a good supporter. So it’s true that in some places, we’ve found ourselves in a bit of difficulty."

"I don’t know if it’s the Netflix effect. I know the viewer wants to be with his phone and he wants to put himself in the picture, in the Tour de France. That’s the way it is."

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Record also reported Gouvenou to have said: "We have been faced with a new audience, which we didn’t expect. I don’t know whether it’s the Netflix effect or the intensity of the Pogačar-Vingegaard duel, but we’re a little lacking in resources."

Gouvenou however agrees that there might be too many media vehicles for the race's good. "We’re going to have to review the number of vehicles in these difficult sections. Maybe we have too many media around the riders in these passages where we know there are going to be people and steep gradients, but we’re not going to ban the public from coming to the Tour de France."

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