Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe is readying to present “next-level” coverage of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift for cycling fans across Europe and Asia.The 2025 Tour de France sets out from Lille with its 112th Grand Départ on July 5th with all 21 stages of the 3,320-kilometre race shown live on Warner Bros Discovery’s channels and platforms. This comprises every market in Europe, with exclusivity in 44 territories, and across the Asia-Pacific region, on Eurosport, and every minute live on Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming platforms Max, HBO Max and discovery+.On the heels of the men’s race, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift encompasses nine stages for the first time this year, making it the longest race on the UCI Women’s World Tour, covering 1,165 kilometres, beginning on July 26th with Warner Bros Discovery, again, showing every stage live on its channels and platforms.Legendary French rider, multiple Tour de France stage winner and twice on the podium, Romain Bardet joins Warner Bros Discovery’s expert cycling team for the first time, fresh from retiring from racing last month. He will bring his experience and insights from competing alongside the current crop of riders to viewers by taking on a new reporting role, following the race from Warner Bros Discovery’s innovative motorbike feature during stages 11 to 15, which this year features a second handheld camera to get even closer to the riders.Bardet commented: “I have this opportunity, while all my contemporaries will still be on the bike suffering, to decipher events with the benefit of hindsight and analyse things in an independent way. I’m throwing myself into the unknown, but I’ve got a great team around me, lots of good people encouraging me, so I’m really looking forward to it. Having ridden eleven Tours de France, I know all the climbs and that will enable me to prepare my stages as I did when I was a rider. I’m going to try and analyse what you can expect from the riders and put myself in their frame of mind. Ultimately, when you’re a cyclist, there’s a whole part that isn’t really conveyed through media interviews: the depth of the race tactics, climbs etc. So, I want to try and develop that link a little more so what you see on screen makes more sense to the people who are going to watch it. I want to try and develop that link a little more.”He follows Tour de France stage winner Jens Voigt who will be Warner Bros Discovery’s motorbike on stages 1-10 before former Great British National Road Race Champion Adam Blythe carries coverage from stages 16 to 21. They join a team of on-site reporters including Anders Mielke, Florian Pigeon, Louis-Pierre Frileux, Hannah Walker, Asbjoern Myhre, Matt Stephens and two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (final stage only).In addition to its pan-European coverage, available in 20 languages, Warner Bros Discovery will bring cycling fans a local flavour through its daily pre and post-race studio analysis shows in:
- France (Les Rois de la Pedale) for Eurosport with Jacky Durand and Steve Chainel
- Spain (La Montonera) for Eurosport with Eduardo Chozas and Alberto Contador
- Germany (Velo Club) for Eurosport with Berie Eisel, Robert Bengsch and Jens Voigt
- UK and Ireland (The Breakaway) for TNT Sports UK, hosted by Orla Chennaoui with 12-time Tour de France stage, and green jersey winner, Robbie McEwen and Adam Blythe.
For the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Warner Bros Discovery’s studio show will be hosted by Ashleigh Wilmot with regular guests including three-time World Champion Dani Rowe, World Championship silver medallist Audrey Cordon-Ragot and former professional riders Alice Wood and Dani Christmas. Leading Warner Bros Discovery’s on-site coverage will be Audrey Cordon-Ragot (stages 1-3 on the motorbike) and former professional rider Iris Slappendel (stages 4 -7 on the motorbike) with Matt Stephens and Laura Alvarez providing additional reporting.Warner Bros Discovery will operate in partnership with race organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and the host broadcaster to enhance how fans can engage with the riders, race and its stories by delivering what it describes as “the most technical broadcast of a cycling race in history”.Warner Bros Discovery 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. Fans 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.The innovations housed at Warner Bros Discovery’s mixed reality Curve studio will once again be deployed to provide deep analysis. Purpose-built storytelling tools include:
- 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.
Bringing cycling fans even more content beyond the live action, Warner Bros Discovery will also serve up an array of free and exclusive content across its digital and social media platforms.Scott Young, EVP at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, commented: “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 to enrich our storytelling, and we know our viewers will love our most advanced race coverage yet.”
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