The printed administrators of the Tour de France are contemplating utilizing drones to seize the race for tv audiences this summer season.
The expertise was used for the primary time in a WorldTour occasion at Paris-Good final week, the place remote-controlled cameras adopted the riders at over 60km/h within the workforce time trial.
Following its success, drone use will now be mentioned with the stakeholders of the Tour de France, in keeping with Anthony Forestier, broadcast director at France Télévisions, the corporate liable for the Grand Tour’s feed.
“Based mostly on the suggestions we had [from Paris-Nice], all people liked it,” Forestier instructed RMC Sport. “Some groups even acquired in contact with us to ask us to share the footage with them.”
⚡️ Cette vitesse ! 🤩⚡️ That velocity! 🤩#ParisNice pic.twitter.com/GmSgJldNeGMarch 5, 2024
Forestier added that France Télévisions is now “fascinated about” doing the identical on the Tour this July.
“Nothing is in place, however we’re fascinated about it,” he stated. “There are two time trials within the Tour this yr, after which a stage round Troyes with gravel roads which goes to be spectacular.
“We’re going to sit down down quickly with the UCI, ASO and the groups to debate if it’s worthwhile. That appears to be the case, so we’re going to consider tips on how to do it in a protected manner.”
Drones have already been used to movie cyclo-cross and mountain bike occasions, permitted in each circumstances by the UCI.
Nonetheless, it’s unlikely that drones will exchange helicopters on the street quickly. In keeping with Forestier, the footage can be complementary within the protection, “there to place us within the riders’ sneakers”, moderately than showcase the surroundings.
A part of the explanation for that is that drones have a restricted battery life. Chatting with Biking Weekly, Will Glover, a drone pilot for Flying Footage, stated probably the most superior gadgets can broadcast for round 20 minutes. Different obstacles embody their decrease broadcast high quality, and legal guidelines in France concerning the place and when drones could be flown within the sky.
“We’d like to consider the easiest way to place them in place,” Forester stated. “However, regardless of the case, drones are a superb option to make the product as stunning as attainable.”
