Once again, the presence of Franck Ferrand in the Tour de France comments goes down badly in the eyes of many viewers.
The Tour de France got off to a great start in Italy. Particularly for French cycling since the first two stages were won by two French riders: Romain Bardet then Kevin Vauquelin. Unheard of since 1968. And on Sunday the mano a mano between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in the climb to San Luca augurs a new epic duel between the two men throughout the three weeks of the Tour.
The main broadcaster of the Tour de France, France Télévisions therefore has every reason to rejoice. Nevertheless, the audience for the first stage was somewhat disappointing for the public service since although France 2 was indeed the leader, on Saturday afternoon, the first stage only brought together 2.89 million viewers for 32.8 % market share. This is no less than 200,000 viewers lost compared to last year when the first stage in the Basque Country was watched by 3.09 million cycling fans.
Franck Ferrand targeted
Another disappointment for France TV, the harsh reactions provoked by the presence of Franck Ferrand in the comments alongside Alexandre Pasteur, Marion Rousse and Laurent Jalabert. If the two former runners enjoy a good popularity rating, it is quite different for the historian, the target of numerous criticisms. This is evidenced by the numerous comments on social networks throughout the weekend.
As much as his comments, his collaborations with Valeurs Acteurs or CNews, his reactionary vision of history and his defense of certain conspiracy theories go down badly in the eyes of many cycling fans.
