The National Times - Talking points from the 2023 Tour de France

AFP Sport takes a look at some of the talking points from the 2023 edition.

- Doping debate -

Vingegaard's crushing victory over Pogacar for a second straight year saw the Dane fend off questions about doping.

"I wouldn't take anything I wouldn't also give to my (three-year-old) daughter," said the Jumbo Visma rider.

"I was tested at all my training camps this year," he continued as questions became more targetted.

"I welcome the debate and it's normal that people feel sceptical given the sport's past. If we don't test, don't question, it'll happen again."

- New generation -

A Netflix series on the 2022 Tour de France is being credited with a generation shift among cycling fans, according to Marc Madiot, boss of one of the teams featured in the successful show and Tour designer Thierry Gouvenou.

"People are stopping us in the street like never before, and it's a new and younger audience," said FDJ-Groupama sports director Madiot. "There's a Netflix before and after and we're lucky."

The hordes of roadside fans on the mountains appeared bigger than ever, and rowdier too.

According to the event's official guide, the 2022 race reached a global TV audience of three billion.

- Motorbike menace -

The role of motorbikes along the Tour de France route has come under the microscope after a series of dangerous incidents.

An attack by Pogacar on a crowded mountain road was foiled by a motorbike with two media outlets sanctioned.

But Pogacar said: "It is what it is. The guy couldn't move because of the fans."

A few days later it was Vingegaard's turn to be blocked when France TV's former yellow jersey cyclist Thomas Voeckler stalled and blocked the Dane to the point he was forced to stop, and lost his focus for a day.

The most serious episode involved a sponsor delivering water to riders resulting in a cyclist being thrown into a roadside ditch.

T.Ward--TNT