Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cherry On the Cake: Inside the Technical Production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media

01/07/2025

Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 with EMG / Gravity Media By Heather McLean

Friday, June 27, 2025 - 08:37

Print This Story

For the Tour de France 2025, EMG France is trialling a private 5G network on the finish line using technology from Neutral Wireless

There are just a few days to go before elite cyclists don their jerseys and begin the Tour de France 2025, with the town of Lille hosting the first stage on 5 July. This gruelling race ends 22 days later in Paris on 27 July, as riders zip over the finish line on the Champs- lys es.

EMG / Gravity Media is the technical service provider of the Tour de France 2025 for the host broadcaster, France T l visions. We caught up with EMG / Gravity Media France's CTO, Rudy Dendleux, to find out how this travelling circus is going to bring the drama in the fight for the yellow jersey to global cycling fans.

Capturing the action

Each stage of the Tour de France covers around 200 kilometres, and every twist, turn, crash and peloton needs to be covered by the broadcast. To that end, EMG / Gravity Media's France division is going to be using six video motorbikes using RF.

Comments Dendleux: We are doing the RF for France T l visions, which is the host broadcaster for this event. So we have six video motorbikes, seven journalist motorbikes, either with a POV camera or without, helicopters equipped with two gyrostabilised camera on each chopper, and two fixed wing relay planes and one helicopter relay onsite to cover the 200 kilometre stages every day.

He continues: The motorbikes and the helicopter that are shooting the action are running from the starting line to the finish line of every stage; there are 21 stages on the Tour de France. From an average point of view, every stage is 200 kilometres long, so the motorbikes and the shooting helicopter are capturing the action, and the fixed wing relays and relay helicopter are following the race. EMG /Gravity Media is using Grass Valley LDX 86 cameras on the motorbikes.

New for this year at the Tour de France is the trial of a private 5G network on the finish line, which EMG / Gravity Media France will be creating using technology from Neutral Wireless.

Comments Dendleux on the trial: The new thing that we are going to experience this year is we are deploying a private 5G network on the finish line. We are doing some experiments with a smartphone acting as POV cameras, to see what this exciting new technology can bring to the production. We already made some trials [using this technology] at Roland-Garros. We are expecting maybe to deploy this in the following Tour de France [2026].

Travelling circus

The international graphics and virtual production subsidiary of EMG / Gravity Media, Boost Graphics, is handling its area of expertise for the Tour de France. Dendleux comments on the workflow between the three companies involved in the production: It's a very complicated workflow where we are not the only ones involved; there is France Television and Boost and ourselves.

There is a big fibre network between all the different OB vans on the finish lines. So because there is the international feed produced by France T l visions, there is a super international signal produced by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which is the organiser of the race, and all the feeds are networked through fibre on the finish line. But this is something that is very complex and it's changing every year. All the RHBs are connected to that network to get the signals that they have paid for.

There are three OBs following the travelling circus that is the Tour de France. The largest is going to be at every day's finish line, with two others along the route, bouncing feeds from the numerous cameras following the field along each 200 kilometre stage to the larger OB.

Dendleux explains: We've got three OBs; one big at the finish line to retrieve all the signals from the race, but not directly. The other two OB vans are placed alongside the route and they're acting as intermediate points, retrieving the feeds from the aerial relays and then through satellite or microwave links, they are sending back all the signals down to the finish line to our main OB.

Everything for the host broadcast is then produced in the large OB on site. Dendleux adds that France T l visions has between 10 and 12 fibre-connected cameras on the finish line each day to provide those extra angles to capture the emotion of the athletes.

To keep the circus bouncing along, there is a detailed plan for every day of the race. Says Dendleux: The big truck is on the finish line. For the two other trucks, so we have done a three month survey period to know where we can put our intermediate points, so we [have been] sending some people with binoculars and some information regarding the route of the race so we know where we have to put the trucks to do the production; to summarise that, the first [truck] is covering the first leg of the stage and the second one is covering the last leg. Every day each truck in the morning park, rig, shoot, derig, and the crew goes to the hotel, and the day after they do the same thing. So every day they get a plan for the whole period.

Around 80 people from EMG / Gravity Media France are working on the Tour de France for the duration of the race. We've got the finish teams, the RX teams, which are not at the same location. We have the motorbike teams, we have the fixed wing teams, we have the helicopter teams. So it results in a lot of locations, and managing the hospitality for hotels for all that crew, which is changing location almost every day, makes it a very challenging production.

It is exhausting for the crew, Dendleux agrees: Yes, it is. It is indeed. But we are very excited to be producing this event. It's like a cherry
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/cherry-on-the-cake-inside-the...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

28/08/2025

Esports World Cup 2025: Saudis Share Masterplan to Boost Esports on Global Stage

The new oil is sports': Saudis share masterplan to boost esports on global stage By Adrian Pennington Tuesday, August 26, 2025 - 08:49 Print This Story...

28/08/2025

Esports World Cup 2025: Team Falcons Defend Title as Broadcast Production Ramps Up the Game

Esports World Cup 2025: Team Falcons Defend Title as Broadcast Production Ramps ...

28/08/2025

Report: Mobile-First Content has Overtaken the Big Screen as the Way Fans Watch Sports

Report: Mobile-first content has overtaken the big screen as the way fans watch ...

28/08/2025

New Era: A Pro's Guide to ESPN's Expanded College Football Playoff Graphics Package

New Era: A Pro's Guide to ESPN's Expanded College Football Playoff Graph...

28/08/2025

College Football Kickoff 2025: The CW Heads Into ACC, Pac-12 Schedule With New Pregame CW Football Saturday Countdown'

College Football Kickoff 2025: The CW Heads Into ACC, Pac-12 Schedule With New P...

28/08/2025

Live From US Open 2025: Tennis Channel Returns With Onsite Studio Show

Live From US Open 2025: Tennis Channel Returns With Onsite Studio Show New set has a prime site; production is handled remotely By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...

28/08/2025

NBC Sports Drives Its Coverage of NASCAR Cup Series Into Postseason

NBC Sports Drives Its Coverage of NASCAR Cup Series Into Postseason Key technical upgrades for 2025 include modified Peacock Pit Box By Mark J Burns, SVG Contr...

28/08/2025

College Football Kickoff 2025: TNT Sports Launches First Big 12 Campaign With Onsite Crews, NEP ND6, 16 Cameras

College Football Kickoff 2025: TNT Sports Launches First Big 12 Campaign With On...

28/08/2025

College Football Kickoff 2025: ESPN Gears Up for 1,000+ Games With Massive Operational Footprint

College Football Kickoff 2025: ESPN Gears Up for 1,000+ Games With Massive Opera...

28/08/2025

F&F's GTX21, the Company's Largest Production Unit, Hits the Road for CBS College Football

F&F's GTX21, the Company's Largest Production Unit, Hits the Road for CB...

27/08/2025

US Open 2025: ESPN Aims To Bring Viewers' Ears Closer to the Net

US Open 2025: ESPN Aims To Bring Viewers' Ears Closer to the Net The audio team is serving up more player and coach audio, reduced latency By Dan Daley, A...

27/08/2025

Riedel Brings Flex Licensing to Simply Live; Intros RiView VAR

Riedel Brings Flex Licensing to Simply Live; Intros RiView VAR Expanded RiMotion replay, Venue Gateway contribution offerings, and Connect API also debut By Ke...

27/08/2025

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Heather Winn on Splitting the Difference in Sound for the Host Broadcast, BBC Sport

UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Heather Winn on splitting the difference in sound fo...

27/08/2025

Cosm, NFL Ink New Deal for 2025 Season; Includes Post-Season, Super Bowl LX

Cosm, NFL Ink New Deal for 2025 Season; Includes Post-Season, Super Bowl LX Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football also on tap for fans hungry to immers...

27/08/2025

Taking Steps for Sound: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on How It's Ramping Up Audio in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series

Taking steps for sound: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on how it is ramping up au...

26/08/2025

Former Sony and Broadcast Industry Tech Leader Alec Shapiro Dead at 72

Former Sony and Broadcast Industry Tech Leader Alec Shapiro Dead at 72 For more than 40 years he changed the industry while leading Sony, Panasonic, Chyron, and...

26/08/2025

TCL Team Boxing League Prepares To Wrap Third Season

TCL Team Boxing League Prepares To Wrap Third Season Young league focuses on team aspect, deploys REMI production model By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor Tues...

26/08/2025

Banana Ballin': Fan First Entertainment Conveys Savannah Bananas Magic via Remote Production, Out-of-the-Box Thinking

Banana Ballin': Fan First Entertainment Conveys Savannah Bananas Magic via R...

26/08/2025

Broadcast Industry Tech Leader Alec Shapiro Dead at 72

Broadcast Industry Tech Leader Alec Shapiro Dead at 72 For more than 40 years he changed the industry while leading Sony, Panasonic, Chyron, and the industry at...

25/08/2025

IBC 2025: Grass Valley's Adam Marshall on IBC Intros, Partnerships, and Gen AI

IBC 2025: Grass Valley's Adam Marshall on IBC Intros, Partnerships, and Gen ...

25/08/2025

How XR and AR Are Changing Everything: An SVG Australia Summit Panel Discussion

How XR and AR Are Changing Everything: An SVG Australia Summit Panel Discussion Leaders from ARL, Champion Data, Nine Entertainment, and Vizrt break down the im...

21/08/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spolight: MyCaseBuilder's Steve Holand on Creating Custom Cases for Everything From Cameras to Championship Trophies

SVG New Sponsor Spolight: MyCaseBuilder's Steve Holand on Creating Custom Ca...

21/08/2025

Building From the Back: Will AI Benefit European Football Production and Distribution?

Building From the Back: Will AI Benefit European Football Production and Distrib...

21/08/2025

From Paris to Milan: How NBC Olympics Continues to Lead the Way in Media Management

From Paris to Milan: How NBC Olympics Continues to Lead the Way in Media Managem...

21/08/2025

FloSports Deploys AI-Driven Virtual Pan and Zoom To Streamline Production of Multi-Event, Single-Camera Sports

FloSports Deploys AI-Driven Virtual Pan and Zoom To Streamline Production of Mul...

21/08/2025

Global Gaming League Melds Music and Sports Into Its Production

Global Gaming League Melds Music and Sports Into Its Production Graphics and music create a purposeful emulation of early MTV for an esports hybrid By Dan Dale...

20/08/2025

As ESPN Readies to Launch Its Direct-to-Consumer Product, the Sports Media Icon Begins a New Era in Its History

As ESPN Readies to Launch Its Direct-to-Consumer Product, the Sports Media Icon ...

20/08/2025

ESPN's Revamped DTC App Delivers Multiview, Live Game Stats, Highlight Replays

ESPN's Revamped DTC App Delivers Multiview, Live Game Stats, Highlight Repla...

19/08/2025

Tech Focus: Time for OTT to Start Scoring Big

Tech focus: Time for OTT to start scoring big By Neal Romanek Friday, August 15, 2025 - 10:44 Print This Story Use of Eluvio allowed EPCR to access multip...

19/08/2025

SVG Venues & Teams Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Venues & Teams Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Networking event at Intuit Dome dissected the most-innovative work in stadium an...

19/08/2025

Dale Pro Audio, Microsoft, Nemal Electronics, and Spectra Logic have renewed their Corporate Sponsorships.

Dale Pro Audio, Microsoft, Nemal Electronics, and Spectra Logic have renewed the...

19/08/2025

EVS Acquires Telemetrics, Expanding its Product Portfolio and U.S. Presence

EVS Acquires Telemetrics, Expanding its Product Portfolio and U.S. Presence By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - 12:52 pm Pri...

18/08/2025

Manny de la Fe, ESPN Gear Up for 380 LALIGA Matches as World Cup Hype Grows

Manny de la Fe, ESPN Gear Up for 380 LALIGA Matches as World Cup Hype Grows New streaming service is major part of effort to convey the energy of fans and event...

18/08/2025

Sportradar Advanced Streaming Technology Targets Sportsbooks With Data-Rich Experience

Sportradar Advanced Streaming Technology Targets Sportsbooks With Data-Rich Expe...

18/08/2025

The Rise of AltCasts at RSNs: What Styles of Production are Engaging New Fans?

The Rise of AltCasts at RSNs: What Styles of Production are Engaging New Fans? Content leaders from Marquee Sports Network, NESN, Sportsnet Pittsburgh, and Game...

14/08/2025

German Innovation: An In-Depth Look at the DFL's 10K VR Stream of the Supercup

German Innovation: An In-Depth Look at the DFL's 10K VR Stream of the Superc...

14/08/2025

Esports World Cup 2025: Music Is in the Sport's DNA

Esports World Cup 2025: Music Is in the Sport's DNA Entertainment is intrinsic with esports, blending its passion and diversity By Dan Daley, Audio Editor ...

14/08/2025

Stress Test: SailGP Embraces Real-time Cloud Workflows For Portsmouth Event

Stress test: SailGP embraces real-time cloud workflows for Portsmouth event By Joe OHalloran Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - 10:15 Print This Story Emirates Gr...

14/08/2025

Esports World Cup 2025: Inside EFG's Hybrid Production

Esports World Cup 2025: Inside EFG's Hybrid Production For the complex operation, the emphasis was on scale, integration, localization' By Mark J Burn...

14/08/2025

Esports World Cup 2025: IMG Puts a Spotlight on Innovation as Esports Goes Mainstream

Esports World Cup: IMG puts a Spotlight on innovation as esports goes mainstream...

13/08/2025

SailGP Launches RaceScape XR App for Apple Vision Pro

SailGP Launches RaceScape XR App for Apple Vision Pro Next-gen experience offers multi-view, AR tabletop racing, and more By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Direct...

13/08/2025

A Texas Transformation: University of Texas at Austin Goes IP, Connects Its Athletics Campus with ST 2110

A Texas Transformation: University of Texas at Austin Goes IP, Connects Its Athl...

13/08/2025

Mental Health in Today's College Sports Production Age: Managing Your Team and Yourself

Mental Health in Today's College Sports Production Age: Managing Your Team a...

13/08/2025

Behind the Broadcast: How Virginia Tech's HokieVision Produced Liz Kitley's Jersey Retirement Ceremony

Behind the Broadcast: How Virginia Tech's HokieVision Produced Liz Kitley...