According to Ouest-France, ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, proposed to the teams participating in this year's race that their radio conversations during the race be made public.

According to French newspapers, several teams have accepted the proposal, while others, like Marc Madiot, director of Groupama-FDJ, have refused.

If the project comes to fruition, it will allow the teams to listen to selected samples of conversations between riders and their teammates and with the team cars during all stages of the 2023 Tour de France. As part of the agreement, and to prevent other teams from eavesdropping on "live" conversations, it appears that radio exchanges will first be monitored by team officials and then broadcast at staggered intervals.

This innovation was already part of last year's Tour de France femme coverage, and the idea reportedly received numerous endorsements from the men's teams, but not all teams are convinced: Ouest-France reported that Groupama-FDJ team manager Marc Madiot was reportedly vehemently opposed to the idea.

"Can you imagine our conversations being shown on TV?

"Can you really imagine a TV camera being allowed to film a soccer team trainer giving halftime instructions to a player?

Meanwhile, Jean-Rene Bernadeau of Total Energy was far more open to the idea, saying, "We have nothing to hide, so this is OK."

Sports director Benoit Genozeau was equally positive, saying, "This is part of the evolution of our sport, and I don't think any secrets will leak out. It will be shown [before it is broadcast].