Is the Third Season of the Least Expected Day Worth Watching?

The Least Expected Day quickly became one of the most successful cycling TV series of all time when it was released by Netflix in 2018.

With a full title of The Least Expected Day: Inside the Movistar Team 2019, it gave us a glimpse at the world of professional cycling at some of the biggest events in the sport. A second season then covered the 2021 UCI World Tour, but what can we expect from the third season of this show?

The Story So Far

Anyone who is interested in pro cycling will certainly recognize some of the big names in this show, as the Movistar team has stars such as Alejandro Valverde and Richard Carapaz in it. But what comes as a surprise is that we get to see the behind the scenes tension and drama from each race they compete in, rather than simply the action from the races themselves. It’s almost like a cycling soap opera, as we see the way that the relationships within the team grow and change, as well as often getting strained during some of the most famous cycling events.

The latest cycling odds from Bovada bring up events such as the Tour de France and Tour of Flanders, so it’s clear that this sport is becoming more mainstream, and some experts have suggested the success of The Least Expected Day has helped in this respect. Besides personal dramas and rumors, viewers have also learned a number of technical aspects of the sport.

For example, we’ve seen that having co-leaders on a major event rarely works, and this sort of insight helps to make the sport more interesting and accessible to more people who might not have understood the tactical aspect before now. The latest news from pro cycling includes the Alpecin-Deceuninck team signing French cyclist Axel Laurance, and more people are sure to be following these stories thanks to the series.

What to Expect from the Third Season?

This third season of The Least Expected Day takes us back to the Movistar team, and this time they’ll be showing us what happened in the 2021 version of La Vuelta a España, which was run from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela. It covers four episodes overall and brings back familiar faces like Enric Mas and Marc Soler. However, we also get to see the female Movistar team at the tough Paris-Roubaix race, with experienced competitors such as Annemiek van Vleuten in the team.

We quickly get to see how important the La Vuelta event is to the men’s team, as it comes hot on the heels of some poor performances in the Tour de France and the Giro. This means that getting a good result here is vital to their season and also to their team spirit. However, as the season develops we see that the team is in disarray as a key rider is forced to abandon the race and others have fierce differences of opinion captured by the cameras.

The third season also introduces a new member of the team, as Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López joins the rest. With a nickname of Superman and a reputation for losing his temper, he adds an extra touch of explosiveness to the series. He joined for the 2021 season and has become an important member of the team thanks to his performances, but has also caused conflicts and dramas along the way. His incredible decision to abandon La Vuelta is one of the most amazing moments in the show to date.

If you’ve never seen any of the episodes from previous seasons, you’ll probably be surprised at first to witness how much of the tactics we get to see. The Movistar team has been criticized at times for their tactical decisions and this lets us see they work out. In this season, it’s fascinating to look at how Enric Mas could have won the 2021 Vuelta for them but how his chances were ruined by poor tactics and a lack of teamwork.

Will There Be a Fourth Season?

Since the third season of this show has recently been released, we’re still waiting on official details confirming whether or not a fourth season will be commissioned. However, the success of The Least Expected Day so far means that there will probably be another one on the way. In fact, there have already been reports in a Spanish news outlet that the new season will be released in 2023.

Expect this new season to cover both the men’s and women’s teams during the 2022 cycling season. The success of Annemiek van Vleuten in the women’s events means that we can probably look forward to seeing more footage of her races, while the men’s team continues to look for the winning formula. For the moment, cycling fans can enjoy these four new episodes, while anyone who is simply interested in watching something interesting might want to give it a try.