You love cycling? You like watching movies? Even the most ambitious cyclists have to take a rest day sometimes – what’s better than dreaming of adventures on two wheels while it’s freezing outside? Below, we have compiled our 10 favorite cycling films of all times.
1. The Flying Scotsman (2006)
Based on a true story, this film tells the captivating story of the scotsman Graeme Obree who manages to beat the world record of cycling 51,15 kilometers within 1 hour thanks to a radical redesign of his bike. As a consequence, he must deal with the International Cycling Union’s attempts to disqualify him while fighting his own depression.
2. Breaking Away (1979)
The young italophile road biker Dave is happy to hear that an Italian cycling team is going to participate in a bike race close to his home. After noticing that the Italians don’t compete fairly, he forms his own team with his friends to be able to compete in the race as well.
3. Reach for the Sky (2015)
Cam Zink is one of the world’s best mountain bikers. He is most known for his incredible back flip at the 2013 Red Bull rampage – the film describes the details and emotions connected to his participation in the event and shows Cam’s passion for mountain biking – a must-see for every mountain biker!
4. The Armstrong Lie (2013)
In 2009, film-maker Alex Gibney started to work on a documentary about Lance Armstrong’s return to cycling but abandoned the project. After it became known that Armstrong had doped, leading to his life-long ban from cycling, Gibney picked up the project again and worked with Armstrong to produce “The Armstrong Lie”, which shows one of cycling’s biggest scandals from different sides.
5. Road to Roubaix (2008)
For many cyclists, Paris-Roubaix is one of the highlights of the cycling season: On narrow, cobbled streets, the participants fight to make it to the velodrome of Roubaix, wherefore they need talent as well as luck. The film details the perspectives of cyclists, fans and mechanics in captivating 71 minutes.
6. Tour de Pharmacy (2017)
A mockumentary that chronicles the prevalence of doping in the world of professional cycling.
7. Rising from Ashes (2012)
Rising From Ashes is an independent film about the development of a national cycling team in Rwanda, a country still affected by 1994 Rwandan Genocide where an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed.
8. Icarus (2017)
Icarus is a 2017 American documentary film by Bryan Fogel, which chronicles Fogel’s exploration of the option of doping to win an amateur cycling race and happening upon a major international doping scandal when he asks for the help of Grigory Rodchenkov, the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory.
9. All For One (2017)
All For One is the story of GreenEdge, Australia’s first ProTour cycling team to compete in the Tour de France.
10. Arrival (2013)
Arrival is all about what is happening now. Bringing viewers into the reality of a new generation of freeriders and racers.
What’s your favorite cycling movie? 🎥
Let us know in the comments!
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