Little Knights
2013/HD/Color/52min/
On the 19th of July 1903 60 cyclists left Paris for the maiden stage of the very first Tour de France, racing 467km through the night to the line in Lyon. 116 years later, two modern-day riders attempted to recreate the feat of endurance using bikes and equipment from the early 20th century to fully experience the highs and lows of the early Tour pioneers. Endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont and GCN presenter James Lowsley-Williams are pushed to the limits of their physical and mental ability, struggling with the midsummer heat, bikes borrowed from museums and a lack of sleep. How did they compare to the Tour’s first heroes?
2013/HD/Color/52min/
Year after year hundreds of thousands of fans line the route of the Tour de France, cheering on their heroes and willing them to victory, while millions of viewers worldwide tune in on their televisions. Academy Award-winning director Pepe Danquart, fascinated by the spectacle of the three week race, chose to focus on the courage, the pain and the fear of the riders of the Tour. Training his lens on German superstar sprinter Eric Zabel and his loyal domestique Rolf Aldag, Danquart captures the thrill of the race and the teamwork behind the stars of the peleton. He also shines light on the Tour's supporting cast - the director sportifs, masseurs, and, of course, the wildly enthusiastic fans. Reveling in the stunning landscape - from the Alps to the Pyrenees to the Massif Central to Paris - and with a nice dollop of Le Tour's history, HELL ON WHEELS transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.
In 1890s India, an arrogant British commander challenges the harshly taxed residents of Champaner to a high-stakes cricket match.
Follows the Education First (EF) Cycling Team as they navigate a turbulent 2020 season through the Tour de France, telling the individual stories of the riders, from Colombian star Rigo Urán to rising up-and-comers and veteran teammates.
Before Lance Armstrong, there was Greg LeMond, who is now the first and only American to win the Tour de France. In this engrossing documentary, LeMond looks back at the pivotal 1986 Tour, and his increasingly vicious rivalry with friend, teammate, and mentor Bernard Hinault. The reigning Tour champion and brutal competitor known as “The Badger,” Hinault ‘promised’ to help LeMond to his first victory, in return for LeMond supporting him in the previous year. But in a sport that purports to reward teamwork, it’s really every man for himself.
Mini-documentary about a man on a mission: to get rid of all the plastic in the oceans. To raise awareness for his mission he tried to kitesurf from The Netherlands to England, on a board made from disposed PET-bottles.
In 1998 Marco Pantani, the most flamboyant and popular cyclist of his era, won both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, a titanic feat of physical and mental endurance that no rider has repeated since. He was a hero to millions, the saviour of cycling following the doping scandals which threatened to destroy the sport. However, less than six years later, aged just 34, he died alone, in a cheap hotel room, from acute cocaine poisoning. He had been an addict for five years. This is the story of the tragic battles fought by the most important Italian cyclist of his generation; man verses mountain, athlete verses addiction, Marco Pantani verses himself.
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
A portrait of the man behind the greatest fraud in sporting history. Lance Armstrong enriched himself by cheating his fans, his sport and the truth. But the former friends whose lives and careers he destroyed would finally bring him down.
In the mid-1980s, one team dominated the cycling headlines: La Vie Claire. Despite a ferocious internal power struggle between two of the sport’s biggest stars, they racked up more than 100 wins. Wearing their iconic Mondrian jersey, Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond won two of the most infamous Tour de France victories of all time. Bankrolled by the controversial businessman, Bernard Tapie, La Vie Claire rewrote the rulebook on both bike racing and fashion. Dan Lloyd is joined by special guests Pippa York and William Fotheringham to discuss how the team turned a recipe for disaster into a period of complete dominance.
1969. July the 15th. Stage 17 of the Tour de France. A brutal stage from Luchon to Mourenx covering four of the toughest mountains in the Pyrenees. On this fateful day, Eddy Merckx catapulted himself into the history books with one of the greatest solo breakaways the sport has ever seen. Fast forward over half a century, and GCN’s Simon Richardson is in the Pyrenees to pay tribute to The Cannibal by recreating his ride. To make the 220km epic even more challenging, Si will do it aboard his 1969 spec Faema team bike and wearing their iconic red and white jersey. Eddy Merckx made this ride look easy, but will Si even make it to the finish line?
Detour de France offers a fascinating look inside the world's biggest annual sporting event. The film focuses on three Australians reporting on the world famous cycling event. All three bring a larrikin humour to their antics, which propels the film from mere reportage to something more akin to attending a sporting event with 'the boys'.
Samen Winnen follows Team Jumbo-Visma behind the scenes of the Tour de France 2019. With four stage wins and Steven Kruijswijk finishing on the podium in Paris, the only Dutch cycling team was one of the most succesful teams.
Fabian Cancellara is one of the greatest Classics riders ever, with three Tour of Flanders wins and three editions of Paris-Roubaix to his name. He also won the world time trial championships four times and took eight stage victories at the Tour de France, wearing the yellow jersey for a total of 29 days. He hung up his wheels in 2016, after claiming his second Olympic gold medal. Dan Lloyd is in Switzerland to go cross country skiing and find out more about the lesser-known Swiss version of the legend of Spartacus.
From Colorado to Qatar, California and France, this documentary follows a year in the life of the U.S.-based professional cycling team Slipstream -- a group that's made it their mission to restore the good name of cycling. Sure, the guys -- including Swede Magnus Backstedt and Brit David Millar -- wouldn't mind a Tour de France invite, but they're even more passionate about inspiring the next generation of cyclists.
A short documentary about the 1962 Tour-de-France. Topics covered include: crowds of people and motorcycles, drinking raids and feeding, pileups, doping, "the charge," and the mountain stages.
Simon Richardson and James Lowsley-Williams head to the Himalayas on a quest to discover Nepal’s mysterious ‘Forbidden Kingdom’, the remote mountaintop city of Lo Manthang. Breath-taking views, lung-busting climbs, and incredible encounters with locals; Si and James are in for an unmissable gravel bike adventure! Their once-in-a-lifetime expedition begins in the chaotic streets of Kathmandu before embarking on a gruelling five-day ride up the ancient trade route that forges a path between Nepal and Tibet. Their epic ride sees them dicing with kamikaze trucks, enduring freezing rainstorms, taking a 228m bungee jump, and even a heroic attempt to beat a Himalayan KOM.
A series of short films where 32 Mr Beast contestants are hired by two hopeless MI5 Agents to track down and catch international terrorist Harry Bedi.
The incredible story of the greatest cycling race in history, the 1989 Tour de France, and how American Greg LeMond faced down betrayal, childhood sexual abuse and death completing one of the most inspiring comebacks in history.
Andy Schleck & Alberto Contador. A pro cycling rivalry that ignited the Tour de France in 2009 and 2010. The fiery Spaniard and the level headed Luxembourger only went toe to toe at the Tour on a few occasions; but their rivalry has gone down in history as one of the most explosive, entertaining, and controversial the sport has ever seen. Dan Lloyd is joined in the studio by Nicolas Roche and William Fotheringham to dig into what made this rivalry so compelling. They’ll re-live epic battles, and debate who is the greatest.