7 cycling documentaries not to be missed
Growing interest in cycling documentaries!
The success of series such as “The Least Expected Day” or “Icarus”, praised by critics, shows a desire to get to know the cycling world from a different angle than what can be seen through sports broadcasts.
Therefore, here are 7 documentaries not to be missed!
And the 7 essential cycling documentaries are…
- Movistar (El día menos pensado)
- Lance Amstrong 30 for 30
- Clean Spirit: In the Heart of the Tour
- Iron Cowboy: The Story of the 50.50.50
- Lance Amstrong Stop at Nothing
- Icarus
- Pantani: the accidental death of a cyclist
1. Movistar (El día menos pensado)
The phenomenon of documentary series, which take place behind the scenes of sports teams, remains a formula of guaranteed success. You can find playoffs on Manchester City or Leeds in football, the New Zealand rugby team and even the Toronto Maple Leafs, an ice hockey team. Cycling could not therefore miss the meeting, and in this case, it is the Movistar team that is ready to let in the cameras to observe the extreme hardness of the daily life of the professional cyclist, the tensions with the teammates or the emotions of adults to observe the stages. In the first season you will be touched by the story of Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, you will see first-hand the tensions for the direction of the team between Mikel Landa and Colombian Nairo Quintana, you will hear the voice of experience by Alejandro Valverde. And it’s worth it, and not just for cyclists: oberving how the whole team works, with Eusebio Unzué in the foreground; those who don’t cycle, but who work equally hard every day.
You can watch the documentary on Netflix and it already has two seasons under its belt. If you are one of those people who want to see cycling through the eyes of a professional team, you should not miss it.
30 pour 30 is a line of sports documentaries with a long history. In fact, they have been releasing sports documentaries since 2009, and in its third season (episodes 37 and 38) it focuses on the figure of one of the most acclaimed cyclists in history, at the same time as he became one of the biggest disappointments in the world of sport after the doping conviction which knocked him out of the 7 tours de France obtained.
The documentary, broadcast by ESPN, reviews Lance’s life and story with his firsthand testimony, in a two-part documentary that will leave almost no one indifferent.
3. Clean Spirit: In the Heart of the Tour
The documentary series on professional teams had its prelude to shorter documentaries, the seed of its successful formula. This was the case with the documentary Barcelona Confidencial, directed by Justin Webster and Daniel Hernández, which examined the ins and outs of the new board of directors of new president Joan Laporta. Likewise, this example in cycling is represented by Clena Spirit: “In the Heart of the Tour”. A story “behind the scenes” on the life of the Argos Shimano cycling team, and especially its emerging figure, the German Marcel Kittel.
A documentary in which, as in the case of the series on the Movistar team, we will see the best and the worst of professional cycling, in 2014, in which the world of cycling has lived under the constant crisis of accusations of doping. Work very well directed by the Dutchman Dirk Jan Roeleven.
4. Iron Cowboy: The Story of the 50.50.50
There are people with ambitious daily challenges: guiding children to school and arriving on time, spending a day at work without getting angry, shopping without forgetting anything … and then there is Iron Cowboy, who one fine day decided he would complete 50 Ironman distances in 50 consecutive days in all 50 states of North America. Come on, a weekday walk from triathlete James Lawrence who demonstrates an almost inhuman ability during the documentary, battling pain and suffering in order to make his dream come true.
5. Lance Amstrong Stop at Nothing
Years before Lance’s interview in 30 for 30, most notably in 2014, the BBC released an explosive documentary about what they described as the biggest fraud in recent sports history. Directed by acclaimed Alex Holmes, this documentary shows how Lance Armstrong was able to become not only a sure-fire Tour winner, but also an icon through the history of the fight against cancer, channeled into his foundation. In addition to his recent interview.
The premiere of this documentary in 2017 was one of the most disturbing in the world of sport. Not really exclusively devoted to cycling, the documentary reveals how doping is able to infect all professional sports and the techniques to escape its control. A unique document that gives us insight into the extent to which many success stories hide plots behind them.
7. Pantani: the accidental death of a cyclist
Pantani, one of the Kings of the mountain in the cycling world. His heroics in some of the most mythical climbs in the 90s made him savor victory to an epic point. However, his story was accompanied by a parallel fight against drug addiction that consumed him at the age of 34, when he was found dead on February 14, 2004 in a hotel in Rimini. A unique documentary in which his tragic story is remembered with a special sensitivity and very close testimonies to the Italian cyclist..
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