Cycling
12 of the best road cycling movies of all time
Get inspired to hit the road or a behind-the-scenes look at what the pros have to go through with these feature-length flicks.
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Road cycling is a funny old kettle of fish. At its heart is exploration and having the freedom to discover new places, cultures and experiences. But then it also has a side to it that is about blood, sweat and suffering. This oxymoron is highlighted best in the films devoted to the sport.
Unlike MTB or BMX videos that have a wow factor thanks to their tricks and hair-raising descending of trails, road cycling-focused films make you feel a sense of admiration for their subjects. They highlight the grit and determination that all road cyclists have to go through to reach their aims – be that winning a Grand Tour, breaking a world record or simply exploring the outback of Australia – leaving you feeling inside and itching to go for a ride.
We’ve rounded up the best feature-length films and documentaries devoted to road cycling, each one perfect for a Sunday when the rain stops you from getting out on the bike.
1. Breaking the Cycle
46 min
Anton Palzer: Breaking the Cycle
From the powder to the pavement – Anton Palzer believes he has what it takes to switch from ski mountaineer to road cyclist.
This documentary-style film follows the journey of Anton 'Toni' Palzer as he looks to change sports from a world-renowned ski mountaineer to a professional cyclist over the course of 2021. Palzer is given the opportunity by German pro-team BORA-hansgrohe after performance tests. What follows in the documentary is how the German athlete adapts to the demands of pro-cycling, both physically and mentally, as an absolute beginner. His development is fast and Palzer soon becomes a trusted and valued member of the BORA team, so much so that he is selected to ride at the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's notoriously difficult three-week-long Grand Tours. But is that a step too far physically for the 29-year-old? Find out by watching.
2. UnBRAKEable
24 min
UnBRAKEable
Patrick Seabase rides the most iconic mountain passes of the Swiss Alps. One day, one gear, no brakes.
Swiss cyclist Patrick Seabase is no stranger to pushing himself to the limits of what is physically possible on two wheels. Back in 2016, he pitted himself against a gruelling a stage of the 1910 Tour de France – a gruelling 300km ride that also saw him tackle five Pyrenean mountain passes – aboard a bike with one gear and no brakes (aka a fixie) as part of his Seabase 1910 film.
For his latest documentary, UnBRAKEable, he stayed closer to home, instead taking on a whistle-stop loop of some of Switzerland's most iconic climbs on his trusty fixed gear bike. While the distance and elevation (325km with 8,500m of climbing) is mindboggling in itself, the film reveals the toll that challenge takes on Seabase both physically and mentally, and how he copes with his most demanding feat yet.
3. A Sunday in Hell
Even if you’re new to road cycling, you’ll have probably heard about the cobbled Spring Classics. This 1977 documentary shows the toughest of the bunch – the 1976 edition of Paris-Roubaix – from the eyes of the cyclists, organisers and fans, and the results are absolutely brutal.
Despite its age, the film is still a must watch today, showing the chaos of the 273km-long route and its notorious sections of pavé. If anything else, the numerous crashes, mechanicals and punctures shown will leave you glad that you only have to encounter the UK’s potholes on your next weekend ride.
4. The Flying Scotsman
If we were to tell you that a cycling world record from the '90s was held by a bloke from Scotland who had built his bike from scrap metal and washing machine components, you’d probably not believe us. But Graeme Obree just did that, and The Flying Scotsman is a drama based on his life.
Although the film has average reviews from outside the cycling community, its portrayal of one of modern cycling’s most unlikely stories is very inspiring. Plus, you can expect it to influence all sorts of aerodynamic positions next time you hit the road.
5. Thereabouts
Lachlan Morton is an Australian road cyclist, and as a result of the professional season (January-October) being centred around Europe, he spends the majority of his time away from home. It also means that he doesn’t get to see his brother, Gus (who is a one-time pro himself), that much.
The pair decided to do something about that, and in the 2013 offseason set off on an 11-day, 3,000km journey from their childhood home in Port Macquaire, New South Wales to Uluru, in the heart of Australia. The trip was documented by friends, and Thereabouts is the result. Despite centring on two super-fit athletes, the film manages to show what cycling is all about – discovering new places, meeting new people and having a beer with locals in the deepest part of the outback – and will leave you itching to load the bike up for a weekend or exploration.
6. Ice 2 Ice
50 min
Ice 2 Ice
How Michael Strasser set a new world record cycling 23,000km from Alaska to Patagonia in only 84 days.
In the world of ultra-distance cycling, there are a number of records that stand out more than most. Completing a loop of the planet is obviously at the top of the pile, but not far behind it is cycling the Pan-American highway – a ride of 23,000km between Alaska and Patagonia.
Already a world record holder for riding the length of Africa in 35 days, Austrian triathlete Michael Strasser attempted the feat in 2018, and this documentary follows his journey every pedal stroke of the way.
7. Rising from the Ashes
Despite the continent’s vast size and population, the inclusion of African athletes in the world of professional cycling is still a relatively new occurrence, with Guadalupe's Yohann Gene the first black African to finish the Tour de France as recently as 2011.
Gene’s inclusion was just the start though for African cyclists, and the following year, the Rwandan national team attempted to take part in the 2012 London Games. Rising from the Ashes documents the group’s rise from a bunch of teenagers whose families had be devastated by the 1994 Rwandan genocide to a well-oiled machine coached by the first American to ride the Tour de France, Jock Boyer.
8. Icarus
Not many cycling films can claim to have an Oscar, but the Netflix documentary Icarus is able to do just that. Although the film is well known because of its unveiling of Russian state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Games, it does actually start off by focusing on road cycling.
The filmmaker and keen cyclist, Bryan Fogel, begins the film attempting to win one of the toughest amateur races in road cycling – the Alpine edition of Haute Route. To do so, he enlists the help of the Russian scientist Dr Grigory Rodchenkov to help him dope without being detected by the authorities. What follows is a lot of Skype calls between Fogel and a topless Rodchenkov (he clearly didn’t get the memo about covering up) as the documentary starts to slot the pieces of a bigger, and totally unexpected, puzzle together.
9. All For One
The Australian professional cycling outfit GreenEdge has only been on the scene since 2011 (one year less than a certain Team Sky), but it has managed to rack up an impressive number of big wins, including the 2018 Vuelta a España title.
The documentary All For One follows the team during its first five years of existence, giving a rare behind-the-scenes insight to the band of cyclists and the team that supports them – both through the highs and the lows.
10. Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist
Although the ‘90s were a bit of a wild west in professional cycling when it came to doping, and results have to be taken with a big pinch of salt, the story of the Italian cyclist Marco Pantani is still intriguing and not well known by the novice cycling fan.
James Erskine’s documentary aims to set that straight, telling Il Pirata’s colourful life from his rise through the ranks to its early end when he died of a cocaine overdose in 2004. Although his victory at the 1998 Tour de France is still contentious because of allegations about the use of EPO, the films use of gripping race footage and candid interviews help to bring Pantani’s colourful character (and Mapei jerseys) to life.
11. Clean Spirit
While the other professional racing documentaries on this list have touched on the Tour, this film by director Dirk Jan Roeleven and journalist Nando Boers focuses solely on the biggest race of the year, and looks at it through the eyes of the young team, Argos-Shimano.
The German powerhouse Marcel Kittel steals the show, with the filmmakers capturing the raw elation of all four of his stage wins at the 2013 edition. But the documentary also sheds a light on the monotony of a professional cyclist’s life when they’re not on the bike – massage, food, sleep for the night in a nondescript hotel room in a nondescript French town, repeat.
12. Outskirts: Route 66
Cycling brand Rapha makes some pretty cool films. Enter its Outskirts: Route 66 flick, which stars a certain Gus Morton (yep, him from Thereabouts) and three friends on their ride along Route 66 from Chicago to LA. Like Thereabouts, it gets to the core of what cycling is all about at its heart – a brilliant way of exploring roads, landscapes and the people who live there. Stick it on for five minutes, and before you know it, you’ll have watched the entire thing.
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