GCN+

GCN Presenter Simon Richardson & endurance cyclist Jenny Graham are spending a whirlwind 24 hours in the Colombian city of Medellin. Once the country's murder capitol, this cities dark past is long gone, now a safe a vibrant place, described as one of the most cycling friendly cities in Latin America. Si is heading to the hills to ride the world famous Alto de las Palmas & meet legendary figureheads of Colombian cycling including Santiago Botero, Rigoberto Uran & frame builder Tino Hincapie. Jenny is exploring the colourful Comuna 13 with Champion trials rider Xavier Zapata.

A fascinating insight into the role of the bicycle in the First World War - from reconnaissance to transporting ammunition, historian and cycling enthusiast Jeremy Banning explores stories from the battlefield. Ollie Bridgewood discovers the role cycle scouts played in the Army Cycling Corp and rides the original bikes used in the conflict. Mark Beaumont meets the grandson of a WW1 soldier who rode for the Highland Cyclist Battalion and survived brutal combat on the front line.

Ex-pro cyclist, Ted King has a lot of love for his home state of Vermont. With its rolling landscapes, rugged gravel roads and its fantastic craft beer scene, he was never unhappy to return home after his time spent in pelotons around the world. As beer and bike enthusiasts, Ted and elite road and CX racer Regina Legge, are taking their gravel bikes down the road less travelled, touring brewery to brewery and learning what puts Vermont’s craft beer ahead of the bunch. As they head north to south, we'll take in some of Vermont's challenging climbs and learn a thing or two about beer along the way.

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.

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.

Reynolds Technology has been responsible for the tubing in the world’s most famous bikes: Jaques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault’s Tour winning Gitanes; Eddy Merckx’s DeRosa; and Miguel Indurain’s Pinarello… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Reynolds patented the invention of butted steel tubing, a process that dramatically reduces weight in steel bikes, over 120 years ago. GCN+ travels to their factory on the outskirts of Birmingham, UK to discover how the company has survived the threat of more modern materials. That's right, steel is here to stay.

Neil Laughton, cycling enthusiast, adventurer and record-breaker is joined by cycling experts Scotford Lawrence, Edwin Knight and Jon Cannings to explore the history of the bicycle. They explore every twist and turn of the bicycle’s journey of development through history, including some major successes, and the odd failure! The journey begins with the Laufmachine in 1817 right through to the safety bicycle that has developed into the high-performance machines we know today.

It created one of the most memorable days in grand tour history. Riders such as Andy Hampsten and Franco Chioccioli share their extraordinary experience of a day they'll never forget.