Tulsa Tough is one of the hardest, fastest, most prestigious criterium races in the United States of America. This high-octane, action packed film follows the Miami Blazers, and hears from sprinter and fast rising talent Dante Young, as they go toe-to-toe with the likes of L39ION OF LOS ANGELES on the downtown streets of Tulsa. It’s NASCAR meets bike racing as we see the best criterium racers in the world battle for supremacy.
Aug 2023
Biniam Girmay’s recent successes have shown that African cycling is on the up, ready at last to follow athletics and football into the big time. But why has it taken so long, and what’s needed to take it all the way? Set against the beauty and battles of the Tour du Rwanda, we explore the past, present and future of riders from Eritrea, South Africa, Rwanda and more, meeting Girmay and the rising stars hot on his heels, as well as the people passionate about giving these riders the opportunities they deserve. This is the story of the next great continent in cycling - Africa.
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.
Jun 2023
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.
May 2023
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?
Dec 2022
Bordeaux-Paris was the best bike race you’ve never heard of: a midnight start, 550km-long, and ridden behind motorised ‘dernys’, with winners including Jacques Anquetil and Tom Simpson. More than thirty years since Bordeaux-Paris was last raced, pro cyclists Mitch Docker and Sam Bewley are aiming to recreate the infamous 1965 edition. How will they fare at the ‘Derby of the Road’?
Sep 2022
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.
Standing proudly amongst the pantheon of cycling’s most revered mountains, the Stelvio boasts some of the longest and most challenging climbs in bike racing. Relentless switchbacks over impossible gradients beneath extremes of weather. It is on the relentless, technical, and often treacherous slopes of the Stelvio where the most famous and revered battles have decided the fate of the Giro d’Italia’s coveted Maglia Rosa. Jon Shubert explores the history and legends of the Stelvio and the surrounding regions, meeting people whose lives have been shaped by the mountain, and ex-professional Adam Hansen joins him as he makes his own attempt to conquer the coveted mountain.
Nov 2022
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.
May 2021
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.
Jul 2023
The Atherton family name has been a staple in British mountain biking for 2 decades, with huge success in international racing and multiple world championship titles between them, mountain biking's most successful family are have had their ups and downs. With insight from MTB journalists and family friends, we'll be reminiscing on their past achievements, and looking at what the future has to hold. With a sawmill, a bike park and a bike brand recently added to their name, their life in mountain biking is beginning a new chapter. We went to visit them in the Dyfi valley to take a look at how the Atherton drive has turned passion projects into fully fledged businesses.
Mar 2021
For specialist hill climbers, collecting Strava KOMs carries huge kudos. At the very top of the wishlist is the mighty Alpe D’Huez, the most iconic mountain in cycling. It’s battered and broken some of the biggest names in the sport. We’ve brought five of Europe’s leading amateurs together to work as a team and try to break the existing record, held by World Tour pro Sepp Kuss. The chosen five are all high achievers in their own right, including multiple British Hill Climb Champion Andrew Feather, and the holder of the Stelvio KOM, Luca “Il Bandito” Vergallito; but only one of them can get the KOM. They’ll have to sacrifice ego and personal ambition, working together to protect and support their lead rider through roadworks and horrendous weather, to try and take the record.
Feb 2023
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.
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?
Nov 2020
The Rainbow Jersey is the crowning achievement of any cyclist’s career, proof that they are the very best in the world. GCN stats guru Cillian Kelly heads to Belgium in a lighthearted jaunt to chat to ex pros, pros and journalists about how the Rainbow Jersey undoubtedly brings with it greatness, but also the pressure to live up to the win. In 'Legend of the Rainbow Jersey’, Cillian uses his statistical nouse as he crunches the numbers and speaks with a selection of former world champions including Michal Kwiatkowski, Rui Costa, Philippe Gilbert and Johan Museeuw about riders wins and losses after winning this famous jersey. Finally, Cillian watches from the roadside as current world champions Remco Evenepoel and Annemiek van Vleuten take on the Ardennes hills in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Will they crown their season as world champions by winning in rainbows? Or will the jersey weigh heavy on their shoulders?
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.
Simon Richardson and James Lowsley-Williams are heading to Nepal to tackle the Annapurna Circuit; a 230 km trail that circumnavigates the mountain. Known as the best long distance hike in the world, an experienced hiker will take around 20 days to complete the route on foot; Si and James are attempting to ride it in just 5. Joined by local Nepalese mountain bike legend, Mangal Lama, they’ll battle extreme weather conditions, treacherous single track, and perilous high altitude as they try to complete the iconic Annapurna Circuit.
Nov 2023
The cycle jersey is an iconic symbol of the greatest teams and winning riders in sporting history. In this documentary ex-pro racer, Adam Blythe explores its history, from its basic beginnings to today's extraordinary feat of technical engineering and design. Nowadays, a cycling kit can literally be the difference between winning and losing a race in terms of performance. From woollen fibres to the sleek, skin-hugging lycra, how has its evolution shaped the cycling world? With exclusive access to one of the world’s finest collections and interviews with the founder of Rapha and Castelli’s top designers, this documentary is a colourful celebration of the jersey.
Apr 2021
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.
Feb 2021
To call Jenny Graham a passionate cyclist is an understatement. As the record holder for the fastest unsupported loop of the planet by bike, no-one better understands the freedom cycling can offer. Jenny celebrates some of the world’s cycling greats and unsung historical heroines from Tillie Anderson to Marianne Vos. Jenny rides with former Trans-Continental Race winner Emily Chappell and talks to women’s rights activist Shannon Galpin about how the Afghan Women's National Cycling team is changing attitudes in Afghanistan.