cs124
05-12-2005, 03:41 AM
I saw an advance screening of this movie last night with a few roadie mates and a cinema full of like-minded degenerates.
In a word, awesome.
It is a docu-drama that follows the Telekom team on the 2003 Tour, focussing on 4 riders (Zabel, Aldag, Vinokourov & Kloeden) but with snippets of some other, non-Telekom riders and an entertaining, if rather unhealthy obsession with a cute girl in an orange bikini.
It's a little bit like Jamie Paolinetti's "Pro" in that it has as much footage of behing the scenes activities as of the actual racing but appears to have been made with a larger budget and more elaborate post-production.
It would take me hours to describe every part of the film in detail but there are a few moments which are firmly implanted in my memory.
- Rolf Aldag on the ergo in a pre-Tour fitness test dripping sweat and gasping for air. The camera pans to a digital display... 460 Watts and 184 bpm.
- "Eule" the soigneur cleaning Erik Zabel up after a crash and explaining how he has to scrub the wounds in the shower until they bleed out all the germs from the road rash.
- Zabel cursing after a time trial "...I'd get up to speed, 50, 52, 53 then bam, another hill or corner or headwind! My average was 42 km/h, pathetic. The worst thing is Rolf beat me and he's got a cold..." cut to Aldag, obviously absolutely spent after his TT, hacking cough, bringing up all sorts of lung oysters.
- Vino and Kloden coming back to the team car on an Alpine stage for bottles and a pep talk with Mario Kummer. Vino does the "pro thing" and holds on to the bottle for about 30 seconds as the car accelerates up the incline. Kloeden listens, takes one bottle quickly and when Kummer motions for him to take another one and hold on Kloedi just waves his hand and rides away.
If it's showing in your area, do yourself a favour and see it. For those in Melbourne, it will be showing at the cinema Nova in Lygon St Carlton from May 19th.
In a word, awesome.
It is a docu-drama that follows the Telekom team on the 2003 Tour, focussing on 4 riders (Zabel, Aldag, Vinokourov & Kloeden) but with snippets of some other, non-Telekom riders and an entertaining, if rather unhealthy obsession with a cute girl in an orange bikini.
It's a little bit like Jamie Paolinetti's "Pro" in that it has as much footage of behing the scenes activities as of the actual racing but appears to have been made with a larger budget and more elaborate post-production.
It would take me hours to describe every part of the film in detail but there are a few moments which are firmly implanted in my memory.
- Rolf Aldag on the ergo in a pre-Tour fitness test dripping sweat and gasping for air. The camera pans to a digital display... 460 Watts and 184 bpm.
- "Eule" the soigneur cleaning Erik Zabel up after a crash and explaining how he has to scrub the wounds in the shower until they bleed out all the germs from the road rash.
- Zabel cursing after a time trial "...I'd get up to speed, 50, 52, 53 then bam, another hill or corner or headwind! My average was 42 km/h, pathetic. The worst thing is Rolf beat me and he's got a cold..." cut to Aldag, obviously absolutely spent after his TT, hacking cough, bringing up all sorts of lung oysters.
- Vino and Kloden coming back to the team car on an Alpine stage for bottles and a pep talk with Mario Kummer. Vino does the "pro thing" and holds on to the bottle for about 30 seconds as the car accelerates up the incline. Kloeden listens, takes one bottle quickly and when Kummer motions for him to take another one and hold on Kloedi just waves his hand and rides away.
If it's showing in your area, do yourself a favour and see it. For those in Melbourne, it will be showing at the cinema Nova in Lygon St Carlton from May 19th.