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Race Across The Sky - A Review Of The Movie
By spokesman | February 21, 2010
I saw the movie Race Across The Sky this week at a screening at the Arlington Cinema & Draft House hosted by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and Bike Arlington. Spokes Etc., a local chain of bike shops, also needs to be recognized for contributing prizes to the raffle.
The film is a documentary on the Leadville 100 mountain bike race held annually in Leadville, Colorado. The film was made during the 2009 race. Lance Armstrong was a race participant for the second time that year. He first rode the race in 2008 when he began his comeback and he finished second that year. His attempt in 2009 took place just 3 weeks after he had finished the Tour De France.
The film does an excellent job of giving the history of the race and a feel for the difficulty of the course (104 miles, over 14,000 feet of cumulative ascent, entire course at high altitude). There are many significant steep climbs and descents over a mixture of terrain. The film is narrated by Bob Roll, who will be familiar to viewers of the Tour De France. Although Bob’s comments are scripted as opposed to his usual improvised style, he is still very entertaining.
The photography is beautiful. The race takes place in a very scenic area and the film captures the beauty of the area. Filming a bicycle race over a 100 course where some of the route includes very narrow paths is difficult. However they managed to capture all of the key moments in the race and were very close to the racers. There are even discussions with riders during the race throughout the film.
The movie also does a good job of capturing stories of average participants. While the race includes some professionals, there are many amateur riders whose only goal is to finish before the 12 hour cut-off and be awarded the finisher’s Leadville 100 belt buckle.
If you get an opportunity to see the film, I highly recommend it. I think that even non-bikers will find it enjoyable.
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Topics: Books/Movies |