A mixed success
I’m pretty surprised at how unanimous the reviews are of this film. I think it suffers from being an insider job–the film, apparently, was commissioned by Trek in order to follow their guy as he pursued his 7th straight world 24 hour title. This as opposed to a filmmaker on a mission due to passion for a subject and story that they simply felt it was important to pursue. Now this makes it sound worse than it is, which I don’t mean. It’s certainly not a hack job at all and it isn’t done dispassionately. It just has a different angle than what one expects of a doc. The footage of the mountain biking is very fine; it’s beautifully photographed and any mountain biker will enjoy just sitting there and watching these sections of the film.However, the documentary viewer appreciates more narrative. Take the lengthy opening, for example: some context would be helpful. Overall the film has too much filler in the first half. Why? Because the ostensible subject of the film is simply a profile of Eatough and his pursuit of a another crown. He seems to be a great guy and his sidekick, Pos, is amusing. Both are quite likable, not to mention articulate. (Where is Eatough from? That accent? Canada?) But that’s not enough for a story. Therefore, given the purported goal of a somewhat bland, character description doc. that insiders rightly congratulate themselves over but outsiders don’t need to see, it made sense to include the section on China. I’m sure having gone to China it would have been painful to cut this entire section–and again, great “mountain” biking footage–but it’s long and inessential to a narrative (and even if you disagree with this, the section has too much filler). The only reason this film works on a narrative level–which it doesn’t really acquire until the final race–is because the guy from Australia shows up and rains on Trek’s and Eatough’s parade. Too bad for Eatough; thank goodness for the film. This is the part where the viewer finally cares about a story. The film is taken off guard and out of its comfort zone; there’s no lead-up or build up or background on this narrative arc, which also makes the film suffer. Why? Well, who the heck is this guy who comes out of nowhere? True there’ve been interviews with him in hospital garb included from early on. But as for the narrative of Gordon as a character locked in drama with Eatough, there’s very little. In fact, there’s a telling point on the dvd’s extras that suggests that the filmmakers still didn’t want to highlight this drama (nor to provide useful context) as much as they could have. It’s footage of Pos traveling to Georgia for the final competition. First, he says where they’re going (nice to know) and mentions this guy, whatshisname from Australia, who they’ll have to look out for. This is essential and useful information, planting the seed of conflict–much more useful to the interesting story of the race than anything from China. (You also find out here that his wife is pregnant; hmmm, isn’t there a potential story there too, or at least interesting, complicating details of our hero?) More background and info. on Gordon would be really helpful. More info. on other riders generally would be helpful. No one else, besides Eatough and Pos, are developed as characters, so the competition is divested of the interest it could have had. More background and info. on the race itself would be useful. How many miles do these guys ride? How long is a lap? Etc.Anyway, the best part of the film is the Gordon vs. Eatough story. Ultimately, I feel a little taken in having spent money on a film that’s, in a large part, a Trek promotional video–promotional meaning for their products, of course, but also their rider, which is more or less the same thing from their point of view. So to disagree with other reviewers, the film is more for fans of bikes than people who just want to watch a good show.

Worth buying twice
This is such a great movie, a friend borrowed it and never returned it. (Because he likes mountain biking as much as we do.) We finally just told him to keep it, and we ordered another for ourselves.

Very inspiring movie. Anyone who is considering mountain bike …
Very inspiring movie. Anyone who is considering mountain bike racing should see this.