Best cycling films and documentaries

The best cycling films and documentaries are entertaining, informative and inspiring: in short, they’re perfect viewing for when there’s no racing on TV.

Even better, many of the best cycling films and documentaries are free to view online. That’ll be welcome relief if your subscription to watch professional racing has spiked in price. 

From classic feature films from Eddy’s Merckx’s heyday to modern releases from streaming giants, here are the cycling films and documentaries you need to watch. 

For more viewing options, we also have a guide to the best running movies and best sporting films and documentaries.

Eight of the best cycling films and documentaries to watch now

Tour de France: Unchained, Netflix

Tour de France: Unchained takes you behind the scenes of the world’s biggest bike race. 

Criticised by some for sensationalising crashes and spats within and between teams, and lacking access to the biggest stars, there’s no doubt Unchained makes for compelling viewing. 

Whether you followed the race live or not, Unchained sheds fresh light on the Tour. 

Although the docuseries has reportedly been cancelled, the series filmed last year is set to come out this spring. 

The Least Expected Day, Netflix

Another and I’d argue better Netflix docuseries, The Least Expected Day followed the Movistar Team from 2018 to 2021. 

Why’s it better? Well, The Least Expected Day is more forensic. It takes longer to explore the riders’ characters and narratives. Most interviewees seems less guarded than in Unchained.

The filmmakers capture the drama and tension of WorldTour without gratuitously repeating footage of bad crashes. 

And they didn’t need to. Within Movistar, the tension of having multiple general classification riders often erupts into genuine drama. 

Mark Cavendish: Never Enough, Netflix

Sorry, just one more Netflix release. Someone had the foresight to train a camera on Sir Mark Cavendish as he went through a torrid time from 2017 to 2020. 

Epstein-Barr virus, crashes, poor form and depression threatened Cavendish’s career and wellbeing. 

On the brink of ending 2020 without a contract, his old boss Patrick Lefevere took a chance on him. 

Never Enough then tells the story of the Manx Missile’s return to form at Deceuninck–Quick-Step. 

Try to keep a dry eye as Cavendish, his family and team celebrate him equalling Eddy Merckx’s stage-win record at the Tour de France. An incredible story, brilliantly told. 

The Stars and the Watercarriers, YouTube

Talking of the Cannibal, Stars and Watercarriers is a must-watch documentary for fans of cycling history. 

Directed by the celebrated Jørgen Leth, the documentary follows the 1973 Giro d’Italia. The insatiable Eddy Merckx fends off more romantic, attacking riders, such as José Manuel Fuente, to win his fourth title.

But the footage of the watercarriers (the teammates and helpers of the stars) is arguably more captivating. Watch them eat ice creams mid-stage and raid cafes for drinks. 

Sometimes filmed from within the peloton, in typical Leth fashion, the documentary celebrates the beauty of road cycling. An orchestral accompaniment elevates Stars and Watercarriers to epic status.

A Sunday in Hell, YouTube

A Sunday in Hell is Leth’s second contribution to the best cycling films and documentaries. This time he tells the story of the 1977 Paris-Roubaix – L’enfer du nord or the hell of the north. 

There are more artistically long shots of mechanics prepping bikes, pre-race massages and dust billowing from the dry cobbles of northern France. 

The all–star cast of riders includes Merckx again, and his great one-day race rivals: Roger de Vlaeminck, Francesco Moser and Freddie Maertens. 

Leth augments the drama of the racing with footage of the spectators on the roadside and in bars. In this way he distills the magic of Roubaix, a brutally tough and unpredictable race that is still the highlight of many cycling fans’ year. 

Lance, Disney+

If you watch one documentary about the rise and fall of the disgraced Lance Armstrong, make it this one. 

In four riveting hours award-winning director Marina Zenovich examines how the former triathlete recovered from testicular cancer, won seven consecutive Tour de France titles – then had them stripped for doping.

Perhaps because Armstrong has had time to reflect after his second retirement or because, in her first cycling film, Zenovich’s objectivity is advantageous, Lance reveals a different side to the brash Texan.

He bullied and persecuted rivals and accusers, but Zenovich gets Armstrong to show vulnerability and even remorse. Other Armstrong films have failed to portray such a rounded account of cycling’s answer to Shakespearean tragedy.  

Slaying the Badger, Disney+

Armstrong wasn’t the first cyclist to tyrannically rule the pro peloton. France’s last yellow jersey winner Bernard ‘the Badger’ Hinault took five overall wins between 1978 and 1985 with a mixture of physical brilliance and intimidation. 

Slaying the Badger, based on the late Richard Moore’s fantastic book of the same name, recounts the 1986 Tour de France. 

Considered by many to be the best edition ever, the 1986 race saw the young American Greg Lemond battle with Hinault. Incredibly they were teammates, but Hinault’s apparent sabotage of Lemond’s chances suggested otherwise. 

De Ronde, YouTube

The De Ronde documentaries went behind the scenes of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, one of cycling’s biggest one-day races. 

From pre-race briefings, team cars, fanatic supporters’ clubs, the commentary booths and, of course, the peloton itself, De Ronde records seemingly every aspect of what’s usually a thrilling race. 

Compared to some of the best cycling films and documentaries filmed in this fly-on-the-wall style, De Ronde‘s access seems less filtered.

Sadly these documentaries aren’t made any more, but you’ll find the back catalogue on the Flanders Classics YouTube channel. 

Relive Niki Terpestra’s surprise win in 2018, Peter Sagan in his unstoppable pomp in 2016 or Mathieu van der Poel’s first Flanders victory in the 2020 Covid edition.