1969 - Following Merckx | movie | 2022 | Official Trailer
1969. July the 15th. Stage 17 of the Tour de France. A brutal stage from Luchon to Mourenx covering four of the toughest | dG1fX2V3OEZvMURfOWs
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Eddie Merckx, the greatest cyclist of all time.
00:04 Here comes Merckx, he's in front of us.
00:06 I'm going to start the timer.
00:07 Oh, this last ramp is very difficult.
00:09 Merckx, first.
00:10 If I was to stand here and list all his victories,
00:13 I'd be here all day.
00:14 You'll never get a rider like him anymore.
00:16 He was like the Muhammad Ali of cycling.
00:20 Five Tour de France, five Giro d'Italia,
00:23 of Vuelta, 19 monuments,
00:26 and that's just the start.
00:28 By the time he retired in 1978,
00:30 he had racked up an astonishing 525 professional victories.
00:36 But there's one particular victory that stands out.
00:40 It was the breakaway that kick-started a legend.
00:44 Stage 17 of the 1969 Tour de France.
00:49 To accompany Eddie Merckx in the Ascension,
00:51 Merckx still side by side with Van Den Bosch.
00:53 He didn't want to win.
00:55 He wanted to destroy the opposition.
00:58 It was Merckx attacking because he could.
01:00 It's why I'm here in the Pyrenees,
01:02 in Bagnères de Luchon,
01:04 to pay homage to this cycling demigod
01:06 and replicate his astonishing ride from 1969.
01:11 220 kilometers,
01:14 four of the hardest mountains in the Pyrenees.
01:17 Almost sounds too easy, doesn't it?
01:20 And that's why I'm going to wear what he would have worn,
01:23 I'm going to eat what he would have eaten.
01:24 What the f*** is that?
01:26 And I'm also going to be riding this,
01:28 a near perfect replica of the exact bike
01:32 he would have ridden back in 1969.
01:35 (speaking in foreign language)
01:37 All with one goal,
01:39 to do justice to the greatest cyclist of all time.
01:43 Actually two goals.
01:44 I'm going to try and beat his time.
01:46 No, I'm not.
01:47 I'm going to try and survive.
01:48 (dramatic music)
01:50 (speaking in foreign language)
01:55 Don't send me off the edge of a precipice.
01:58 I'm absolutely blown to pieces.
02:00 It's going to be a sufferfest.
02:04 I'm going to go for it.
02:05 Boom!
02:06 (dramatic music)
02:09 (dramatic music)
02:11 (dramatic music)
02:15 (dramatic music)
02:17 (music fades)