Cyclo Sportive Reconnaissance on DVD: The Trilogy

We have reviewed DVD’s on Bikecyclingreviews and we have written about Sportive events. Well, now we can combine both as Cyclefilm Productions have put together a great box set of three DVD’s covering “The Big Three” Sportive events in Europe; in Italy the “Maratona dles Dolomites”, in Spain the “Quebrantahuesos” and in France “La Marmotte”. After the l’Etape du Tour these are the monuments of the Sportive season and now you can see what they are all about before you enter

Sportive’s are the new racing or if you prefer, they are the new marathon mass entry events. Yes, a Sportive is like a road race for the riders at the front, but for the others it’s a race against their team mates or it’s a personal battle against themselves, the distance and the mountains.

These DVD’s show you what to expect from some of the most challenging roads in Europe, this series give you the low-down on the whole “shebang”, if you are thinking of riding these, or any other big event, then this box set will get you in the mood for riding.

Top Sportive specialist, Michael Cotty covers all three routes for the camera, describing each event in detail, these are the best and the hardest Sportive’s on offer, let’s take a close look at each one hour DVD:

The Trilogy-Vol. 1: Maratona dles Dolomites

Some say Italy is the home of the bike maybe the Italians didn’t invent it and maybe it isn’t the home of the biggest race, but there is no passion for cycling any where in the world like there is in Italy and the Mountains of the Dolomites have seen many bike battles over the years in many road races.

You can relive those battles with this Sportive, Michael takes us over the seven mountain passes in this fairly short Sportive, measuring in at 138 kilometers, but it’s very hard to ride all these mountain passes in one day, as many professional Giro d’Italia riders will attest.

Dolomites

If you are considering riding a Sportive in Italy it has to be the Maratona dles Dolomites, it has so much to offer, those mountain passes are a must and think of the Italian food and ambiance.

On this DVD there are extra Special Features including uncut “Bullet Cam” sequences and Part 1 of the “Sportive Survival Guide” which covers tips on different techniques, such as climbing, descending and group riding.

Dolomites

The Trilogy-Vol. 2: Quebrantahuesos

The Quebrantahuesos is a Spanish Sportive, but this Pyrenean challenge with 3,500 meters of climbing goes over the border in to France and conquers the Somport, Marie Blanque and Portalet. This is a long ride of 205 punishing kilometers and on the day of filming our guide Michael Cotty had snow storms, headwinds and torrential rain storms to contend with. A “hardmans” day that see’s him struggle to make the end of the ride before darkness fell. This has to be one of the hardest Sportive’s on the calendar and this film takes you through every grueling inch.

Quebrantahuesos Profile

Special Features on this DVD are Part 2 of “Sportive Survival Guide” tips, this time a look at bike set-up and packing your bike for the trip and there are more uncut “Bullet Cam” sequences.

Quebrantahuesos

The Trilogy-Vol. 3: La Marmotte

L’Alpe d’Huez is one of the most famous climbs in cycling history and it’s the one everyone wants to conquer, at least once in their life! La Marmotte has climbing and then more climbing, topping 5,000 meters of it over the 174 kilometers of tough French roads. Before you can tackle the 21 hair pin bends of L’Alpe d’Huez you have to climb the Col du Glandon and the enormous Col du Galibier, these are monuments in the world of cycling and can not be taken lightly. This DVD has punch by punch descriptions of these energy sapping mountain passes, if you are thinking of attempting La Marmotte this is the guide you need to succeed.

Marmotte

Part 3 of the “Sportive Survival Guide” goes into nutritional issues to help you get though your big ride and more uncut “Bullet Cam” sequences.

Marmotte

What do we think?

This box set is a must if you are thinking of riding any of these Sportive’s, or for that matter any long hard ride in company or solo. You don’t need to be in Italy, Spain or France to find these DVD’s helpful and interesting and you never know they may get you off your ass and out on your bike! There is lots of information on the particular rides, even if you are planning to do them on a different day from the organized rides or over a longer time scale then the DVD’s take you by the hand the whole way round the routes.

Each of The Trilogy DVD’s are 14.99 GBP and the complete box set is 39.99 GBP. The neatest thing is that this includes worldwide delivery and the price is the same for everyone at the present day currency conversion, they are also Zone Free, so they will play anywhere on the globe.

Checkout the Cyclefilm web-site www.cyclefilm.com for more DVD’s and lots of other information and to make your purchases.

Our Vote-10/10, well filmed and very informative, nice!