GCN+

GCN Presenter Simon Richardson & endurance cyclist Jenny Graham are spending a whirlwind 24 hours in the Colombian city of Medellin. Once the country's murder capitol, this cities dark past is long gone, now a safe a vibrant place, described as one of the most cycling friendly cities in Latin America. Si is heading to the hills to ride the world famous Alto de las Palmas & meet legendary figureheads of Colombian cycling including Santiago Botero, Rigoberto Uran & frame builder Tino Hincapie. Jenny is exploring the colourful Comuna 13 with Champion trials rider Xavier Zapata.

On the 19th of July 1903 60 cyclists left Paris for the maiden stage of the very first Tour de France, racing 467km through the night to the line in Lyon. 116 years later, two modern-day riders attempted to recreate the feat of endurance using bikes and equipment from the early 20th century to fully experience the highs and lows of the early Tour pioneers. Endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont and GCN presenter James Lowsley-Williams are pushed to the limits of their physical and mental ability, struggling with the midsummer heat, bikes borrowed from museums and a lack of sleep. How did they compare to the Tour’s first heroes?

Biniam Girmay’s recent successes have shown that African cycling is on the up, ready at last to follow athletics and football into the big time. But why has it taken so long, and what’s needed to take it all the way? Set against the beauty and battles of the Tour du Rwanda, we explore the past, present and future of riders from Eritrea, South Africa, Rwanda and more, meeting Girmay and the rising stars hot on his heels, as well as the people passionate about giving these riders the opportunities they deserve. This is the story of the next great continent in cycling - Africa.

Ex-pro cyclist, Ted King has a lot of love for his home state of Vermont. With its rolling landscapes, rugged gravel roads and its fantastic craft beer scene, he was never unhappy to return home after his time spent in pelotons around the world. As beer and bike enthusiasts, Ted and elite road and CX racer Regina Legge, are taking their gravel bikes down the road less travelled, touring brewery to brewery and learning what puts Vermont’s craft beer ahead of the bunch. As they head north to south, we'll take in some of Vermont's challenging climbs and learn a thing or two about beer along the way.

Andy Schleck & Alberto Contador. A pro cycling rivalry that ignited the Tour de France in 2009 and 2010. The fiery Spaniard and the level headed Luxembourger only went toe to toe at the Tour on a few occasions; but their rivalry has gone down in history as one of the most explosive, entertaining, and controversial the sport has ever seen. Dan Lloyd is joined in the studio by Nicolas Roche and William Fotheringham to dig into what made this rivalry so compelling. They’ll re-live epic battles, and debate who is the greatest.

Simon Richardson and James Lowsley-Williams head to the Himalayas on a quest to discover Nepal’s mysterious ‘Forbidden Kingdom’, the remote mountaintop city of Lo Manthang. Breath-taking views, lung-busting climbs, and incredible encounters with locals; Si and James are in for an unmissable gravel bike adventure! Their once-in-a-lifetime expedition begins in the chaotic streets of Kathmandu before embarking on a gruelling five-day ride up the ancient trade route that forges a path between Nepal and Tibet. Their epic ride sees them dicing with kamikaze trucks, enduring freezing rainstorms, taking a 228m bungee jump, and even a heroic attempt to beat a Himalayan KOM.

From Victorian oddity to potentially being the future of personal transport, the e-bike has never been more popular. But it seems, not with everyone. GCN’s Si Richardson is not convinced. So, it falls to former-downhill racer and EMBN presenter Steve Jones to change his mind in a series of challenges that are sure to test Si’s preconceptions, fitness and bike handling skills. As well as putting Simon through his paces, we'll catch up with former world champion Tracy Moseley and discover how Israel Start-Up Nation have electrified their training.

It created one of the most memorable days in grand tour history. Riders such as Andy Hampsten and Franco Chioccioli share their extraordinary experience of a day they'll never forget.

Tulsa Tough is one of the hardest, fastest, most prestigious criterium races in the United States of America. This high-octane, action packed film follows the Miami Blazers, and hears from sprinter and fast rising talent Dante Young, as they go toe-to-toe with the likes of L39ION OF LOS ANGELES on the downtown streets of Tulsa. It’s NASCAR meets bike racing as we see the best criterium racers in the world battle for supremacy.

1969. July the 15th. Stage 17 of the Tour de France. A brutal stage from Luchon to Mourenx covering four of the toughest mountains in the Pyrenees. On this fateful day, Eddy Merckx catapulted himself into the history books with one of the greatest solo breakaways the sport has ever seen. Fast forward over half a century, and GCN’s Simon Richardson is in the Pyrenees to pay tribute to The Cannibal by recreating his ride. To make the 220km epic even more challenging, Si will do it aboard his 1969 spec Faema team bike and wearing their iconic red and white jersey. Eddy Merckx made this ride look easy, but will Si even make it to the finish line?

A mountain so legendary it’s known simply as “The Alpe”, with its unmistakable 21 hairpins it’s cycling’s most famous climb. Not the steepest, or the hardest, but when the Tour de France hits Alpe d’Huez, drama is guaranteed. It’s featured more than thirty times and is eagerly awaited by hordes of fans lining the route. Crowds are estimated to have swelled to over a million and on one of the sport’s most recognisable bends all of Holland seems to camp out; the iconic Dutch Corner. Conor is joined by ex-pro Fränk Schleck who won on the mountain in 2006. His victory cemented his place at cycling’s top table, and Fränk’s name is now immortalised on hairpin eighteen, alongside double stage winner, Hennie Kuiper, who also shares his memories of the mythical mountain.

GCN's James Lowsley-Williams and GMBN's Blake Samson are trading in their usual bikes for ones with much smaller wheels, as they try their hand at two variations of the incredibly varied sport of bicycle motocross. We'll explore the history of BMX to learn about the rise, fall and rebirth of one of cycling's most explosive forms. From racing on the track to landing tricks in skate bowls, what does it take to make it to the top level of BMX?

Reynolds Technology has been responsible for the tubing in the world’s most famous bikes: Jaques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault’s Tour winning Gitanes; Eddy Merckx’s DeRosa; and Miguel Indurain’s Pinarello… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Reynolds patented the invention of butted steel tubing, a process that dramatically reduces weight in steel bikes, over 120 years ago. GCN+ travels to their factory on the outskirts of Birmingham, UK to discover how the company has survived the threat of more modern materials. That's right, steel is here to stay.

In the mid-1980s, one team dominated the cycling headlines: La Vie Claire. Despite a ferocious internal power struggle between two of the sport’s biggest stars, they racked up more than 100 wins. Wearing their iconic Mondrian jersey, Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond won two of the most infamous Tour de France victories of all time. Bankrolled by the controversial businessman, Bernard Tapie, La Vie Claire rewrote the rulebook on both bike racing and fashion. Dan Lloyd is joined by special guests Pippa York and William Fotheringham to discuss how the team turned a recipe for disaster into a period of complete dominance.

Just how far can you ride a bike In 24 hours? Ultra-endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont is joined by GCN Presenter James Lowsley-Williams on an overnight expedition from Somerset to Scotland through gruelling winter conditions. Along the way they are tested by a team of top academics to monitor the effect of the demanding challenge is having on their cognitive function and long term physical ability. Battling fatigue and the ever-changing weather conditions, how far can they make it?

Standing proudly amongst the pantheon of cycling’s most revered mountains, the Stelvio boasts some of the longest and most challenging climbs in bike racing. Relentless switchbacks over impossible gradients beneath extremes of weather. It is on the relentless, technical, and often treacherous slopes of the Stelvio where the most famous and revered battles have decided the fate of the Giro d’Italia’s coveted Maglia Rosa. Jon Shubert explores the history and legends of the Stelvio and the surrounding regions, meeting people whose lives have been shaped by the mountain, and ex-professional Adam Hansen joins him as he makes his own attempt to conquer the coveted mountain.

Neil Laughton, cycling enthusiast, adventurer and record-breaker is joined by cycling experts Scotford Lawrence, Edwin Knight and Jon Cannings to explore the history of the bicycle. They explore every twist and turn of the bicycle’s journey of development through history, including some major successes, and the odd failure! The journey begins with the Laufmachine in 1817 right through to the safety bicycle that has developed into the high-performance machines we know today.

Fabian Cancellara is one of the greatest Classics riders ever, with three Tour of Flanders wins and three editions of Paris-Roubaix to his name. He also won the world time trial championships four times and took eight stage victories at the Tour de France, wearing the yellow jersey for a total of 29 days. He hung up his wheels in 2016, after claiming his second Olympic gold medal. Dan Lloyd is in Switzerland to go cross country skiing and find out more about the lesser-known Swiss version of the legend of Spartacus.

GCN presenter and ex-professional cyclist Conor Dunne heads to Midwest America to take on the infamous UNBOUND 200. Alongside 100 pro riders and more than 1000 amateurs, this is the biggest gravel race in the world. Across 330 km of unforgiving Kansas landscape, Conor must battle tyre-slashing flint, thick mud, and crippling heat exhaustion in a fight to make it to the finish. Conor is joined by former World Tour road pros Nathan Haas and Larry Warbasse, up-and coming gravel racer Anna Yamauchi, and 2022 Unbound champion Ivar Slik in this up close and personal, no-holds barred look at what it takes to survive this brutal event.

In 2017, Mark Beaumont took on an epic ride around Britain in the build up to his Around the World record attempt. Covering over 3500 miles in under 15 days, this would be a critical trial of all the elements needed to become the fastest person on a bike to circumnavigate the globe. Challenging both his mental and physical resilience, Mark endures Britain’s most punishing landscapes and brutal weather as this journey pushes both his and the support team to untold levels; as Mark said himself: “The stuff that is miserable at the time becomes life affirming, career affirming stuff!”