The full film from the 2014 season with the Lapierre team is worth every minute of your time, sit back and enjoy.
Lapierre Gravity Republic | A Life Worth Winning
In seven World Cups we have seen Loic Bruni race for 28 minutes and 9 hundredths of a second. Sam Blenkinsop finished 2014 with a 21.65 second advantage which equates to 34 points in UCI money. As the last time sheet of 2014 was fed out of the Tissot timing printer in Hafjell it was a season to remember for one of the biggest teams in the pits.
I sat down to watch this film expecting to see a document of a year in the life of a big race team. Money, a big truck, nice bikes, sunshine and some incredible riding were on the cards. What Aaron Bartlett has done is open the back window if that big truck and take us to the centre of a complex team.
We’ve all seen films about race teams, Clay Porter was a fly on the Atherton Racing canvas but somehow Aaron has got into the heads of the riders. One theme that recurs in the film is the one of a family and also a history that you probably didn’t know.
When Laurent Delorme stared managing teams things were very different but he put together a group of riders that looked and acted the part. When Lapierre came onboard as the title sponsor he signed Dave Vasquez (now MTB Technical Delegate at the UCI) and a very young Danny Hart on his first pro deal. Seeing Hart back in 2008 on his 18th birthday in Schladming opens your eyes to where this team has come from.
The film calls on the successes of the whole team, winning the top team in 2014 was a result of big wins from Ragot and Vergier but the main thrust of the film is the relationship and rivalry of Loic and Sam, let’s call it a Bro Battle.
It’s pretty weird to think this and definitely the last thing I expected but Loic idolised Blenky and was too nervous to ask him for one of his jerseys when they first met. When you look at the relationship between two individuals within a team you might expect tension as they each out to beat the other, it’s black and white.
Loic and Sam blur any expectation of unhealthy rivalry and live more as brothers. Rivalry is healthy but banter is the fitter of the two. Sitting back to back on turbo trainers before the race in Leogang it’s clear from Sam’s look over his shoulder that he still wants to put in the faster time.
We get everything in this film, from the family life that Loris and Loic share as neighbours in rural France to bitter disappointment Bruni felt after he crashed in Leogang. Peaty had wise words for Loic and the team consoled him none more so than Blenky.
Sam Blekinsop leaves the team for 2015 but he leaves a team that he has become a huge part of. He will clearly be missed by everyone and especially Loic but now it’s Bruni’s turn to step up. He will take Finn Iles under his wing next season and the young Canadian couldn’t be in better hands.
Check out all the action from the team in the 2014 race season right here:
A LIFE WORTH WINNING
Starred:
Loic Bruni
Sam Blenkinsop
Emmeline Ragot
Loris Vergier
Also:
Cam Cole
Danny Hart
David Vazquez
Life on Wheels – A Life Worth Winning is proudly supported in 2014 by the following companies:
– Lapierre Cycles (Facebook.com/CyclesLapierre)
– SRAM (@SramMTB , Facebook.com/SramMTB)
– Dainese (@dainese , Facebook.com/daineseofficial)
We’d also like to thank Pure Agency and Team Lapierre Gravity Republic as well as Red Bull for their help, without which this project would not be possible.