A New Spin on Racing

It turns out that Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski is a darn, nice guy. Who'd have known? Off Road to Athens captures the personalities behind the sport.

One of the biggest complaints lodged against televised cross-country mountain bike racing is that, well, it's boring as hell. Footage of really skinny people, really hurting as they scale really steep courses just hasn't proved really interesting to Joe America.

That's a shame because just about every time riders assemble at the starting line, great human dramas unfold. It's not that cross-country racing is boring--it's that most televised versions of XC racing are boring. That may be changing, however, with the release of this new movie.

Off Road to Athens is a new feature-length documentary that tracks the ups and downs of eight racers as they trot the globe for six months in a bid for points and a shot at Olympic Glory. In addition to providing an interesting behind-the-scenes perspective on cross-country racing (something that hasn't really been done to date), the movie also provides you with a sense of who the riders are and what motivates them. If there's an element that's been missing from mountain biking coverage to date, it's been personality. It's encouraging to see a film tackle this under-reported side of the sport.

Off Road to Athens will premier April 15th and 16th at the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, California. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The movie will also be shown at:
Rochester, New York on May 5th (at the Little Theater)

Boulder, Colorado on May 14th (2 shows at the Bouther Theater)

Somerville, Massachusetts on May 19th and 20th (the Somerville Theatre)

Durango, Colorado on May 28th and 29th (4 shows at the Abbey Theater)and

Arlington, Virginia on June 9th (at the Cinema Drafthouse).

If you can't make any of those showings, you will be able to buy the DVD for $29.95, directly off www.offroadtoathens.com in just a few weeks. Once on the website you can also watch a short teaser that'll give you a real-world glimpse of what the movie has to offer. It's worth checking out.

Alison Dunlap is one of 8 racers profiled.