Bernard Heitz /Télérama

From 1931 to 1939, he was the uncontested figurehead of French cycling. A gifted sprinter, he made his name on the roads of France, notably during the 1934 Paris-Roubaix and the 1937 Tour de France that he won in spite of a persistent lumbar hernia and the nasty tricks of his opponents. Not to forget the Six Days, a terrifying race in which the participants spent twenty-one hours at a stretch on the track! But Lapébie knew how to give time to time and, while continuing to follow today’s races, he allows his gaze as a dazzled child to glide over the asphalt that he still attempts to conquer four or five hours each day. Like an artist, like a young turtledove. No ostentation, not a shred of vanity in this delightful, sparkling and naturally simple man. It’s a genuine joy spending time with him in this both direct and playful documentary, a summary of his life intelligently built up by Nicolas Philibert.