The 90 Year Old Cyclist chronicles the life of Benjamin Piovesan, whose life was upheaved by the ravages of World War II, forcing the native Italian to flee his country post-war and relocate to France in search of work.
However, in order to receive a government wage as an agricultural worker, Piovesan had to change his citizenry, resulting in compulsory military service, which saw the 28-year-old conscripted into the French army and sent to Algeria for two years.
The film meanders its way to where Piovesan is introduced to cycling by way of his son Patrick, who later gifts his father a classic Eddy Merckx steel bike.
Now in his early 60s, the film shares Piovesan’s burgeoning desire to become a serious cyclist, which leads him to join a local cycling club and traverse the French countryside as much as 1000 kilometers a month, often taking in many of the region’s most famous climbs such as Mont Ventoux, the Col de Tourmalet and the Col de Galibier.
In this finely detailed documentary, Piovesan’s grandson, Florent, affectionately shares three decades of his grandfather’s life on the bike, celebrating a man whose physical and mental condition remains undiminished, even at 90.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
