IN THIS SCENE: In 2003 Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstrong face off in a duel in Stage 19 of the tour on a rain soaked course. The outcome of the Tour hangs in the balance.

ABOUT THIS FILM: Le Tour de France, the toughest bicycle race of all celebrated its 100th birthday in 2003. Year after year this spectacular event fascinates millions of people worldwide. But within the beauty of the French coutryside and the tensions of the race, Academy Award Winner Pepe Danquart chose to illustrate the torture and the pain, the fear and the courage of the riders of the Tour.

In the process he captures the thrill of the race, the essence of the stunning landscape, and shines light on the Tour’s supporting cast – the masseurs, managers, fans and more. Adding a fine sense of history, on Wheels transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.

Featuring the world’s best bike racers – Lance Armstrong, Eric Zabel, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Alexandre Vinokurov, Andreas Klöden & more!

Duration : 0:3:34

[youtube x7QYi8_EZDk]

Here are some ‘rushes’ from the IMAX movie with the production name of ‘Brainpower’ but which morphed into ‘Wired to Win’ when it was released to IMAX cinemas last year. The YouTube footage is just a couple of minutes, there’s nine minutes on the Quickrelease.tv podcast site, on iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=252244643

The extensive reshooting of scenes was to accommodate the removal of Tyler Hamilton from the movie. At the time he was embroiled in a drugs hearing, which he later lost.

The rushes footage contains movie editing timecodes and an original score.

‘Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France’ is available to watch in a small number of IMAX cinemas worldwide. The stunning Tour de France scenes were shot at the 2003 Tour de France. This was the year that, despite a cracked clavicle, Tyler Hamilton came fourth.

It’s not a film about the Tour itself, it’s an exploration of how the brain works, and specifically, how the brain deals with pain, stress, and tactics. The film’s director, Bayley Silleck, said:

“We chose the Tour de France to show how the human brain works because behind every great athlete is a great mind.”

And these great minds are also great at blocking pain. Tyler Hamilton was always going to be the featured rider but when he broke his collarbone in a pile-up on the first stage, the movie-makers thought they would have to pack-up and go home. Hamilton decided to ride on; the bulky IMAX cameras continued to roll.

“The movie is about the human brain, but we chose the Tour as a backdrop because it has all the elements,” said Silleck

“It’s about the human mind, those intangible things we call willpower. How athletes make the difference between success and failure.”

Sillick believed he got some of the best-ever film footage of the Tour, thanks to the four IMAX cameras, one of which was remote-controlled and suspended from a helicopter.

In a movie press release from July 7th 2003, the film is said to explore “the extraordinary processes of the human brain by following world-class, professional cyclist, Tyler Hamilton as he trains and participates in the Tour de France.”

Fast forward to February 24th 2004 and Hamilton wasn’t mentioned in a new press release. Instead, Brain Power — now late — becomes the “dramatic story of pro-cyclists dealing with the stresses, dangers, and conflicts of the Tour de France.”

The film no longer has one central character:

“Brain Power will follow several Tour riders as they cope with pain in the high Alps, experience a “fight-or-flight” situation on a steep downhill switchback, struggle to maintain mental focus and wage a constant mental war between extreme exhaustion and their motivation to reach the finish line in Paris.”

The riders featured were Baden Cooke and Jimmy Caspar of the Francaise de Jeux. Caspar also crashed at the 2003 Tour de France.
]http://www.wiredtowinthemovie.com

Duration : 0:3:16

[youtube ypGlreJYFWM]

IN THIS SCENE: “The Tour has always been a story about men, great ones and lesser ones.” Erik Zabel discusses the bond shared between he and his teammate Rold Aldag.

ABOUT THE FILM: Le Tour de France, the toughest bicycle race of all celebrated its 100th birthday in 2003. Year after year this spectacular event fascinates millions of people worldwide. But within the beauty of the French coutryside and the tensions of the race, Academy Award Winner Pepe Danquart chose to illustrate the torture and the pain, the fear and the courage of the riders of the Tour.

In the process he captures the thrill of the race, the essence of the stunning landscape, and shines light on the Tour’s supporting cast – the masseurs, managers, fans and more. Adding a fine sense of history, on Wheels transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.

Featuring the world’s best bike racers – Lance Armstrong, Eric Zabel, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Alexandre Vinokurov, Andreas Klöden & more!

Duration : 0:2:51

[youtube ly5IkBxvYL0]