The Last Rider
Alex Holmes’ accomplished documentary tells the remarkable story of Greg LeMond and his participation in the 1989 Tour de France.
Back in 2018, Alex Holmes made one of the best documentaries of the year. That was Maiden, a film about the sailor Tracy Edwards and her participation in the Whitbread Round the World race. Now he gives us what could in many ways be thought of as a companion piece, for The Last Rider is a study of the American cyclist who won the Tour de France in 1986. We meet Greg LeMond as he looks back on his life and there are also substantial contributions by his wife Kathy and by two figures known for their involvement in the Tour de France: the racer Perico Delgado, who was one of LeMond's rivals, and Cyrille Guimard the manager and coach. For the rest, The Last Rider relies on archive material, but the way in which everything is assembled again makes one admire Holmes for his total professionalism.
In effect, this film about Greg LeMond falls into two parts. He was born in 1961 and the first third of The Last Rider is a rounded study of the man tracing how he took to being a biker having earlier been more interested in skiing and revealing how he met Kathy and how she gave up a teaching career to marry him and to accompany him to France (it was there that he could best fulfil his ambition to become an outstanding biker). This part of the film extends to his participation in the Tour de France in 1986 but, while the detail here is revealing about the competitive nature of such events, a world in which promises are not always kept, much of the documentary’s impact stems from frank revelations regarding more than one trauma that would mark LeMond’s life. One of these left him injured and unsure if he would be capable of continuing his career at the level that he had already attained.
Both Greg and Kathy Le Mond come over well and thus far The Last Rider is so engaging on a personal level that viewers with little or no interest in the Tour de France will find themselves thoroughly involved. However, in describing it as a film in two parts I have it in mind that rather more than half of The Last Rider takes us round France the focus here being on the various stages of the 1989 Tour de France. That was the year when, uncertain of how well he could sustain the effort required, LeMond again became an entrant. This focus, appropriate though it is, does result in the longer second section being very much a sports movie. That may mean that biking enthusiasts are its primary audience, but the skills of Alex Holmes certainly ensure that most audiences will remain caught up in the film. Inevitably the viewer feels part of the team Le Mond but Delgado emerges as a sympathetic rival, while at other times when observing another challenger, Laurent Fignon, one tends to view him, fairly or not, as a man one loves to hate. However, the film ends with a dedication that takes one by surprise.
Engaging as the LeMonds are, I would if pressed have to acknowledge that the rich material of Maiden and the exceptionally appealing presence of Tracy Edwards make that the film which can more readily be guaranteed to delight viewers indifferent to sport. Even so, I think that The Last Rider works well enough to satisfy most viewers and I say that as somebody with an extremely limited interest in sport of any kind.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Greg LeMond, Kathy LeMond, Perico Delgado, Cyrille Guimard.
Dir Alex Holmes, Pro James Erskine, Victoria Gregory and Sam Brayshaw, Screenplay Alex Holmes, Ph Ryan Earl Parker, Tristan Chenais and Giuseppe Truppi, Ed Paul Monaghan and Gibran Ramos, Music Samuel Sim.
New Black Films/RC Studios-Dogwoof Releasing.
98 mins. UK. 2022. UK and US Rel: 23 June 2023. Cert. 12A.
