"Slaying the Badger" (2014 release; 71 min.) is a documentary about the professional relationship between two now-legendary road cyclists, American Greg MeMond and Frenshman Bernard Hinault. As the film opens we get snippets from the (in)famous 1986 Tour de France, the Tour being the grandest and hardest cycling spectacle in the world. We then go to Gerge LeMond's early days, growing up in Nevada and how he turned to cycling at an early age, in those days a traditional bastion of mostly continental European cyclists. LeMond's talents are undeniable, to the point where the team of Bernard Hinault, then the uncontested "boss" of the peleton, signs LeMond ....
Couple of comments: I am a lofe-long fan of professional cycling, having grown up in Belgium (home of the very best cyclist ever, Eddy "The Cannibal" Merckx), and I could tell within minutes of watching this documentary that the film makers of "Slaying the Badger" totally "got it". The key premise of this documentary is that after the 1985 Tour, Hinault and LeMond struck a deal whereby LeMond would be the team leader for the 1986 Tour, and Hinault would help him win it. In reality, Hinault did everything he could to try and win the 1986 Tour himself, screw LeMond. Amazingly, the film makers were able to interview Hinault, who then claims with a straight face that he lived up to the words of the deal. Absolutely amazing. Along the way, we get lots of archive footage from what professional road cycling was like in the 1980s (before doping ravaged the sport starting in the 90s and culminating of course with Lance Armstrong's Big Lie).
I have no idea how an average viewer who might not be as familiar with the intricacies of the world of professional road cycling, would experience this documentary. I can only say that I absolutely loved this film (originally made for ESPN's excellent 30 For 30 sports documentary series).
