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THE HARD ROAD is Jamie Paolinetti’s cult classic feature documentary on American Cycling from 2001. The film won numerous awards and played in dozens of countries all over the world. Sacrificing everything to chase a dream is the main theme of the film and for this reason it was loved by cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
Follow the upstart Net Zero team through an entire season as they experience the highs and lows of professional cycling. Two proven veterans, Graeme Miller and Jamie Paolinetti had won more than 200 races in their careers combined, but now must mentor first year pros who dream of breaking into the ultra-elete ranks of the pro peleton. Go behind the scenes and follow this diverse set of characters in their personal lives as they struggle and strive for excellence competing along side the likes of the U.S. Postal Service team and none other than Lance Armstrong.
32 Comments
Excellent stuff. More cyclist need to see this.
Still one of my favorite documentaries. Loved just as much now as I did when it first came out
I remember Graeme in a few races, a tough character who never aged.
Is that Lawrence Fishburne narrating?
These guys look like body builders compared to the emaciated concentration camp survivors of today's peloton.
Is it safe to assume the smaller less funded teams like a Net Zero didn't have access to the performance enhancement with EPO like US Postal team? If so, were they aware at the time that they really didn't stand a chance? Thanks for bringing these documentaries to YouTube!!! Awesome!!!
This documentary gets interesting around the 58 minute mark. Hearing about the strains put on a relationship with a professional bike rider will hit home to anyone who ever dedicated themselves to riding. The wife's struggles are real and totally understandable, and she does not hold back. Reminds me when a fellow rider described a time in his relationship with his partner, when the partner basically gave him an ultimatum: Me or the bike. His reply: But I love my bike! The end. P.S. Why is bodybuilding guy even there? Surely he knew he would be shelled out the back. The guy is huge! Wifey's not going to be impressed with his performance, that's for sure. I predict a divorce before the end of this documentary. P.P.S. Listening to Frankie talk about not riding in the Tour for the first time in a while is super interesting. In retrospect, we all know what he's saying when riders in the U.S. would have to make a huge leap to consider riding the TdF. Also, note Betsy in the background during the kitchen scene. Betsy played a huge role in bringing down the curtains to shed light on what was really going on, so kudos to her.
Thanks that was well worthy watching. Hopefully they can all now look back on their racing careers & say that was a great time in my life. I see Graeme continued for some years after having a back injury. Needless to say George had a great career. Those bikes back in the day certainly weren't area given how high some of the bars were. For obvious reasons I am a great admirer of Frankie & Betsy given the bad time they went through. Yes you now have another Sub.
Amazing how much thinner riders are today.
Greame miller, great legend….athens….what s shit race
His name is Henk not Hank.
Is that Keith David narrating?
Man, really casts a shadow on present day American road racing and how far it has fallen.
How much the position on the bike has changed since then..
I was on the NetZero roster as a U-23 with Dave Johnson
We didn't get paid either.
Great film remember those days!
nice documentary this time didnt focus to us postal very detailed real life of cyclist
When 98% were juiced off their biscuit! Great days!
The grit this team had was epic! The U.S. could dominate bike racing on the international level if we could only recognize the talent, potential, rewards and excitement gained by the effort.
Awesome doc! When people ask me about this sport, like you discuss at 33:15, I say it's like a chess match, in oxygen debt, at 50 kph.
Sehr tut mir leid sehr tut mir leid ganzer Mensch ganzer wolds ‼️‼️ich bin ganz eine Superstar‼️‼️ für ganze wolds ‼️‼️es gibt meine Fragen??‼️ vor ganzer Mensch ganz schaue wolds‼️‼️ eine Mensch 25 Stunde‼️‼️ Fahrrad gefahren, keine schlafen keiner Pause.
Great job, it's too bad about the seatpost thing, but you still came out on top and it's a really nice bike now.
Spinergy rev x seen.
Doping?
How many of these guys were like Lance? — doping!
outstanding, special breed to do this, having said that the body that runs cycle racing i this country have very limited vision, and we see that with the current state of the bike industry bike manufacturers closing or going bankrupt, I proposed that they be more inclusive when putting on bike races, I am not talking about gender stuff I am talking about weight, I begged them put on races with a class for anybody over 200 pounds, it did not matter male, female nor race nor what you think you are all you had to be is over 200 pounds for this division, well I was laughed at and take a look at the cycle world, sure there are plenty of cyclist out there but there would be a lot more if they had a over 200 pound weight division, I know when I was trying to compete I was buying a lot of merchandise to be competitive in categories I should not have been in, anyway I salute all that compete
Loved this! So sad most of these races no longer exist. Was always a fan of Graeme Miller. One tough kiwi.
So cool rewatching this after so long. Reminds me of my youth.
Chunky boys. Jesus.
Great film….I raced the US Crit. championships, a tough little course. Best finish I got was 12th.
Crazy how much mass they carry on their bodies compared to today’s pros. These guys look “normal fit”.
Enjoyed the video.
Jamie, any chance you have some extra Netzero cycling jerseys? That would be a dream to ride around in one! I still can't find a Jittery Joe's jersey, been searching ebay for decades. Yep, I bought the DVD Hard Road when it came out. Thanks for making it!