A new book is due to be published looking at the making of what is considered one of the greatest cycling films produced – A Sunday in Hell.
Written by William Fotheringham, Sunday in Hell – Behind the Lens of the Greatest Cycling Film of All Time, looks at the 1976 Danish documentary directed by Jørgen Leth.
The film (original title: En Forårsdag i Helvede) is a chronology of the 1976 Paris–Roubaix bicycle race from the perspective of participants, organisers and spectators. The film features star riders including Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddie Maertens and Francesco Moser.
Paris–Roubaix is the most famous and usually the most dramatic of the spring classics. Much of the latter portion is over narrow, cobbled tracks that choke with dust on dry days and become slick and muddy in rain. For the riders it’s a challenge to keep going without puncturing or crashing. The film captures not just the events of the 1976 edition but the atmosphere of a professional race.
According to the publishers, the new book looks at the men, the method and the places behind the film. It observes the creativity of Leth and his collaborators, explores the lives of riders such as unlikely winner Marc Demeyer and revisits locations which have changed little to this day.
It is due for release on 29th March 2018.
You can watch the full film below:
