Paris Roubaix - A Throw of the Dice

A Throw of the Dice from RAPHA on Vimeo.
A film by Nick Livesey with Ridley Scott Associates for Rapha.

"Historically, 'The Hell of the North' was not referring to the sheer pain and torment the cyclists of the Paris-Roubaix must endure to complete the 275km race. It was a newspaper caption describing the landscape when the race was resumed after WW1 - charred forests, open sewers - a completely decimated and blackened horizon.

Run your fingers through the topsoil in that region of Northern France and you are likely to find shrapnel and splintered bones. The race has been shaped by history, and as I discovered so too was Johan Museeuw's brush with fate in the Forest of Arenberg.

The only way to define Museeuw's true 'North' was to meet him in the ancient forest. From there the trajectory of the back story was formed, and thus began the filming process."
—Nick Livesey

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http://www.rapha.cc/rsa-films

Rapha and RSA Films present three short films inspired by the people, places and stories of road racing. Johan Museeuw, Sean Kelly and Dario Pegoretti are celebrated in three cinematic portraits exploring the passion, history and drama of the sport.

Based on a trio of story-labels originally found inside the Rapha Club Jerseys, each film brings a new translation: The intense dreamscape of Nick Livesey's ode to Johan Museeuw, Adrian Moat's tale of discovery inspired by Sean Kelly and Ben Ingham's intimate view of Dario Pegoretti in his workshop, all powerful representations of three distinct icons of road racing.

It has been a privilege to work with Ridley Scott Associates and such talented friends on these films.