THE RIFT

CYCLING THROUGH HELL AND HEAVEN

DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT THE TOUGHEST GRAVEL BIKE RACE IN THE WORLD

SPONSORED BY SONY EUROPE, 7MESH & 1OF1 BIKES

I worked on this adventure documentary film in the last 2 years (with shorter and longer breaks).The film is about Christoph Döttelmayer, an enthusiastic amateur cyclist from Austria who loves everything he's doing and still he needs to find time for training and racing next to his full time job. I followed his journey from training in the cold winter Alps to the finish line at The Rift Gravel Race in Iceland in July.

About the race

The Rift is a 200 km gravel race with almost 2000 m of elevation through the dark lava fields in the highlands of Iceland. Taking place on the tectonic split between North America and Eurasia. This is an ever-growing battlefield that grows an inch every single year. The battlefield sculpted by volcanic eruptions is vast, rugged and unpredictable – making the Rift a challenge of endurance, mental fortitude and most likely the bare elements. And in the end – a gravel battle between the continents!

Since The Rift is a highly unique race, it attracts a multitude of people from all over the world—primarily Americans, as Iceland is located roughly halfway between North America and Europe. Every year, the world's best gravel riders measure their strength on this incredibly challenging course.

About the production

How did it all begin? In January 2023, Chris messaged me about a new Austrian bike brand called 1OF1, which had taken him on as a sponsored cyclist. One of the year's most exciting events for them was the launch of a new gravel bike, timed for the summer. It was unveiled live for the first time at The Rift bike race.

And that's where I came into the picture: they needed professional photos and content of the bike performing during the race. Although the original brief only included 20 photos of Chris tackling the Icelandic elements with the new bike during the race, I already sensed when they reached out that this project held far more creative potential and storytelling possibilities than just a standard photo shoot.

So I decided to expand the scope into a six-month documentation, culminating in a short documentary film and a photo series.

In January, I grabbed my cameras and started traveling to Salzburg to visit Christoph. I conducted interviews with him about his current mental state, and I shot photo series of him training for the race six months ahead, even in harsh winter conditions.

You know, the summer athlete is built during the winter. After the cold and harsh shoots, I visited him again in the Alps in spring, continuously documenting his preparation. Eventually, six months passed, and a vast amount of material had already been created.

Then, the moment for the trip to Iceland finally arrived. What happened during the race? Well, I won’t spoil it—everyone should watch the film! 😉 I’ll just say this: we had our fair share of drama. But all’s well that ends well, and Christoph managed to finish 27th out of 420 riders—an incredible achievement for an amateur!

Quotes

Here are few words by Chris about his experiences out there:

'My training this year has been amazing. We moved right to the mountains in April, because we wanted to live close by them. This brings a whole new daily playground for road, gravel and trail riding. Although I didn't race as much as I wanted, I was physically prepared for the big take on this race and also mentally I knew this was probably going to be the hardest race I would have ever done. The weather is also always something extra to add in Iceland which can change in every 5 minutes - it´s so unpredictable. Comparing the times of the winners from the previous years gave me an idea of what I excepted from my race: my goal was to ride under 9 hours. Of course I get nervous before the start. It was a nice feeling standing just behind some of the biggest names in gravel racing. After the first 7km of neutralized tarmac section, there was a left turn where we entered the gravel sections for the first time and the race officially kicked off. After this turn it felt like all hell was breaking loose. Dust, rocks flying around, people just pounding their pedals. I was ready for the shready without fully knowing what will lay ahead. I crossed the finish line after 08:48 with a 27th spot from 420 riders. What a feeling. Personal goal achieved. Totally f'd. I have never been so destroyed after a race. I have I never looked so much forward to stop and die next to my wife, meet with her and my brother from another mother Gabor. Happy. More than anything in the world."

Hero: Christoph Döttelmayer

Director, Camera, Drone, Producer: Gábor Nagy

Editor: Tomi Szabó

Sound: Balázs Győri

Colourist: Márton Kovács

Graphic Design: István Csekk

Production Assistant: Petra Marada

Music in order of appearance:

"A Neverending Beam of Light" – Makeup And Vanity Set I Licensed via Musicbed

"Melt" - Slo Loris I Licensed via Musicbed

"Keep Moving" – Makeup And Vanity Set I Licensed via Musicbed

"Blood in the Soil" - Luke Atencio I Licensed via Musicbed