THE RACER
In new film The Racer, Belgian actor Louis Talpe stars as a fictional rider trying to salvage his career at the 1998 Tour de France, amid blood doping and backstabbing. He speaks to Cycling Plus about being in the shape of his life and the help he got from cycling royalty Striving for authenticity, actors are renowned for immersing themselves into their roles. Take Robert De Niro, who obtained a taxi driver’s licence prior to starring as the psychotic Travis Bickle in Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver. De Niro reportedly would work long shifts ferrying people around New York City.
For Louis Talpe, the Belgian star of new cycling film The Racer, which depicts an ageing domestique – a team’s support rider for its leader -
