A propaganda-tinged psychological drama set in the world of sports. The film tells the story of an individualistic cyclist who under the influence of painful experiences starts putting the team before himself. The film’s main asset that sets it apart from many similar socialist realist productions is the psychological plausibility of the main character and narrative justification of his eventual transformation.
The authentic feel is enhanced by documentary-like cinematography, including footage from the Peace Race, and the fact that the script was co-written by legendary sports commentator Bohdan Tomaszewski.
The main cast included a then 21-year-old Roman Polański, who very convincingly played the role of a 14-year-old boy.
On the eve of the Tour de Pologne cycling race, captain of the Polish national team Staszek Popiel suffers a painful injury. He hides it from his colleagues, which results in poor performance of the Polish team in the early stages of the competition. When the truth comes out, Popiel is stripped of the captain’s armband. Fuelled by hurt ambition and the need to prove his worth, in the subsequent stages he resorts to all sorts of methods to win, including exploitation of a weaker colleague. After meeting a boy who sees him as his idol, the cyclist starts to change his attitude. When his chief co-worker, mechanic Wanicki, suggests damaging his rival’s bicycle, he rejects the idea. Just before the start of the final, decisive stage of the race, he finds out that Wanicki went through with his plan. Popiel must decide what matters more to him: victory, or fair play and the national team.
