Beach racing on mountain bikes is one of the rare cycling disciplines, however, this does not mean there are no fans. On the contrary, in countries like the Netherlands or Belgium, there is a whole culture around it, as many pro-cyclists use it as an off-season preparation.

Former professional cyclist Thomas Dekker, in December 2019, decided to challenge his friend Laurens ten Dam for a beach race or, as they called it, battle. Even though Thomas had officially retired in 2015 from pro racing and he had not properly ridden in a few years, he still felt confident that he would be able to defeat Laurens, who had just retired in 2019. To get ready, Thomas had a whole year.

‘Dus we hebben een battle’ (So we have ourselves a battle, in English) is the documentary that narrates the story of this battle, the passion for cycling, and a good friendship. From the first day, to the preparations for the race, and the final event, all is covered in the 35 minute-long film that is narrated by both contenders. In the end, they did not race on their own, but they competed in a time-trial mode in couples with the pro-cyclists Ivar Slik or Niki Terpstra, who would lead them and set the tempo.

So, one question comes to our mind, who won? Well, take some time to laugh with the anecdotes, enjoy the beach racing images, and then you will discover how the documentary produced by Live Slow Ride Fast finishes.