10 Gears of Change

In rural areas in South Africa, possessing a bicycle or not is the difference between freedom and confinement. After all, a bicycle provides mobility and the chance to look for a job in a nearby village, for example. So the arrival of a set of second-hand racing bikes permanently changes the lives of eleven inhabitants and workers of the remote Thornvale farm. Their boss, the white Chris Botha, tries to give the underprivileged black men a new goal in life. He enters them as a team in a large cycling event in Cape Town. And although initially the men gaze rather apprehensively at the tight cycling shorts that are part of their new career, they soon start practicing.Two months later, the newfangled cyclists leave their familiar environment for the first time in their lives and travel to the big city for the race. Surrounded by tall buildings and thousands of people, and blessed with innumerable new impressions, the proud eleven-headed farm team crosses the finishing line. With their bikes, they have not only won a medal, but what is far more important, seen a piece of the world.