A brand-new documentary charting the progress of ski mountaineer-turned-road cyclist Anton Palzer will kick-off Warner Bros. Discovery Sports coverage of this year’s Vuelta a España.

Produced in partnership with Red Bull Media House, Breaking the Cycle is a 45-minute programme that will air from Monday 15 August on discovery+*, Eurosport (21:00 CEST) and GCN+, giving behind-the-scenes access as the German star transitions from winter sports to a professional cyclist with the BORA-hansgrohe road cycling team with a view to competing at the 2021 Vuelta a España.

The documentary captures Anton Palzer’s inner thoughts as he explains why he decided to switch sports and his nervousness joining a team as established and respected as BORA-hansgrohe. 

Maximilian Haidbauer, Head of Athlete Content at Red Bull Media House, said: “We aim to inspire audiences across the globe with positive, authentic, "beyond the ordinary" stories and content. Anton Palzer’s is a remarkable Athlete on an unusual journey, and we are thrilled to tell his story.”


Breaking the Cycle is set to whet the appetite of fans ahead of the third and final Grand Tour of the year as Slovenian Primož Roglič, like Palzer a former professional winter sports athlete, goes in search of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Vuelta a España. The 21-stage race starts on Friday 19 August in Utrecht – only the fourth time in its history that the race has started outside of Spain – with the battle for the red jersey reaching a climax on Sunday 11 September in Madrid.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will show the Vuelta a España across Europe, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific regions on discovery+*, Eurosport and GCN+ with every stage available to watch LIVE across its platforms.

Ensuring fans are kept up-to-speed with every move in the peloton ahead of, and following, each stage, The Breakaway will once again be fronted by Orla Chennaoui in the UK, Les Rois de la Pedale presented by Geraldine Weber in France and La Montonera anchored by Adrian Garcia in Spain. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ team of cycling experts – from Alberto Contador and Juan Antonio Flecha in Spain to Jacky Durand in France – will give their insights and thoughts while reporters Laura Meseguer, Sander Kleikers and Francois Xavier Rallet will be on-site speaking to the personalities that matter each day.

Scott Young, SVP Content and Production at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “Our commitment to content and telling the whole story around a sport has seen us engage record audiences around our coverage of men’s and women’s cycling this year including the historic Tour de France Femmes. By bringing the remarkable story of Anton Palzer to viewers ahead of La Vuelta this year is the latest example of this comprehensive strategy to serve the best cycling content to fans alongside the live action across all platforms.

“Complementing this, we have once again assembled the best team of international cycling experts to report all the stories from La Vuelta that matter, including unrivalled access to the riders and teams, as well as having the most experienced and engaging local market presenters to bring these stories to our audiences all around the world.”

Warner Bros. Discovery’s on-air campaign, which conveys the extreme challenges faced by every rider and team competing at the Vuelta a España, started on Monday 8 August. 

Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports reported record-breaking audience engagement for its coverage of the Tour de France with triple-digit streaming growth on discovery+ versus 2021 and the best overall pan-European performance on linear for five years with record tune-in numbers in France, Spain and Norway.

Key dates for the diary: Vuelta a España
Monday 15 August, 21:00 CEST - Breaking The Cycle premieres on discovery+* and Eurosport
Stage 1 – Friday 19 August – Utrecht (23.2km
Stage 2 – Saturday 20 August – Den Bosch to Utrecht (175km)
Stage 4 – Tuesday 23 August – Vitoria-Gasteiz to Laguardia (153km)
Stage 6 – Thursday 25 August – Bilbao to Pico del Jano (180km)
Stage 10 – Tuesday 30 August - Elche to Alicante (31km)
Stage 12 – Thursday 1 September – Salobreña to Peñas Blancas (193km)
Stage 14 – Saturday 3 September – Montoro to Sierra de La Pandera (160km)
Stage 15 – Sunday 4 September – Martos to Sierra Nevada (149km)
Stage 18 – Thursday 8 September – Trujillo to Piornal (192km)
Stage 20 – Saturday 10 September – Moralzarzal to Puerto de Navacerrada (181km)
Stage 21 – Sunday 11 September – Las Rozas to Madrid (96km)

*Streaming is available on discovery+ in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Ireland.
**Warner Bros. Discovery holds the rights to broadcast the Vuelta a España globally (pan-Europe – exclusive except Spain, Flemish Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Norway, exclusive in Asia-Pacific region except Australia, exclusively in East Asia and Indian Subcontinent)