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From lycra breakdowns to global bike treks: the best cycling shows rolling into the Edinburgh Fringe

14 Jul 2025

This year’s Tour de France will be over by the time the Edinburgh Fringe opens, but for those still looking for a cycling thrill, there are a few shows that might keep you entertained.

Dealing directly with that great sporting event, Lungs on Legs charts the story of Cadel Evans, the only Australian to win the Tour de France. It’s a new play co-written and performed by Australian-born, New York-based Connor Delves that reveals the highs and lows of Evans’s epic victory in 2011. Evans says, “I'm deeply honoured that an Australian artist has been inspired to bring my story to life for audiences worldwide.” The play also has a local twist, with Edinburgh playwright Steve McMahon the other half of the writing partnership. Additionally, the ‘voice of the Tour de France’, sports presenter Phil Liggett – whose commentary is a major feature of the play – will be there in person on opening night to give the show a proper send-off.

If you’d prefer to be in the saddle yourself and would like to discover Edinburgh beyond the tourist trail, The Fun, Family-Friendly Cycle Tour returns to the Fringe this year. Bikes, helmets and a qualified guide are included in the three-hour jaunt that explores the city’s vast network of off-road cycle paths, right down to the beach.

If you’d rather be entertained in a more comfortable seat, professional goofball Kathy Maniura follows on from her award-winning 2023 debut show Objectified with The Cycling Man. That same year she was a finalist in Europe’s biggest drag king competition, Man Up!, featuring this middle-aged, lycra-covered character. Now he’s newly single, deeply flawed, has spent the salary of an NHS nurse in Decathlon, and is on the verge of a breakdown.

Offering musical accompaniment to cycling advocacy, Canadian comedian Dion Owen returns for his sixth Fringe this year, fresh from his 2024 ISH Comedy Award. In a desperate attempt to make use of his musical talents and dulcet voice – and a vain venture to give his show a unique spin – Cyclopath: Stand-Up and Songs features piano interludes and improvised songs about the audience’s dreams and fears, combined with a mix of polished jokes and cycling propaganda.

Meanwhile, Piers MacKenzie – fresh from sold-out performances and five-star reviews at both Perth and Adelaide Fringes – offers some troubling drama as he dives into the fractured mind of a Deliveroo cyclist, where isolation, identity and obsession collide. One courier. One impossible delivery. The question is: how far will he go to complete his order? And yes, he really was a Deliveroo cyclist – Courier is the inside story.

Making a much longer, more adventurous and more relaxed journey, Naomi Johnson presents The World at 15mph... ish. Designed to inspire, uplift and encourage those who are burnt out and in need of change, it’s the story of this non-athlete who cycled 20,000 miles through 26 countries with a man she'd met just three times. Her journey of a lifetime included riding over Thorong La mountain pass, travelling from Cairo to Cape Town, through tiger reserves and staying in Japanese love hotels. Still in your comfy seat, you can vicariously experience a remarkable and extraordinary adventure.

All of this still leaves plenty of time to prepare for the official Tour de France Grand Départ from Edinburgh in 2027.

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