Last Updated on October 19, 2026
A one man tour de force as Connor Delves brings to life the story of Australian Tour de France winner Cadel Evans while riding a racing bike for an hour on stage
4.0 out of 5.0 starsThe Tour de France is arguably one of the most famously gruelling events in world sport. It all started in 1903 when a French cycling journalist floated the concept of a cycle race around France and the idea captured the public imagination. The first race consisted of 6 stages that covered 2,500k around France. It was an individual endurance challenge rather than a team sport and the 60 riders started the race had to repair their own bikes, find their own food and sometimes ride through the night for the 19 days of the race. Unsurprisingly, only 21 finished. From these humble beginnings grew the industry that makes up the modern Tour – and it took a full 108 years from its inception before an Australian would win it. And it is this story of Cadel Evans’s 2011 Tour victory that is told in CADEL: Lungs on Legs currently running at Riverside Studios.
CADEL: Lungs on Legs is the passion project of Connor Delves, an Australian-born actor, singer, producer, writer and director who is based in New York City and has worked across Australia, the UK and the United States. Delves grew up in a cycling family in Perth where his parents owned a cycle shop and his father had competed alongside Evans in the 1990s. Delves combined his theatre background with a love of cycling and Australian sporting stories to co-author the script with Steve McMahon, telling the story of Cadel Evans’s cycling career and quest to become the first Australian to win the Tour de France.
Delves also stars in the one-man show as Cadel Evans – but this is no straightforward biographical play. The show’s unique selling point is that Delves rides a bicycle on stage for the vast majority of the performance. This physical recreation of Evans’s own endurance and effort, and his career highs and lows not only means that art quite literally mirrors life but it very much adds a heightened sense of authenticity. When the show premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025, audiences were immediately drawn to its unusual concept and intensely physicality. After a sold-out run in 2025 it returned to the Fringe in 2026 before transferring to Riverside Studios.
The set is minimalist: a bare stage with a floor that looks like a cobbled street; a large video screen as a backdrop, and dead centre, a round platform that can rotate and on it, a dramatically downlit cycle trainer. Much of the drama and realism of what follows is down to excellent use of video (design Lauren Cochrane), clever lighting design (by Mitchell Fenton), and evocative use of sound design by Nate Edmondson. Other than Delves, only assistant stage manager Mecca Christy appears on stage for the duration of the show, playing various small roles, handling props, and manually rotating the platform on stage at various points. But Delves’s main supporting actors are the bicycles that are brought on stage for him to ride: a road racing bike; a time trial bike; and ultimately, the actual 2011 yellow BMC “Cadel Evans” SLR01 that Evans rode to victory on the Champs Elysee.
Cadel Evans’s story is condensed into 70 minutes by the innovative use of video on the screen behind Delves. Australia’s sparsely populated and semi-arid Northern Territory where Eans was born is evoked by aerial shots of long straight roads filled with heavy trucks – the roads that Evans first cycled along. Delves initially transforms into Evans as a young boy, full of childlike excitement and wonder at his first bike before taking us through the highs and lows of a fairly itinerant upbringing. Every new town brings excitement, but also new challenges – the only constant seems to be his bicycle. He becomes aware of the Tour de France as a schoolboy when a teacher shows the class a video about the race (a scene which also provides the audience with a handy primer on the structure of the Tour de France for those not in the know). This apparently true event leaves a strong impression on him and Evans himself recalls being fascinated by the event long before he ever turned pro cyclist or considered racing in it.
Whereas initially, Delves spends time both on and of the bike, as the story progresses to Cadel’s professional career the USP of the show becomes apparent. To mirror the physicality, setbacks and sheer determination, Delves clips in and rides his bike on the stationary trainer as he portrays various races, incidents and characters inncluding fellow cyclist George Hincapie, coach Also Sassi, and reporters. During the course of each show he is on the bike for about 60 minutes and pedals around 27km – and this is no gentle trundle around the park. To accurately portray the sheer physical and mental torment involved in particularly the mountain stages of the Tour, Delves pedals as hard as any pro cyclist training for a race. You can see veins bulging, muscles flexing and sweat dripping off him as the race climbs and the story gathers pace. I was struck by parallels between this performance and the Viennese Actionists of the 1960s and 70s who put themselves through physical trials and interventions as an expression of their art.
Throughout the show, Delves shows Cadel’s progression through various teams by donning the various team sponsor cycling jerseys that he has worn over his career. The sense of immersion and authenticity is further enhanced by the use of race commentary by famous Tour de France commentator Phil Liggett, a man whose voice is synonymous with elite road cycling, and this helps to capture the suspense of competitive cycling at this level. The video projections are also interspersed with aerial shots of the peloton in the actual Tour as Delves cycles, cut with close up video shots of his face as would be the case in live television coverage. It’s an incredibly impressive evocation of the event and the sense of realism is tangible in the theatre as the audience roots for Evans.
The show’s concept requires Delves to ride throughout the performance. Over 70 minutes, that becomes a sustained cardiovascular effort, making this as much a one-man athletic feat of endurance as a piece of theatre. All the time while pedalling, Delves must deliver complex lines; switch between characters; convey emotional states; and maintain vocal clarity while breathing hard. Anybody who has ever tried to hold a conversation while running will recognise the difficulty in achieving this. But Delves suceeds and perfectly mirrors the physicality of elite cycle racing, and the immersive effect created by watching him remain on the bike throughout the show is hugely engaging. The script is economical (while still capturing Cadel’s tangible frustration and elation) and the pacing and structure tight, building momentum towards Cadel Evans’s historic 2011 Tour victory. When Delves finally dons the winner’s yellow jersey and holds aloft the tour lion mascot while spraying the front rows of the auditorium with “champagne”, the audience spontaneously bursts into applause. As much as the conclusion of the narrative, we are applauding the extraordinary physical feat we have just witnessed on stage.
It’s not often you will see a stage production that is so obviously born out of and carried by one man’s passion – but CADEL: Lungs on Legs is such a show. The production’s combination of vivid, pacy storytelling; immersive design; and real emotional heart perfectly capture the suspense of the Tour de France and the commitment it requires. It is the story of one rural Australian boy’s struggle to achieve his dream, both for himself and for his country, told in a way that takes audiences on a visceral journey that explores the sacrifices, setbacks and determination that have defined Evans’s career, and it’s stirring stuff. Whether you are a Tour de France fan, a cyclist, a proud Australian, or simply in search of something different on stage it’s one not to miss. As Cadel Evans himself has said of the show: “[Connor’s] dedication to every detail – the training, and the physical demands of the production – reflects the same passion and commitment I’ve always brought to the bike.” And what better endorsement than that could you possibly want?
CADEL: Lungs on Legs runs at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith from 13 October to 15 November. Run time is 70 minutes (no interval) and tickets start from £34.50 are available here.
Riverside Studios
101 Queen Caroline Street
Hammersmith
London
W6 9BN
Tel: 02082371010
E-mail: boxoffice@riversidestudios.co.uk
Looking for something else to see in Hammersmith? Check out our review of Affluenza.
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