A new mountain biking film is looking under the helmet of one of the world's best mountain bikers.

Machynlleth’s Gee Atherton began his Ridgeline film series in 2020 to explore the ‘ridgelines’ of mountains across Eryri National Park and the Italian Dolomites to do rides others thought impossible.

Now the double World Champion mountain biker and co-owner of Atherton Bikes and Dyfi Bike Park has opened up for a unique look into the physical and mental challenges faced for his fifth episode- Ridgeline V: Resistance, set in Engleberg, Switzerland.

It comes after a crash whilst filming 2021’s Ridgeline 3: The Knife-edge put Gee out of action for almost two years.

Gee said: “I wanted to show the reality behind those action highlights, the hard grind, the setbacks, and the absolute trust in my bike, my crew, and my equipment that are essential in the making of these films.

“I want to keep on pushing boundaries and this film gives an unvarnished insight into what that takes.

“Every single step felt like we’d picked a fight with forces way bigger than ourselves. “People ask me how I forget or block out the injuries I’ve sustained on previous Ridgelines, but you never forget, I’m never without those injuries, in my mind and in my body.

“For me, it’s about how you operate with them and learn to be ok and accept and carry them- this is who you are now.

“These extreme locations make all of us dig deep into a zone you can rarely access elsewhere.” Facing 3,600m ascents and 600m sheer drops, the film explores the process of the eight days Gee, photographer Dan Griffiths and the team went through for the latest film, taking “mountain-biking to the limit”.

It documents the team abandoning the final 50m ascent to the summit after lead mountaineer Brodie Hood advised the chance of killing a crew member was “50/50”.

Biking on one of his own Atherton Bikes, the A170, specifically designed for big mountain environments, Gee said: “The mountain fought us every step of the way, testing our resolve and wearing us down with challenge after challenge.

“Hot then cold, wet, scared, hungry, exhausted and physically drained we’d suddenly be faced with an enormous obstacle.

“We are a tight knit crew and I feel like the mountains have shaped us, changed us, strengthened us.”

The film can be viewed on YouTube.