Documentary follows Savvina Koulle’s journey from Cyprus trails to Mountain of Hell

Les Deux Alpes, France. Cypriot downhill mountain biking champion Savvina Koulle’s experiences are explored in Everybody Falls: The Road to the Summit, a documentary following her from training in Cyprus to challenging terrain in the Dolomites and France’s demanding Mountain of Hell.

Success on the glacier

Koulle won the women’s e-bike category at Mountain of Hell in 2025 and secured another victory this year. She is the first woman from either Cyprus or Greece to achieve that feat.

Held in Les Deux Alpes, the renowned race presents conditions markedly different from Cyprus’s mountain trails. Its fast, frenetic descent across a vast glacier demands intense concentration as competitors negotiate ice at high speed amid densely packed riders.

The documentary traces Koulle’s progression from sessions at home to rugged Dolomites trails and the cold French descent. For her, downhill riding means more than speed: it offers a means of confronting fear, testing personal limits and learning how she responds when events depart from the plan.

Why electric assistance does not remove the challenge

Koulle rejects the assumption that a motor makes the course easy. Electric assistance does not eliminate the considerable handling skill and control required to get through the race.

“People often hear ‘e-bike’ and assume the race is a breeze,” Koulle says.

“But you still have to wrestle the bike, nail your lines, and react in a split second.”

An electric bike’s heavy frame requires physical strength to maintain stability, while slippery ice adds another layer of difficulty. Throughout the descent, riders must assess shifting ground conditions, anticipate nearby competitors’ movements and adjust immediately.

Koulle says uninterrupted concentration is essential because circumstances can deteriorate very quickly.