Comedy movie about a two-wheeler race where racers crash a picnic and lift their two-wheelers over a wall

Question

I'm looking to identify this movie I saw in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The genre was most probably comedy. Unsure of the language. The movie was certainly about a race (either a bicycle or a small two-wheeler race).

Few racers take a shortcut through a forest or a mountain. I can vividly recall 2 scenes from the movie:

1. The racer(s) come across a family having a picnic. They just ride their two-wheeler over the picnic mat, disrupting the family's picnic.

2. They come across a wall. The wall is around 2 meters high × 2 meters wide (dimensions are approximate to indicate it was a small wall and not a wide one). Instead of going around the wall, which would have been logical, they help one another to lift their two-wheeler over this wall and continue the race. I think this was because somebody tells them to go straight, and straight means no deviations. :)

Probably, each 2-wheeler would have had a pillion rider. Not sure on this part.

It's a long shot to find out the movie just by these 2 scenes, but worth the try.

Answer 1

Les Cracks (1968), a French comedy film about a bicycle race

The film you're looking for appears to be Les Cracks (1968), also known as The Hotshots in English. It's a French comedy that revolves around a bicycle race.

The movie tells the story of an inventor who creates an innovative bicycle and enters a racing competition. Throughout the race, he and the other competitors encounter various obstacles and comedic situations.

One scene in particular aligns with your memory: the racers come across a closed railroad crossing gate. Instead of waiting for it to open or finding an alternate route, they simply lift their bicycles over the barrier and continue the race. This closely resembles the wall-climbing scene you described. This gate-climbing scenario occurs again later in the film.

In another scene that aligns with your recollection, the protagonist's bike experiences brake problems, causing him to veer off-track and careen downhill. He crashes through a couple's picnic, disrupting their meal and slicing through plates and food with his bicycle wheels.