Vian Izak’s “Sleep” in Two Steps Forward, One Step Back Film

Vian Izak’s “Sleep” featured in Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Vian Izak’s song “Sleep” is featured in Two Steps Forward, One Step Back, a cycling film about ultra-endurance rider Cynthia Carson and her journey through setbacks, recovery, and the 2025 Transcontinental Race.

The film follows Carson through two years of unpredictable turns: canceled races, crashes, mechanical problems, recovery, and the physical and emotional demands of riding thousands of kilometers across Europe. Rather than presenting endurance racing as a simple victory story, Two Steps Forward, One Step Back focuses on a deeper truth: progress rarely happens in a straight line.

What is Two Steps Forward, One Step Back about?

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back is a film about movement, resilience, and learning to continue when life does not unfold according to plan.

Set against the world of ultra-endurance cycling, the film follows Cynthia Carson as she prepares for the Transcontinental Race, one of the most demanding self-supported cycling events in the world. Riders cross Europe through fixed checkpoints and required route sections while managing their own navigation, sleep, food, repairs, and risk.

In the film, the race becomes more than a sporting event. It becomes a way to examine setbacks, identity, courage, and the decision to keep moving forward after plans fall apart.

Who is Cynthia Carson?

Cynthia Carson is an ultra-endurance cyclist known for competing in some of the world’s most demanding long-distance cycling events. Her background includes races such as Unbound XL, Badlands, GranGuanche Gravel, the Atlas Mountain Race, Across Andes, and the Transcontinental Race.

In Two Steps Forward, One Step Back, Carson’s story centers on the human cost of endurance: the crashes, interruptions, disappointment, recovery, and renewed commitment that happen behind the race result.

Why “Sleep” by Vian Izak fits the film

“Sleep” by Vian Izak fits Two Steps Forward, One Step Back because the song carries the same emotional atmosphere as the film: exhaustion, uncertainty, tenderness, and hope.

The song wrestles with loneliness and the fragile search for reassurance, while its repeated image of sleep turns rest into a place of comfort and renewal. In the context of Cynthia Carson’s story, the song supports the film’s emotional center: the quiet strength required to keep going when the road becomes uncertain.

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What is the Transcontinental Race?

The Transcontinental Race is a self-supported ultra-endurance cycling race across Europe. Riders must pass fixed checkpoints and required parcours sections, but much of the route, strategy, rest, food, and risk management is left to the riders themselves.

For the 2025 edition featured in Carson’s story, the route stretched from Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to Constanța, Romania, on the Black Sea, covering more than 4,600 kilometers.

Where was the film featured?

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back was featured on BIKEPACKING.com, one of the largest cycling and bikepacking publications in the world. The feature introduced the film as a story about Cynthia Carson’s journey to the 2025 Transcontinental Race and the obstacles that shaped that journey.

The film has also reached more than 166,000 views on YouTube since its premiere, expanding its audience beyond the cycling community and into a broader story about resilience, recovery, and forward motion.

Why this sync placement matters

The placement of “Sleep” in Two Steps Forward, One Step Back shows how music can deepen the emotional meaning of a film. In a cycling film, the visuals show distance, terrain, effort, and motion. The right song reveals what is happening internally.

For a story about crashes, canceled plans, sleepless nights, and the courage to continue, Vian Izak’s “Sleep” gives the film a sense of tenderness and hope. It helps frame the journey not only as a race across Europe, but as a reflection on life itself: setbacks come without warning, progress is rarely linear, and momentum is built one step, or pedal stroke, at a time.

Watch the Film