You could say the movie is fictional but the sporting event is not fictional......
Breaking Away - From Wikipedia
The
Little 500 bicycle race that forms the centerpiece of the plot is a real race held annually at Indiana University. A re-enactment of the race was staged for the film in the
"old" Memorial Stadium on the IU campus, which was demolished in 1982, four years after shooting
Breaking Away in the summer of 1978.
The team is based on the 1962
Phi Kappa Psi Little 500 champions, which featured legendary rider and Italian enthusiast
Dave Blase, who provided screenwriter and fellow Phi Kappa Psi team member Steve Tesich the inspiration for the main character in the movie.