It’s cyclocross season, and to show our love and appreciation for Bill Schieken of In the Crosshairs and his new book Skills, Drills and Bellyaches featuring Jeremy Powers (which we got to preview at Interbike), we’re collaborating on this little collection to introduce the Cyclismas fans to Bill’s genius #SVENNESS videos. We like to call it #CYCLISMASVENNESS. We’re starting at the very beginning of the series so you can get the whole backstory and get to know the cast of characters. Hope you enjoy. ~ Lesli
Hey there Cyclismasses! Bill, here, from In The Crosshairs, to introduce a little video series we produce. It’s called #SVENNESS and in it we break down the week’s Euro-pro cyclocross races to give you some play-by-play of key moments. We also know that many #SVENNESS viewers are racers, too, so we sprinkle in some tips and techniques to help you in your own cyclocross battles. In a nutshell, #SVENNESS is a mix of ESPN’s Primetime (that was a show about a ball sport, cycling friends) and VH1’s Pop Up Video.
Sounds great, Bill, but why is it called SVENNESS? Good question. It’s named after arguably the best cyclocross racer of our time, Sven Nys. To my ears, when the broadcasters on Sporza pronounce his name it sounds like Svenness. He has one of those names that you must always say the first and last together. At least it sounds better that way. So #SVENNESS became this way of describing the sublime in cyclocross. Clinical tactics, a beautiful pass, when done masterfully, it was #SVENNESS.
Oh, here’s a fun takeaway for you: the series could easily have been called “A moment of Sven” or even “Everything Sven,” but #SVENNESS, for whatever reason, stuck. I think we made the right call.
Thanks for watching.
#SVENNESS 2.11 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.
#SVENNESS 2.11 from the World Cup race that took place in Koksijde, Belgium, is a long one. But there’s a lot to cover. This sandy monument of cyclocross has a lot of history, which we will touch on in the finale. The site has been the home to two World Championships and is always an exciting race to watch.
Racing in deep sand involves constant strategic changes. And, although, these riders have the power to churn through the deep stuff, doing so may not always be the best strategy. Conserving energy and picking your spots to go hard may be the better way to go.
During this race Wietse Bosmans crashed hard on a tricky sandy descent. He was taken off on a stretcher and spent the night in the hospital with a possible concussion. We left that out of the video. He’s back to racing and turned in a nice 8th place performance at Kalmthout.
It’s Koksijde so we are focused on sand: the lines to ride, when to run, where to remount. We also get a good look at Sven Nys’ perseverance and Niels Albert’s patience. Another theme that is beginning to form is that the “holeshot” has its advantages and is fun to track, it’s not an end-all be-all to race success. If you have the legs and the race smarts, winning from behind is always a possibility.
This episode is presented by Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer, available at www.cyclocrossbook.com. Also please check out all of the goodies, including cycling-related shirts, gloves, and socks, available at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop.
#SVENNESS 2.11 is also brought to you by CrossVegas, which takes place September, 10, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mark your calendars now! www.crossvegas.com
Footage for this episode via SporzaHD: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/veldrijden
Music:
Eskimo Boy (URU Project Remix): https://soundcloud.com/strangetalkmusic/eskimo-boy-uru-project-remix
Stay Coloured~I Know the Chief: https://soundcloud.com/iknowthechief/stay-coloured
Shame~All the Colours: https://soundcloud.com/allthecolours/shame
Salt~Bad Suns: https://soundcloud.com/badsuns/salt
Birth in Reverse~St. Vincent: https://soundcloud.com/st_vincent/birth-in-reverse
Wu Tang Clan C.R.E.A.M.~Phoniks Remix: https://soundcloud.com/phoniksbeats/wu-tang-clan-c-r-e-a-m-phoniks
Thanks for watching.
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