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 2.6 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.
In #SVENNESS 2.6 we visit the Koppenbergcross, which is part of the Bpost Bank Trofee series and takes place in Oudenaarde, Belgium. This cyclocross race took on the character of a road race, and we highlight Telenet Fidea’s team tactics that help put their riders in contention for the win.
Also highlighted is a spectacular ride by Ian Field.
One thing not mentioned in the video that is important to point out: There are no forced dismounts on this course and many riders stay on their bikes the whole ride. That doesn’t mean it was easy, though, as these riders dealt with a brutal climb and a windy day.
Please support #SVENNESS episodes by buying a shirt at www.SVENNESS.com. Also, check out our book, Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer at www.cyclocrossbook.com.
Footage via Sporza. http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/veldrijden
Music by TV on the Radio. https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tv-on-the-radio/id6562624
Follow on Twitter @CXHairs.
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