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 2.10 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.
For episode 2.10, SVENNESS travels to Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, for the European Championship. We take a look at the U23 race, which features such up-and-coming (or arguably already here) starts as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.
The course is a mix of paved road and mud. Nothing in between. However, it is for the most part all ridable and there isn’t more than a couple feet of elevation on the course. This is the first course SVENNESS has visited that is similar to something most amateurs would race on the weekend.
For this race we focus on riding in the mud, cornering, tactics and blocking. The pro moves these guys are putting on each other as the race gets heated at the end is not to be missed.
As always, this episode is brought to you by Skills Drils and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer. It is available for sale at www.cyclocrossbook.com. Also, check out the shirts, socks, water bottles and gloves we have available at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop.
Footage via Česká televize: http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/sport/
Music in this episode:
My Friends Ft. Mick Coogan & Panic City: https://soundcloud.com/mcscottd/my-friends-ft-mick-coogan
ZZ Ward – 365 Days – Jerry Folk Remix: https://soundcloud.com/jerryfolkmusic/zz-ward-365-days-jerry-folk
Raleigh Ritchie – Bloodsport: https://soundcloud.com/raleigh-ritchie/bloodsport
Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (TEEMID & Joie Tan Cover): https://soundcloud.com/teemid/crazy-teemid-joie-tan-cover
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