#CYCLISMASVENNESS 2.17 – 2014 World Championship in Hoogerheide

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 2.17 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

In episode 2.17, #SVENNESS goes to Hoogerheide, Netherlands, for the 2014 UCI Cyclocross World Championship. The elite men’s race was a battle of two giants, each with two Men’s World Championship jerseys to their name. Zdeněk Štybar won the rainbow jersey in 2010 and 2011, to go along with two U23 jerseys won in 2005 and 2006. Sven Nys is the reigning World Champion. He first won the title in 2005.

The Hoogerheide course is a tough one made even tougher by the wet conditions. The mud on the track is not necessarily deep but it is slick, which makes every turn an adventure. And speaking of turns, there are several significant rutted off-camber sections that play a part in the outcome of this race. We also look at the “swinging gate technique” of getting around a sharp turn, and the run vs. ride decision and it’s tactical application. But mainly, we just sit back and enjoy a barn burner of a race.

SVENNESS season two is sponsored by Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer, available at www.cyclocrossbook.com.

It is also sponsored by CrossVegas, which will takes place September 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rumor has it that this may be a rematch of Stybar and Nys. Just a rumor, but how cool is that? Either way, come join us at the race. More info at www.crossvegas.com.

Finally, a great way to support this series is to buy a supercool SVENNESS t-shirt at www.SVENNESS.com.

Video footage for this episode via Sporza: http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/wielrennen/veldrijden

Buy some music from #SVENNESS 2.17:

Disk is Full, Not Full~Dudadius: https://dudadius.bandcamp.com/album/drowzium

Cutesy Monster Man~Iron Chic: http://ironchic.bandcamp.com/album/not-like-this

Ordinary Silence~Mixtapes: http://nosleepsampler.com/album/ordinary-silence

Is It Your Choice To Say That I Don’t Deserve You?~Souven!rs: https://souvenirsvannes.bandcamp.com/

Throw Me From the Bridge of Flowers~Wholesome: http://handsandknees.bandcamp.com/track/throw-me-from-the-bridge-of-flowers

Liar~Of Us Giants: http://ofusgiants.bandcamp.com/

Everything Between Paint and a Wall~Grandview: https://grandview.bandcamp.com/album/everything-between-paint-and-a-wall

Be Around~The Peach Kings: http://thepeachkings.bandcamp.com/album/mojo-thunder-ep

Thanks for watching.

SVENNESS and the SVENNESS hashtag © 2014 CXHairs LLC