In The Crosshairs

Following the February 14 broadcast of the Superprestige finale in Middlekerke, Vier broadcast a “rap battle” between the top men cyclocrossers from Belgium and the Netherlands. Although no English subtitles were available, Dutch ones were provided. So, along with some help from my Dutch friends, here is my interpretation of the rap stylings of Sven, Rob, Wout, Klaas, Mathieu, Lars, Bart and Tom. This is pretty close but not a literal translation. I took a few liberties to make the Dutch rhymes come close to English rhymes.

Before you continue, if you haven’t seen the original, or to refresh your memory, here is the video in full:

And here’s the breakdown of the individual battles:

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The Teams:

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Sven vs. Wout:

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Marianne Vos and Sanne Cant sat down in the Vier caravan before the Superprestige Hoogstraten race and one week after the World Championship. The conversation gives some nice insight into both women. We’ve done our best to add English subtitles.

Video via Vier. Original can be found at www.vier.be/veldrijden/videos/met-cant-en-vos-de-caravan/525468

Huge thanks to @W3erg for translation help with the trickier parts.

Thanks for watching.

Vos and Cant in the Caravan (English Subtitles) from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

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For LIKEAVOS 2.5 we head to the fifth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Heusden-Zolder. Marianne Vos, in her second race of the season, looks to seek revenge against a motivated Katerina Nash who beat her less than a week before in Namur (See LIKEAVOS 2.4). Pauline Ferrand Prévot, Sanne Cant, Eva Lechner are also looking to hone their form as the World Championship grows closer. The Zolder course takes place on the grounds of the former F1 racing circuit. It is also the home of the 2016 World Championships. Zolder is a power course with some steep climbs and white-knuckle descents thrown in for good measure. This race is amongst the best of the year for a women’s field that is producing exciting racing week after week.

As always, please support this series and all we do at In The Crosshairs, cxhairs.com, by taking a look at everything available atcrosshairscycling.com/shop.

Footage for this episode via UCI.

All music is available at bandcamp.com:

Got It Like That (DJP Dub)~Second Hand Audio Feat. Dizzy Dustin: ghettofunk.bandcamp.com/track/second-hand-audio-feat-dizzy-dustin-got-it-like-that-djp-dub

Time and Tarnish~Save Ends: saveends.bandcamp.com/track/time-and-tarnish

Soft Serve~Charly Bliss: charlybliss.bandcamp.com/album/soft-serve

Spinning Signs~Painted Palms: polyvinylrecords.bandcamp.com/track/painted-palms-spinning-signs

Jump Start~Joyride!: joyride-sf.bandcamp.com/track/jump-start

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For YMOS 1.5 we go back to the Belgian National Championship that took place in Erpe-Mere on January 11. Instead of concentrating on the leaders at the front, this episode takes a look at the “elites without contracts” who race at the same time as the pros with contracts. The riders in this group are some of the strongest in the world and the race for the non-contract title this year is fierce. YMOS 1.5 also concentrates on one of the favorites to win that race, Jan Denuwelaere. We look at Denuwelaere’s season, career and finishline controversies before breaking down the battle he has with two other riders during the Belgian National Championship.

This episode is presented by CrossVegas (www.crossvegas.com) and Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer, available at www.cyclocrossbook.com. Also check out everything at www.svenness.com.

Video footage via Sporza.

Music is Dancefloor Outlaws Feat. Stella Attar~Long Dark Road (Justin Harris Remix):ghettofunk.bandcamp.com/track/dancefloor-outlaws-feat-stella-attar-long-dark-road-justin-harris-remix

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For episode 3.10, we head to Erpe-Mere for the Belgian National Championship race. The hilly, muddy track is one of the most challenging we have seen all season. This race pits Belgian stalwarts like Sven, Kevin, Klaas and Tom against the growing youth movement of Wout van Aert, Time Merlier and Michael Vanthourenthout. The battle of the generations did not disappoint. For this episode we really don’t spend a lot of time on technique and just give you the run down of how the action played out. The many lead changes, the inopportune mechanicals, the surges, the controversies and the crowning of this year’s Belgian National Champion.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at CrossVegas, the first World Cup race of the 2015-2016 cyclocross season! Congratulations to CrossVegas for bring World Cup cyclocross to the United States. Keep up on all the details at crossvegas.com.

Also, please visit cyclocrossbook.com, svenness.com and crosshairscycling.com/shop to find great books, shirts and socks, and to support the SVENNESS series.

Video for this episode via Sporza.

All music on this episode is available at bandcamp.com. If you a track you heard on any SVENNESS episode, let the artist know via Twitter.

PLAYLIST:

Hell is Warm~Sidekicks: sidekicksohio.bandcamp.com/track/hell-is-warm

Daze~Dan E. Brown: beechcoma.bandcamp.com/track/daze

Autumn ∞ Harvest ∞ Happiness~Summer of Haze: fuselab.bandcamp.com/track/autumn-harvest-happiness

Donald Rumsfeld~Sleep School: sleepschoolpdx.bandcamp.com/track/donald-rumsfeld

Resignation Letter~The Also-Rans: also-rans.bandcamp.com/track/resignation-letter

Nothing~Chloroform: runforcoverrecords.bandcamp.com/track/chloroform-2

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UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Coming to USA September 16

(January 30, 2015 – Longmont, Colorado) Clif Bar CrossVegas has been selected to host the first race of the 2015-2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup series. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), competitive cycling’s governing body, announced the 2015-2016 World Cup schedule today in Tabor Czech Republic, marking the first time that a UCI Cyclocross World Cup event will be held outside of Europe.

World Cup CrossVegas will take place on Wednesday evening September 16, 2015 and will include World Cup racing events for Women Elite, Men Elite, as well as a USA Cycling category race and the ever-popular Wheelers & Dealers Industry race.

While CrossVegas is new to hosting a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, it is the biggest cyclo-cross race outside of Europe and has been an UCI Category 1 event for the past 8 years. For the last few years racers from over a dozen nations have competed. Competitors have included the world’s top-ranked men and women as well as multiple national and UCI world champions.

“CrossVegas is honored to be selected. Becoming a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup race is the natural next step for CrossVegas and is the culmination of years of support from dedicated sponsors and the worldwide cyclocross community,” said CrossVegas Director Brook Watts. “For years now, racers, teams and fans from Europe, North America and beyond having been hoping that CrossVegas could be a World Cup. Now that it will be a reality, I’m sure the event will delight ‘cross fans from across the globe who want to see their favorite international racers compete here in the US.”

Perhaps no city is better equipped to host a World Cup event than Las Vegas, “the entertainment capitol of the world.” The spectacle of CrossVegas – taking place under the lights with multiple course features designed to challenge racers and provide maximum spectator entertainment – is uniquely suited for Las Vegas. During the same week the city hosts Interbike, the largest bicycle trade show outside of Europe. CrossVegas provides a showcase for athletes and sponsors in front of the crowd of 10,000, including many bicycle industry representatives. Continue reading »

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For LIKEAVOS episode 2.4 we are at the fourth stop on the Cyclocross World Cup Series in Namur, Belgium. The course takes place around the town’s ancient citadel. The hilly track has demanding climbs and steep descents. Although the mud wasn’t as bad as years’ past, slick conditions still played a part in the outcome as riders struggled to get traction either riding or running on the long off-camber section.

We concentrate on the fastest way across the off-camber and take a look at descending, but mainly this episode concentrates on the return of Marianne Vos to cyclocross and her immediate impact on the race. It also features a relative surprise performance by a racer who isn’t seen much anymore on the international scene.

As always, this episode is brought to you by Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer, available at cyclocrossbook.com. Please also check out the shop (crosshairscycling.com/shop) for SVENNESS shirts and socks, Rosie the Riveter and Lloyd Dobler cycling shirts, and other fun things.

Video for this episode is via UCI.

Music heard in the episode can be purchased by following the links below:

Aretha Franklin-Rock Steady (Parker Remix)~Ghetto Funk Allstars: ghettofunk.bandcamp.com/track/aretha-franklin-rock-steady-parker-remix

Reel~Fazerdaze: fazerdaze.bandcamp.com/track/reel

Lips~Marian Hill: b3scirecords.bandcamp.com/album/marian-hill-lips-got-it-single

Archie, Marry Me~Alvvays: topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/track/archie-marry-me

Hans Christian Andersen~Kittyhawk: countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/track/hans-christian-andersen

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For SVENNESS Episode 3.9 we are at the Flandriencross in Hamme for the third round of the BPost Bank Troffee series. The track is one of the fastest we will see this year, which means the race takes on the look and feel of a road circuit race more than a cyclocross race. No mud or big run-ups to deal with but that doesn’t mean there isn’t excitement. This one is all go from the gun and the rare occasion in which multiple team leaders use teammates to strategically control the race.

Along with concentrating on team tactics, we also determine if riding or running the barriers at Flandriencross is faster and what is the most efficient way to carry your bike up a set of stairs with a turn at the top. This race is one of the first all out battles between Wout van Aert and Matthieu van der Poel. A scenario we suspect will repeat itself many times in the years to come.

Footage for this episode via Sporza.

Music by:

You Light Me Up~Evolfo: evolfodoofeht.bandcamp.com/track/you-light-me-up

Owls~A Drop of Blood: topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/track/a-drop-of-blood

Ronny’s Song~Mike Sill: mikesillmusic.bandcamp.com/track/ronnys-song

The Villain~Mesita: mesita.bandcamp.com/track/the-villain-2

Half Bad~White Reaper: whitereaper.bandcamp.com/track/half-bad-2

Dance With The Dead~The Entity: newretrowave.bandcamp.com/track/the-entity

Following the postponement of the U.S. Cyclocross Nationals final day, we were stuck with boxes of unsold books, shirts, socks and other merchandise. To support In The Crosshairs and the SVENNESS and LIKEAVOS series, please visit crosshairscycling.com/shop. For a limited time, if you use the coupon CXNats15 you will receive 15 percent off your order.

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CXHairs course expert: Kong (on left).

[Editor’s Note: As I write this, the event may be canceled. With the hope it isn’t, I will post regardless] Before the Elite races go off today at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, we have two interviews and a spur of the moment Your Moment of SVENNESS to get you ready for the races. The rain hit hard, yesterday, and increased overnight. Today is is going to be sloppy one. After filming the conditions, I looked around for some riders to ask about the course. But most of them were doing there job, dialing in lines on the course (more on that in the YMOS episode). So instead of finding a rider, I found a spectator. First up, here is Kong with the rundown on Austin cycling and today’s races.

Next up we have a quick chat with Stephen Hyde, who had done his recon and was cooling down in the Rapha-Focus tent. We spoke to a clean-shaven Hyde at the beginning of the season, and everything has gone better than planned up to this point. Stephen gives us his thoughts on Sunday’s men’s elite race and his near future plans.

Finally, we took some time to gather some video of the elite men previewing the course. The meticulous nature in which these guys go back and dial in the course. The meticulous nature in how you pre-ride a course is an important element in doing well. Especially when the conditions are incredibly difficult like they will be today at Zilker Park. Thanks to Rusty Williford and Raul Rojas for the additional footage.

Thanks for watching.

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Sam O’Keefe wins the D2 Collegiate Cyclocross Championship  in Austin, Texas. Photo by Bruce Buckley

Hey there Cyclocross people. We are spending the week in Austin, Texas, at the 2015 US Cyclocross Championship. To start our coverage we begin with Saturday’s line up, which consisted of junior and collegiate races. All week the weather has been cold and damp. It went from damp to all out wet on Saturday as the rain came in force and the races took place in the sloppiest conditions of the week.

In the video below, Sam O’Keefe, who races for C3 Twenty-Twenty Cycling and Middlebury College, gives us his thoughts on winning the Collegiate D2 title. O’Keefe also talks about the changing conditions at Zilker Park, and what he expects for Sunday’s races.

Photos courtesy of Bruce Buckley. www.brucebuckelyphotography.com

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