Roubaix at 4,000 FPS

Gorgeous slow-motion video captures the essence of the race.
By Joe Lindsey

I said last week that, for me anyway, Paris-Roubaix is one of the races that a cycling fan should watch live sometime in his or her lifetime.

Like any sports event, watching live and on TV offer two dramatically different experiences. On TV, you catch (almost) every attack, and the flow of a race’s storyline is far more comprehensible.

Journalists who cover bike racing sometimes get derided for going to the press room to watch and then rushing to the finish line only for quotes, but the reason so many of them do has far less to do with laziness and far more to do with the above paragraph; in cycling, the press box IS the press room TV.

But watching on TV you’re also at a certain remove. There is no feeling quite like standing on the side of the road for a race like Roubaix.

Lined up with the fans, you watch as mechanics mark strategic spots to stand with spare wheels. You marvel at the sheer chaos of the cobbles – stones laid three centuries ago that have sunk and shifted to form an almost impossible path of jagged edges and ruts.

A euro coin shows the size of some hard cobble edges.

The helicopters’ buzz grows louder, the cloud of dust on the horizon inexorably zigs and zags a path in your direction. From maybe a kilometer away, across the freshly plowed fields of northern France, you spot spare bikes bristling from a team car’s roof rack.

The noise grows to a deafening roar, the cars and motorcycles leading the race sweep through with increasing urgency, horns blaring. Helicopters pounding overhead. Fans screaming in anticipation.

And then, wrapped almost in a cocoon of silent focus, comes the lead rider. His bike bounces, his arms shake like he’s controlling a jackhammer. His face is fixed on a spot in front of his wheel and he appears to neither see nor hear anything around him. There is only him, the bike, and the road.

I’ve never seen anything – not even Jorgen Leth’s remarkable 1976 documentary A Sunday in Hell – that captures that moment and those sensations on celluloid.

This video was shot on a high-speed Weisscam HS-2 that is capable of a ridiculous 4,000 frames-per-second exposure, which essentially offers still-photo clarity and resolution in video form. It’s the closest approximation to being at the race I’ve ever seen. If you’re a fan of racing, of Roubaix, you owe it to yourself to spend 2:36 watching this:



And then you’ll probably book plane tickets for next year’s race. A hat tip to the blog Inner Ring for posting this via a reader’s tip.

Source: http://bicycling.com/blogs/boulderreport/2011/04/12/roubaix-at-4000-fps/

Louisville, Colorado Cyclocross

Louisville, Colorado cyclocross practice course. Boulder has the "Wednesday Worlds"?? Louisville has the "Saturday Smackdown"...




Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/drago522#p/u/13/yEDSKClp1eM

Red Bull Rampage 2008 Highlights

Red Bull Rampage - Onboard with Alex Pro - GoPro

GoPro is in the desert at this year's Red Bull Rampage and so are all our riders! Today's edit is with Alex Prochazka (#2 qualifier) as he talks about his line and then gets down and sends it for us.

Enjoy the video.
Alex Prochazka



Source: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/102556/

Cyclocross: An hour In hell

Cyclo-cross (sometimes cyclocross, CX, CCX, cyclo-X or 'cross') is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is September–January), and consists of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5  km or 1.5–2  mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike whilst navigating the obstruction and remount.  Races for senior categories are generally between 30 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium (and Flanders in particular), the Netherlands and the Czech Republic .

Cyclo-cross has some obvious parallels with mountain bike racing, cross-country cycling and criterium racing. Many of the best cyclo-cross riders cross train in other cycling disciplines. However, cyclo-cross has reached a size and popularity that racers are specialists and many never race anything but cyclo-cross races. Cyclo-cross bicycles are similar to racing bicycles: lightweight, with narrow tires and drop handlebars. However, they also share characteristics with mountain bicycles in that they utilize knobby tread tires for traction, and cantilever style brakes for clearance needed due to muddy conditions. They have to be lightweight because competitors need to carry their bicycle to overcome barriers or slopes too steep to climb in the saddle. The sight of competitors struggling up a muddy slope with bicycles on their shoulders is the classic image of the sport, although unridable sections are generally a very small fraction of the race distance.

Compared with other forms of cycle racing, tactics are fairly straightforward, and the emphasis is on the rider's aerobic endurance and bike-handling skills. Drafting, where cyclists form a line with the lead cyclist pedaling harder while reducing the wind resistance for other riders, is of much less importance than in road racing where average speeds are much higher than in cyclo-cross.

A cyclo-cross rider is allowed to change bicycles and receive mechanical assistance during a race. While the rider is on the course gumming up one bicycle with mud, his or her pit crew can work quickly to clean, repair and oil the spares. Having a mechanic in the "pits" is more common for professional cyclo-cross racers. The average cyclo-cross racer might have a family member or friend holding their spare bike.

Origins and history
There are many stories about the origins of cyclo-cross. One is that European road racers in the early 1900s would race each other to the next town over from them and that they were allowed to cut through farmer's fields, over fences or take any other shortcuts in order to make it to the next town first. This was sometimes called steeple chase as the only visible landmark in the next town was often the steeple. This was a way for them to stay in shape during the winter months and put a twist on road racing. In addition, riding off road in more difficult conditions than smooth pavement increased the intensity at which the cyclists were riding and improved their on-the-road bike handling abilities. Forced running sections, or portage, were incorporated to help deliver warm blood to the feet and toes, as well as exercise other groups of muscles. Daniel Gousseau of France is credited as having inspired the first cyclo-cross races and organizing the first French National Championship in 1902. Géo Lefèvre, the originator of the idea for the Tour de France, also played a key role in the early days of the sport.

After Octave Lapize attributed his win in the 1910 Tour de France to his off season training in cyclo-cross the sport began to spread to countries bordering France. Belgium organized its first National Championship in 1910, Switzerland did so in 1912, then Luxembourg in 1923, Spain in 1929 and Italy in 1930.

Cyclo-cross proved itself as a sport extending beyond the boundaries of France when in 1924 the first international race, Le Critérium International de Cross-Country Cyclo-Pédestre, was held in Paris.

Like many international cycle sports, CX is administered by the Union Cycliste Internationale; although it wasn't until the 1940s, around 40 years after cyclo-cross' inception, that the UCI began its regulation and the first world championship was held in Paris in 1950.

Cyclo-cross began to become popular in the US in the 1970s and in 1975 the first race was held in New England but the first US National Championship was held in Berkeley, CA. The Surf City race series held in Santa Cruz, CA holds a lot of history of cyclo-cross in the US. The sport has experienced a growth in popularity in the US since the mid 90s and now the northwest hosts some of the largest events in the country.

Racing seasons
Cyclocross is typically an Autumn and Winter sport, the northern hemisphere season running from September to February. The World Championships take place in late January. The Canada and US national championships are held in November and December, with little racing after that except in the climates of the Southern and Western United States like California.

Riders' age categories for cyclocross under UCI rules are currently determined by their age on the 1 January which lies in the middle of the international season, i.e. they compete in the same category that they would be in for the following road season.

Souce:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross

The following video was produced for a University Of Oregon electronic media class. It is designed as a short documentary to give people a better idea of what is cyclocross racing.



Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZOa_E9Qs8

Muddy Cyclocross Crusade Race 7

Hillsboro, Ore. - THIS IS CYCLOCROSS. Cold, rain, mud, fun, and not fun. Turn up the audio for some bonus commentary.



Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lghImPUL2h0&feature=related

Lance Armstrong Comeback - Las Vegas Cyclocross 2008

The Boss is Back and he's serious about getting back into his training! Cyclefilm caught a glimpse of the action at Lance Armstrong's first official race back at the Cross Vegas Cyclocross event. Will it be Armstrong's 8th Tour de France victory in July'09 or just an extended PR drive for his Livestrong campaign? Either way is fine by us. We're happy to see him back on the road and on 2 wheels. Includes interview at the end.



Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG4WEpy0dnU&feature=related