Best cycling video ever???

This might just be the best cycling video ever to make it onto the information superhighway.

It's got it all.

TT bikes? Check.

Euro-fantastic soundtrack? Definitely.

An awesome display of speed and grace? Oh, I think so!

A close-up view of Marco Posonni's butt? Indeed.

Some guy in a yellow car that throws a waterbottle at Bradley Wiggins, causing a priceless reaction? Yep, it's got that too.

Enjoy.

bartape.net

OK, even though Two Wheel Transit isn't a Cervelo dealer, I need to give them a plug. This doesn't have anything to do with their bikes, although I do think they do a good job. I've had the chance to ride them quite a bit over the past couple of years and I like them, although I decided not to buy one over the Trek (which will be here this Friday).

Anyway, I finally got around to checking out www.bartape.net. This is the home for Cervelo's series of documentaries (sort of) about their racing team.

In fact these shorts are extremely well done. The photography is gorgeous. The first time I saw them I thought for sure they were shot on film. The quality is that good. My guess is that it's not--rather it's shot on high-def video, but with a damn good camera.

And I think they found a nice balance between a look behind the curtains and a marketing piece. In fact it's an effective marketing piece because they DON'T hit you over the head with a "we're Cervelo and here's all the reasons our bikes are so great" agenda. Well, with the exception of the Paris Roubaix segment. We can let that slide though, right?

So the pictures are great, and so are some of the interviews. You get a sense anyway of how brutal some of the classics are (all of them, really) and I especially like the segment on Flanders. Plus, Andreas Klier has one of the all-time coolest nicknames--"GPS Klier." I may need to start calling Quicksilver that since he has a similar innate knowledge of roads. They just happen to be the roads around Spokane, not the roads around Liege. The discussion on the race radio between Klier and Daniel Lloyd during Flanders is awesome. I'd transcirbe it here, but it's not particularly safe for work.

But what's up with Henrich Haussler? He's exciting to watch race, but I'm not so sure about the man behind the helmet. Pretty boy? Oh yeah. But the dude can move on a bike, so that makes up for a lot of his apparent dearth of personality. I guess.

If you're looking for something to watch, check it out. Way more interesting than Grey's Anatomy, anyway.

Now for something different.

OK, I'm not a massive dirt jumper or trials fan, but this video is pretty freaking cool. Talk about being balanced and comfortable on your bike...

Chamois sniffing: How to attack

In case you haven’t noticed, Rider 3 has been calling me out lately. First there was the Mr. Adjustment reference. Then he compared me with the Princess from “Princess and the Pea.” And then he talks about chamois sniffing?

I'm actually overstating things quite a bit. Rider 3 is very nice. I’ll still take the high road though and instead embrace my inner sniffer.

I now offer you some winter motivation. If watching Levi & Co. (as opposed to Lance & Co., or Levi Strauss & Co). suffer through absolutely heinous conditions isn’t giving you the juice to get through your next trainer session, the video below might.

Tutto solo. I love it. Translated, it means “all alone.” Props to Belgian Knee Warmers for finding this.

Championnat du monde 2008
Uploaded by schleck_

Now THAT is the way to lay down an attack. He hit the front going what, 10 mph faster than the rest of the group? Check out Ballan’s form. An upper body that quiet during an attack that hard in the last 3K of the World’s? Totally impressive.

The Italians rocked this race. Bettini’s group gets caught, and Ballan immediately puts in a massive attack. Check out the part about at about 1:30 into the clip. The Dane was pulling at warp speed and who’s on his wheel? Bettini and Cunego. Awesome.

If you like cycling and haven’t been to a big race in Italy and experienced the Tifosi, you must do this at some point in your life. I’m surprised those commentators didn’t have heart attacks. I'm quite sure that at least one Italian woman in her 50's passed out.

The topic of chamois sniffing reminds me a story a friend once told me. He was a pro riding mostly in Europe at the time for U.S. Postal. A bunch of chamois sniffers (kind of like I am now) asked whether Phil Liggett had ever commentated about him. The answer was no, but in private he said that his real goal was to make enough money to pay Paul and Phil to commentate while said rider was in bed with his girlfriend. “Oh me oh my, he’s really on the ride of his life today...”

You get the idea.