Categories: EtiquetteLook ProNostalgiaTradition

Look Pro: Souplesse

Master Jacques, master of souplesse.

Souplesse. Only the French would have such a word; one you can sink your teeth into, chew on. It begs to be spoken over a plate of assorted cheeses and a bottle of vin rouge. Its exact definition is unimportant; such things conjure up an image in our minds that is cheapened by words. Souplesse is the ideal, sought by all and obtained only by The Few.

Souplesse is the perfect storm of Looking Pro; harmony between grace and power, casual and deliberate. It speaks of the entire organism, the perfectly manicured machine together with the perfectly refined position and technique of its rider. It is the combination of Magnificent Stroke, gentle sway of the shoulders and head, the rhythmic breath, and of knees, elbows, and chest converging on the V-Locus.

Jacques Anquetil is man of whom we have spoken surprisingly little in these archives. Perhaps it is because he is a man who inspires us in death as little as he did his fans in life. A calculating man, he pursued Cycling not for the love and passion of it, but for the business of it; for him, the bicycle provided a path from peasantry to aristocracy. That was all.

Be that as it may, he was a gifted cyclist whose fluidity on the bike exemplified Souplesse:

A Magnificent Stroke is more than pushing or pulling on the pedals. The stroke flows from the core and hips, driving the pedals round and belying the effort to do so.
Feet sweep the pedals around in perfect revolutions, one leg cannot be distinguished from the other – they work as one to counter and balance the forces to drive the machine ever faster forward.
The legs can not do their work without the arms, the lungs, the chest, the heart, the mind. Each unit functions independently to do its work, yet feeds seamlessly into the other. In a phrase: Fluidly Harmonic Articulation.
Move to the V-Locus; the body is folded such that legs, arms, and chest overlap but do not intersect. Knees tucked in, shoulders hunched, wrists rolled inwards, elbows angled such that the knees only just slip inside them with each revolution of the cranks.
Face calm, eyes cooly focussed up the road; a grimace is energy that is better spent on turning the pedals.

I give you Master Jacques.

More: Jacques Anquetil Part II & Part III

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:35 am

@Calmante

The Wiggins talk reminded me of something. Since he rides elliptical chainrings, he's not capable of riding with souplesse. I hope that fad dies quickly in the peloton. Again.

For once I agree with you completely. Hate the principle behind them, and hate the look of 'em. My first real race bike that I bought with my own money had Biopace. The next thing I bought with my own money were round chain rings.
Cyclops says:

Feb 17 2012 at 9:58 am

Did you guys see this?

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/02/bus-driver-who-deliberately-hit-cyclist-sent-to-prison/
Buck Rogers says:

Feb 17 2012 at 10:54 am

@frank

@Calmante

The Wiggins talk reminded me of something. Since he rides elliptical chainrings, he's not capable of riding with souplesse. I hope that fad dies quickly in the peloton. Again.

For once I agree with you completely. Hate the principle behind them, and hate the look of 'em. My first real race bike that I bought with my own money had Biopace. The next thing I bought with my own money were round chain rings.

Yes, same here. Godd ol' Simano biopace. bought my first real race bike in 1988 or '89 and that's what they came with. Changed them out after a year when I had saved enough to move up to a 53/39 set on the front. The biopace were 52/42 or 41 if I remember correctly.
wiscot says:

Feb 17 2012 at 10:57 am

@Cyclops

Did you guys see this?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/02/bus-driver-who-deliberately-hit-cyclist-sent-to-prison/

Yeah, saw it on the Guardian this morning. If that rider had been killed I'd advocate a charge of murder. I'm sure the driver had some cockamamie story about how he was "forced" to swerve or that it was the cyclists fault, but sometimes the fact that the UK has a shocking high preponderance of CCTV comes in handy in determining the truth. . .
Buck Rogers says:

Feb 17 2012 at 10:58 am

@frank

@Buck Rogers, @scaler911, @RedRangergrowing p in the states with little or no cycling coverage and almost no mainstream media on Cycling, it's impossible to separtate that movie from the thrill of seeing a bike on a TV screen instead of just reading about one or seeing a photo. I loved that movie and still do. But that has nothing to do with whether the movies any good, but I think we'll all agree Kevin has some serious souplesse in the sprint on stage 1!!

Yeah, I agree that when dying of thirst, almost any liquid will do but between Breaking Away and American Flyers, both movies of my youth and cycling, I just cannot bear to watch American flyers, it is just sooooo awful. Obviously Breaking Away wins every time and I would watch that ten times in a row before ever watching American Flyers again.
Anjin-san says:

Feb 17 2012 at 12:06 pm

@sthilzy

Found this here.
A style masterclass, courtesy of...Maitre Jacques Anquetil, circa 1957.

Toes down, keeping pressure on and pulling back throughout the full pedal stroke past the 'dead spot', turning a big gear as steadily as a metronome.
Torso solid as a rock, with all the power emanating from the titanic strength of a lower back that never so much as sways.
A horizontal and perfectly aerodynamic back, this despite the fact that the stem is only a 1-2cm lower than the saddle.
Bent relaxed arms, elbows in. Relaxed hands and wrists pushing ever so slightly against the curve of the bars for more leverage and stability.
Eyes fixed on the road 10 meters ahead.
Immense concentration.
Perfection.

THAT is a great picture! God, that form is impeccable.
Oli says:

Feb 17 2012 at 2:06 pm

@frank
You need souplesse to ride elliptical 'rings! That's the fucking point, and why your bogus reimagining of a perfectly good adjective doesn't work!!
Calmante says:

Feb 17 2012 at 2:55 pm

When Shimano developed Biopace, they placed the longest radius of the chainring in line with the crankarm. Their theory was to speed up the power stroke and slow down the bottom and top of the stroke, and they had their supporting evidence for why that was better.

When Rotor developed their version, they placed their shortest radius in line with the crankarm, claiming that you should have your largest effective radius in the middle of your power stroke, instead.

Due different systems with the exact opposite results. I've got an idea, how about round chain rings? I'll get the best of both worlds!
Calmante says:

Feb 17 2012 at 2:57 pm

Slipped into Italian for a second. Weird.
LA Dave says:

Feb 17 2012 at 3:07 pm

I always felt these two were good examples of it....