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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View Comments

Oli says:

Feb 17 2012 at 3:10 am

@Joe
Today when I was riding I was "rigiditÃ©".
SimonH says:

Feb 17 2012 at 3:11 am

@Dr C

@SimonH
He's not the leader, Wiggo is ... (and also a tit)
Oi, less of that!!

Sorry, no probs with MC, just can't warm to Wiggins, not in the same league as other riders for me. Felt bad for him crashing out of TDF last year and good to see him doing well in Vuelta but there is just a quality about him I don't like.

Saying that, I can't fault his ride in Copenhagen last year, it just seems that after doing good, he comes out with a few dick comments which reaffirms what I feel about him.
Joe says:

Feb 17 2012 at 3:23 am

@Oli
Ditto, going to get my souplesse on down the pub in about 45 minutes though. Let the great healer do its work.
Dr C says:

Feb 17 2012 at 3:29 am

@SimonH
You're not wrong on any points there, but I hold soft spot for him because he's such an eccentric, with a posh/common Landan/Belgian accent

I think I am an eccentrophile??? (might explain why I hang around here all the time?)
Dr C says:

Feb 17 2012 at 4:05 am

@936adl
there goes that Cav argument...
Calmante says:

Feb 17 2012 at 4:24 am

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.
scaler911 says:

Feb 17 2012 at 5:36 am

@Joe

@scaler911
You're relaxed, smooth, fast, effortless.I get this cycling and I think it's a stretch to say any of us, Pro or otherwise, are always "Souplesse", rather it's a state that's achieved when everything is in perfect balance. Some have it more often than others, and some may never think they have it, but do.
Spot on. I had a fantastic ride yesterday evening, first half 60k of pedalling squares, second half 60k absolutely smashing along, much faster with metronomic smoothness. Whenever I finish a ride like that, my arse and bits of my body not normally thought of as being bike relevant, ache like a sausage dog's bollocks. They don't call it the cottage of wattage for nothing.
On the flipside to all this magnificence, I am fucking useless at work today.

I've become useless at work since FrÃ¤nk fixed the servers. If I get fired, I'm blaming him.
heinous says:

Feb 17 2012 at 5:45 am

@Bianchi Denti

@ChrisO

I once had a girlfriend whose souplesse was outweighed only by the enormity of her bottom.

I was really trying to annoy @ChrisO - the enormity of my mistake has now come back to bite.

@Nate

I bet he's got one of these on the other side of that HRM:
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:00 am

@Nate

Is that really a HRM/ditigal wristwatch thing strapped to his stem? I call bullshit, that photo is less real than one of Anquetil climbing with his bidon in the cage.

Strapping your HRM to your bars using a piece of pipe insulator was the shit in the 90's. Like rollin' up to your doublewide at the trailer park.

@Dr C

@minion

My guess is that the curse of the rainbow jersey is going to increase the amount of empathy people feel towards Cav, since he's already had a less than ideal start to the year. (Crashed already this year, sick during the start of Qatar) just have to hope that he doesn't overdo the celebrations on the wins he is going to get, like Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Bettini

I actually thought his 70kph bunny hop was pretty cool at the Giro??? Or am I alone in thinking that?

You're alone.
frank says:

Feb 17 2012 at 7:15 am

@936adl

@SimonH

@brett

Cav mustn't be considered a leader at Sky. Black tape.
And black helmet, black shoes, black bibs. Stylin.

He's not the leader, Wiggo is ... (and also a tit)

Sorry but can't agree with your comment about Wiggins.
Sky have got quite a job on their hands supporting them both in the Tour. It will be fascinating to see how it all goes.
In the meantime, bring on Milan-San Remo! Can Cav win it in the stripes.....

Never say never, but we've seen this game played before - Wiggo won't win the Tour (unless by accident) so long as Cav is in the team. Cav will likely continue to win stages and probably take the Green Jersey because he can win without a train if he has to, and competition for the Green Jersey isn't as demanding so as to require the dedication of an entire team.