Zdenek Stybar and his pink Specialized Crux … we’re wondering if he’s heading out to go hide eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt. ©Specialized
by Molly Hurford
Sure, it’s a little silly. But here at Cyclocross Magazine HQ, we’re getting in the Easter-egg-hunting spirit by imagining ourselves soaring effortlessly over barriers, like Zach McDonald or Jeremy Powers. Of course, none of the staff at CXM is capable of such feat (see: Is Joey OK? for elaboration), but it doesn’t mean that we can’t dream.
And if you’re still in that non-hopping stage, we do have help on proper hop-free barrier technique, including videos from the Keough brothers and Patrick Bradley of the Philadelphia Cyclocross School. Want to read about bunny-hopping in Australia? (Yep, they have cyclocross there. But since it’s a little more mountain bike oriented, bunny-hopping seems to be a bit more common there.) And of course, if you’re talking about bunny-hopping, you have to mention Zdenek Stybar with his beautiful pink bike, bunny-hopping like it’s nobody’s business.
Of course, there have been some slip-ups at even the highest level. A search on our Cowbell Forum found this video of Todd Wells having a disastrous hopping experience:
Though more often than not, they get it right. Here’s a video also shared on our Forum that showcases Jeremy Powers sailing over the barriers.
If that wasn’t enough, check out photos we dug up from races past:
