Open Your Eyes to Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open - DVD front cover

A few weeks back I was sent a DVD to review from filmmaker Markus Neuert aka Cyclefilm. This was a project he worked on in 2010 and it continues to receive a lot of press attention. Eyes Wide Open – the making of Cyclepassion 2011 – is the behind scenes footage from the calendar series that everyone in the world of cycling is talking about.

Reading the synopsis on the back of the DVD:

Once a year, a select group of elite women cyclists leave behind their world of mud, sweat, blood and pain to slip into something a little more comfortable. See what happens when eight professional cyclists trade in their lycra for latex, lace and leather in the sixth annual production of the ever popular Cyclepassion Calendar. Take an intimate look behind the scenes of each photo shoot and find out what life off the bike is like for each rider. Eyes Wide Open also tells the story of the calendar origins with its founder Anke Wilken, and renowned photographer Daniel Geiger.

The girls featured in the DVD are:

• Fabienne Heinzmann
• Hanka Kupfernagel
• Heather Irmiger
• Julie Krasniak
• Liz Hatch
• Mona Eiberweiser
• Veronica Andreasson
• Willow Koerber

It’s a slick production from Markus! Interesting angles and views, as well as great close-up camera work, showing off the pure beauty of the girls while they pose for the photographer.

The added bonus is that you get an insight into the lives of these professional racers. Who they are and why they got involved in making the calendar. There’s no doubt about it. These are some seriously stunning women. And they race bikes!

Here are two sneak previews from the DVD:

The supporting footage within the DVD shows the girls doing what they do best – racing – and at times, leaves you wanting to see some more of it. All cyclists love racing and this DVD gives us an opportunity to meet some incredibly talented and beautiful women that are involved at the highest level in the sport.

Now as for the DVD, the main elements of it are:

• Run time: 75 minutes
• Full colour
• PAL/NTSC
• Zonefree

Not forgetting it has a wicked sound track and the DVD comes in some super cool packaging designed by the folks at Jakebox.

Cool packaging

Now, there are those that have a problem with what the girls are doing here. To be honest, personally, I don’t. These women are the top of their game and if this helps raise interest in them, then all the better for the sport.

Call it the Marmite affect – either “you love it or you hate it!” One thing is for sure, the Cyclepassion calendar has helped raise the interest in women’s cycling.

To get your hands on a copy of the DVD for the uber cool (now reduced) price of £9.99, then point your browser here at the Cyclefilm shop. And see what all the fuss is about!

Eyes Wide Open - DVD back cover

Team Lotto Honda

Team Lotto Honda: Liz Hatch, Rochelle Gilmore, Kim Schoonbaert and Veronica Andreasson

It’s good to see Honda backing cycling with the new Lotto Honda women’s cycling team. Is this a new global initiative from the company? The reason I ask is that in the UK, the company sponsors The Tour of Britain, The Tour Series, The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Rides and The Great Tour.  Whatever it is, more companies should follow in their footsteps.

Here’s more from the girls (Liz Hatch, Rochelle Gilmore, Kim Schoonbaert and Veronica Andreasson – the video can be watched by clicking here or by clicking here for the full article (which is in French)

[UPDATE] Following this video, the girls also did a photoshoot.  Thanks to the team at PezCyclingNews for this one:

The Lotto Honda girls

Cyclepassion 2011 calendar for xmas

Fabienne Heinzmann on the cover of Cyclepassion 2011

For those of you who are still wondering about what to get for xmas, or if you are the girlfriend of a cyclist and not sure what to get him, then look no further. The 2011 Cyclepassion calendar is by far the best cycling calendar in the time it has been around. Very tasetfully done, while showing off the top road and mountain biking women racers in a way we’ve never seen them before.

Well, here are some video trailers for the calendar, tastefully put together by  Markus Neuert of Cyclefilm:

Calendar / DVD – 1 of 3

Calendar / DVD – 2 of 3

Calendar / DVD – 3 of 3

The 2011 Cyclepassion Athletes:

Willow Koerber (USA) – Trek/Subaru – MTB
Heather Irmiger (USA) – Trek/Subaru – MTB
Liz Hatch (USA) – Lotto Ladies Team – Road
Veronica Andreasson (Sweden) – Lotto Ladies Team – Road
Julie Krasniak – (France) Look – Road
Fabienne Heinzmann – (Switzerland) BMC – MTB
Mona Eiberweiser (Germany) – CentralPro – MTB
Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) Road/Cross

So, what are you waiting for?!

Liz Hatch and Veronica Andréasson in Cyclepassion 2011

Cyclepassion model - Veronica Andreasson

Cyclepassion model - Liz Hatch (thanks Maxim)

For those that are wondering which models will be in the 2011 Cyclepassion calendar, well wonder no further.  It seems both Liz Hatch and fellow friend, Veronica Andreasson, will both be making an appearance in the 2011 version. Following some recent tweets from Anke Wilken, creator of Cyclepassion, she gave us a sneak preview of what can be expected.

Here's Veronica getting ready for her picture session

And a stunning Liz Hatch!

And thanks to Markus Neuert of Cyclefilm, here is a sneak peak of the two girls having fun during their photo shoot.

!!UPDATE: Read the review of Eyes Wide Open – the behind the scenes video of the making of Cyclepassion 2011.!!

CyclePassion – The DVD!

Lene Byberg

You’ve all heard about or seen the CyclePassion calendar series. Well, production of the 2011 version is well under way and here is a sneak peak of what we can expect in next year’s version.

But here’s an added bonus from the CyclePassion crew  – they have produced a documentary DVD about the elite women cyclists of Cyclepassion 2011.

The blurb they’ve put together for this as is follows:

How boring would life be without a bit of ‘over-the-top(less)ness’ from time to time See the revealing story behind the Calendar. The Cyclepassion crew has given us exclusive access to their photo shoots to produce a documentary DVD about the elite women cyclists of Cyclepassion 2011. The first shoot was with Willow Koerber and Heather Irmiger of the Subaru Gary Fisher/Trek MTB Team after the Offenburg UCI World Cup.

So here it is:

Make sure you get the 2011 calendar on your xmas wish list. It looks like it’s going to be a good one!

Gunn Rita Dahle-Flesja

Cycle Passion – cycling’s own Pirelli Calendar

Nikki Harris

Last year I came across the Cycle Passion calendar and posted a blog on it as part of my xmas wish list. Now it seems this year that the calendar range has picked up in profile and in its fifth year of production is getting more media attention than before. I suppose a good thing, especially for the models who are helping to make the calendar what it is. And with all the publicity it is receiving, it makes me wonder if this calendar series is becoming the Pirelli calendar of the cycling world?

According to RoadCyclingUK:

Let’s not forget the origins of the calendar in the first place. Anke Wilken was the wife of a frenetic, obsessed cyclist who spent any and all of his free time on a bike. Anke felt she would sooner or later become a bike widow – fast losing ground to her husband’s love affair with the sport. The calendar was a response to this, initiating the first exclusive female cycle calendar and hoping to challenge her husband’s view and at the same time spicing up the cycling world with a female touch of beauty and passion. Sadly they’ve since split up. I wonder if the calendar was the cause…

Anyway, back to the current day and the latest 2010 calendar is another impressive collection of artfully and tastefully shot women cyclists not really wearing all that much clothing. There’s the odd bicycle or component in there as well but you won’t notice that for all the smouldering pouting and suggestive looks going on.

The 2010 calendar features Sabine Spitz (Germany), Lene Byberg (Norway), Julie Krasniak (France), Monia Baccaille (Italy), Anna Sanchis (Spain), Steffi Marth (Germany), Solveig Lindgren (Sweden) and our very own Nikki Harris (UK).

And here’s a taster of what you will get when you buy the calendar:

Sabine Spitz

Monia Baccaille

And for those of you that want to see some behind the scenes footage from the 2010 calendar, here are some YouTube clips of the girls:

Anna Sanchis

Sabine Spitz

Add this to my xmas wish list

Miss February, Hanka Kupfernagel

Thanks to the team at Bikeradar.com for their ideas on stocking fillers for xmas this year.

One item of notable mention from the online news site is the 2009 Cycle Passion Calendar. It’s a huge format calendar (40 x 60cm) featuring high-quality photos of female cycling stars including the likes of Sabine Spitz (gold medal winner at the Beijing Olympics, European mountain bike champion 2008), Hanka Kupfernagel (2008 elite women’s cyclo-cross world champion, gold medal winner at the Sydney Olympics) and Irina Kalentieva (Bronze medallist in Beijing, mountain bike world champion in 2007).

Methinks somehow this is a gift I will have to buy myself. Can’t see my wife going out of her way to get this for me.

For more ideas on xmas stocking fillers for road riders, see the list of ideas from Bikeradar.com.