The Orange Seal In the Crosshairs U.S. Tour gets started this weekend in Waterloo, Wisconsin, for the Trek CXC Cup. I came out a few days early to meet up with some folks, record some Crosshairs Radio episodes, and get a feel for the event. With 25 European pros making their way to Wisconsin for this race, the Trek CXC Cup is setting up to be a World Cup caliber field.

The catalyst behind getting this top-notch talent to the race was Sven Nys and his Telenet-Fidea squad. With Telenet’s move to Trek frames for the 2016-2017 season, Trek’s relationship with Sven Nys, and the first two World Cup races in the U.S., the decision to race Trek CXC was made a bit easier. Throw in Wout van Aert’s relationship with Bontrager (his silver World Champ shoes are pretty stunning) and there was incentive for the Crelan team to make it out to the race as well. Throw in some Marlux riders for good measure, and all of the U.S. domestic pros looking to make their mark early in the season, and this race weekend sets up to be a crazy one.

For the first installment of the ITCH Tour, we caught up with the aforementioned Sven Nys and eavesdropped on a clinic he was putting on for Trek employees. With the first episode we are just getting our feet wet, before the craziness starts this weekend. So lets test the waters together before we dive in head first.

Thanks so much to the sponsors who are making this tour possible. First and foremost Orange Seal, the title sponsor of the 2016 tour. And an equally huge thank you to our other partners in this venture: SDG Components, Easton Cycling, Verge Sport, Feedback Sports and Squid Bikes. You guys know how this works: Tell the fine companies above that you heard about them on cxhairs.com and the #ITCHtour. But more than that, check out the products and consider making a purchase from a company that supports cyclocross.

Finally, thanks to all of the fine folks at Trek for the warm welcome and accommodations. And to Shimano the Pug, pictured above, for the wonderful place to stay.

Make sure you check out the cxhairs Instagram feed for even more content, and follow along on Twitter @cxhairs, too. We will be using the hashtag #ITCHtour throughout the duration of the tour.

Thanks for tagging along for the adventure.

Here’s ITCHtour episode one …