Rapha Super Cross vs Bob Dylan at the Ally Pally - the video the world's been waiting for

We’re not sure whether Bob Dylan ever played Alexandra Palace – we suspect the closest he may have got to was when Alanis Morisette covered a couple of his songs there when the absent reedy-voiced one was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 – but one of those tunes, Subterranean Homesick Blues, provides the inspiration for a rather natty short film ahead of the Ally Pally hosting a round of Rapha’s Super Cross series later this month.

Fans of the artist born as Robert Allen Zimmerman will recognise the nod to the famous film clip in DA Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary, Don’t Look Back, which has inspired homages by everyone from pop parodist Weird Al Jankovic to director Richard Curtis in his film Love, Actually, and now Rapha, too.

Like the original clip, there’s also a cameo appearance too – although instead of beat poet Allen Ginsberg, in Rapha’s version it’s current British cyclocross champion Paul Oldham, while the words appearing on the cue cards reflect not only the racing, but also the party-style atmosphere that Rapha is hoping to encourage among spectators.

Super Cross 2011 from Super Cross on Vimeo.

As for the credits – the words and pictures on the cards of the Rapha version were done by none other than Richard Mitchelson, best known for his t-shirts and mugs of some of cycling’s biggest legends, as seen in Rouleur. The video itself is directed by Andy Waterman, with Music by Frankie & The Cross-Tastics.

The Alexandra Palace round on Sunday 23rd October will be the third and final leg of the three-race series, with earlier rounds taking place at Windermere and Huddersfield. More details are on the Rapha website. Hopefully you’ll be able to make it along to one of the rounds, and if it’s the one in North London, you’ll have a chance to cheer on road.cc’s own Jo Burt.