Branded web series, 2009-2011

“BEYOND THE PELOTON,” affectionately known to fans as “BTP”, is a cycling web series about the Cervélo Test Team Booker created, co-directed and co-produced with cycling fanatic Joe Finkleman, with music by Milosh of Rhye. It started with the story of the Test Team’s remarkable first season on the pro-cycling peloton, featuring 2009 Tour de France Green Jersey winner Thor Hushovd and 2008 Tour de France Yellow Jersey winner Carlos Sastre. Considered the benchmark in pro-cycling fan access, it helped Cervélo capture some 50% of the social media limelight during the 2009 Tour – and ran for 3 seasons.

Click HERE for the complete first, second and third seasons — and other playlists organized by category.

Click HERE for a Cyclingnews.com article on BTP.

Now here’s the story behind the story.

In 2009, documentary filmmaker Booker Sim and cycling fanatic Joe Finkleman approached Cervélo cycles’ co-founder Gerard Vroomen with an idea. Celebrate the sport of cycling with a documentary series uncovering life behind-the-scenes with the newly formed Cervélo Test Team. In line with Vroomen’s philosophy of fan access and team transparency in a sport normally shrouded in secrecy, BEYOND THE PELOTON was born.

From the Tour of Qatar, to San Remo, Flanders, Roubaix, the Giro D’Italia and the Green-Jersey win at the Tour de France. Indeed, 2009 proved to be an epic year for the Test Team, captured all along by Joe, Booker and cinematographer Goran Kovacevic, with iconic theme music by Rhye frontman Milosh. It was a look into cycling some even said was unparalleled since the classic French documentary LA COURSE EN TÊTE.  All this, from a low-budget branded web series.

Three years later, BEYOND THE PELOTON survived the Test Team to live on with team Garmin-Cervélo, with a cult-like following and a host of big-budget copycat videos. Oh yeah, and along the way, they helped sell a few racing bikes and contributed to the mystique of the Cervélo brand.

Unfazed by big talk of TV series and feature documentaries, BTP Films was recently founded to tell inspirational stories with the greatest reach and timeliness with the least amount of red-tape and cost. Which is what the web video revolution — and BEYOND THE PELOTON — is all about.

Beyond branded-content, the BTP creative collective dedicate themselves to crafting moving images that provide viewers, fans and consumers with what they really long for: meaningful authentic human experiences…in sport and beyond.