Sven Nys and Niels Albert exchanges pre-race niceties.
Though his last really strong performance was back in Igorre, Jonathan Page was incredibly fast, at a certain point of the race he rode at second place which is quite impressive. I hope his form will last until the Worlds.
Kevin Pauwels was part of the leading group throughout the race.
Zdenek Stybar had to finish at least 3rd to win the overall title and he was doing everything he could in his power to do so. Albert was very fast and Stybar had to work very hard to keep up with him.
As I mentioned in the post about the women’s race, this was my favourite spot of the race. Most of the shots came out well but this is my favourite. Both flashes work all right and the riders provided me with plenty of action to capture.
When I see other photographers at a certain spot, I try to find a different angle, why would I want to take the same frame they had just taken a minute ago? Most of them were on the top of this short climb, so I sat down in the mud and waited for the riders to arrive. I placed one flash on eye-level whilst the other was lighting them from behind. It’s not the most creative setup, but it did the job: lighted the riders enough to get sharp shots. I quite liked this one and I wanted to leave but the riders just kept coming so I couldn’t leave. And boy, lucky I was! See the next photo!
I managed to catch as Sven Nys’ front wheel skidded in a muddy corner at the bottom of the climb and he had a minor crash. Fortunately, he was ok to carry on, it was probably rather disturbing than painful.
I couldn’t remember, which lens did I use during the women, so the shots at this part of the course came out a bit differently as the ones I had taken during the women’s race, but I don’t mind, I think they are not that bad.
Two laps to go. When you hear that in the loudspeaker, you know that you don’t have much time to make it to the finish line so I started my mad dash as soon as I snapped this hasty panning shot.
Though Albert won the race, Stybar won the overall World Cup title, so he was celebrating when he crossed the finished line.
Seconds before the start of the Belgian national anthem.
The World Cup winner.
This guy’s Kristof Ramon, the man behind the inspiring and amazing “Cyclo-cross Project”. Make sure you check out the his project or his other photos on flickr, I really like he has such a distinct and yet unique style. And last but not least he is a very friendly and nice guy.
