I took a closer look today at my images from Stage 8 of the TdF. The Col de la Ramaz had taken its toll and really spread the race out before the final climb. Here's more of those shots.
I previously posted images of Lance trying to limit his losses after two falls had him well back of the leaders on the stage. The back of his jersey tells the story of his day; looks like he got hit with shrapnel.
Another rider having a tough day was AG2R's Maxime Bouet.
Christophe Moreau and Chris Sorensen both appeared in gaps riding solo, Moreau out the saddle, Sorrensen upright and seated.
Garmin's Johan Van Summeren chose the moment to dole out some punishment and he looked strong going by. He finished 25th on the stage.
Jens Voigt came by, zipped up and composed like he'd just ridden onto the course from a coffee shop in Morzine. Great to see him healthy after that awful crash last year.
Finally FDJ's Jeremy Roy in that great white kit appeared to be offering a prayer for the pain to stop. Unfortunately low resolution doesn't do many of these shots justice. You can count the whiskers in the beards of Roy and Moreau.
20 Comments
these shots are super sharp as usual mike. awesome job.
Check out the loose sleeves on Lance.
Here’s a van video that caught Lance’s podium-fatal Stage 8 backslide. Nasty spill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHBftK8okyA
thanks for that, quite a slide.
BR: nice call. I had noticed the WC stripes on the 28 jersey — figured it was a self-proclaimed WC Cancer fighter kind of thing. Hadn’t noticed them on the team jersey tough. Kind of an afford to Cadel, don’t you think? Chutpah.
Lance is entitled to wear the WC hoops (1993) but I was commenting on how loose the jersey fits him especially the sleeves. Is he not a fan of race cut gear? Just looked off to me. He’s a skinny dude anytime but man that’s skin and bone in the TdF.
Righto on the loose fit. Have to demur though on the right to wear the WC stripes in 2010 based on a 1993 victory. That was 17 years ago. 17 years. I don’t see anybody sporting the WC stripes except in the year they won it. I mean, LA is not the WC, is he? Cadel Evans is. Ergo, only Cadel has the right to wear the stripes this year. Am I wrong?
Most past world champions will wear the WC stripes at the edge of their sleeves. Many riders also do this if they are a past national champion. If you look at the picture of Christoph Moreau (in Michael’s group above) he has the French tricolore bands to signify he was a past champion of France. Similarly, if you look at photos of Oscar Freire or Tom Boonen they usually have the WC stripes at the edge of their sleeves. So Lance’s use of them is nothing unusual nor an affront to Cadel Evans. He (Cadel) will probably do the same next year. If you want an idea of what that kit would look like you need look no further than Allesandro Ballan in his current BMC kit.
Many riders cut off or sever the elastic band at the jersey arm cuff, I’ve read it’s a comfort preference. A fair number do the same to the cuffs of their bib shorts.
Never fear the quality Michael, the pain, power and the whiskers show through nice and crisp. A fine small selection of differnt moments from a day in the life of racing cycle photography. The eye, trigger finger is well coordinated.
Douglas
I can finally relate to the torn up jersey. Two weekends ago I was hauling down a steep road up in Twain Harte and hit a deer. Everything came out fairly good considering. I have a bit of road rash but the Speedvagen came out untouched except for a slightly bent rear der cage.
So if you are going to it something hit a baby deer then ride that guy down the hill. I think it got the worst of it.
Willy hit Bambi!
Interesting on the sleeve cutting but Lance’s sleeves are not cut – I assume he prefers a loose sleeve.
As far as the WC on the sleeve after 17 years I think it is fine. You will notice country championship colors on many of the riders. It’s a badge of honor….if they were clean.
Bambi hit Willy
I was riding at about 30MPH down a long steep hill when I saw a fawn in the middle of the road. I saw mama deer to the left so veered to the right and started yelling. Sure enough the fawn headed toward mama in the woods. As I got closer I looked over at the cute fawn. As I turned my attention back to the fast downhill I turn my head and right between my brake levers is fawn #2. Guess mama had twins. I hit the road on my right side waiting for the pain and slid down the hill for quite a ways.
When I came to a stop the bike and I were sitting on top of Bambi who proceeded to quickly get up, kick me behind the right knee and run off toward mama. I got up next and started to run after my rolling bottle before thinking I ought to see if I hurt anywhere. But of course like a true cyclist I checked out the bike first fearing all the damage to the drive side of the bike. I will heal but Camoy does not.
I was sure something must be seriously hurt but all seemed well. As I stood there the next car (SUV) came down the hill and asked if I was OK. I asked if he would hang on a minute while I calmed down. I called my wife to see if she could pick me up but then I realized I could not tell her how to find me. So the SUV guy drove me the 5 miles back to the cabin where I cleaned up then the girls and I drove to the fire station to see if they could bandage up my elbow. My elbow was bloody but not really to bad. I will lose a fingernail and that is the worst I got.
All in all I was very lucky and probably lucky I did not see Bambi #2 or I may have avoided it only to go down on my own. If you are going to hit something hit a baby deer. If you are a baby deer and going to get hit get hit by a skinny guy on a bicycle.
I have a feeling the baby deer has a worse case of road rash then I do. The week before a cyclist hit a bear in the same area and ended up in the hospital.
The next day I rode the Speedvagen on a 50 mile ride and it seems fine. This past weekend I rode 250 miles so I am fine.
Glad to hear you escaped with minor damage and the more importantly the Vanilla was fine 😉
I’ve got my own deer tale to tell at some point. It was not a happy ending.
Michael – I will have a Power Balance for you to review in a few weeks.
OK lad, I’ll try to keep an open mind. Does it sharpen razor blades if I leave it beside my razor at night?
Guaranteed to fit that’s it.
My friend represents and distributes a wide range of consumer products from electronics to stuff like this and he originally threw the guys out using terms like VooDoo, BS, $30 rubber band, etc.
Results vary widely – check Amazon.com for the ranges.
I will let you try one out before I pontificate my personal experience. I can’t guarantee black – is that a problem? 🙂
amazing pictures! i love how you can see the road reflected in moreau’s sunglasses. and of course, the shot of jens.
i’m STILL SO JEALOUS you got to watch the tdf live…!!!
Thanks Kaiko,
It’s funny because even though I was over there and got a chance to shoot the pros a couple of times, I hardly paid attention to the race while I photographed the Kika boys. There just was no time at night to watch the race replays.
There I was in France, knowing much less about the race than any other year watching it from North America. I have had a chance to watch more stages since I’ve been back.
Congratulations on completing your studies. Will we see you at interbike?
::M