Comments on: The Peloton

The Peloton

mathowie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:42:39 -0800

The Peloton. A gallery of professional bike racers taken just moments after they crossed the line after a brutal long stage of 2006's Giro d'Italia. After a hundred miles of racing, the rider dumps their bike on a team soigner and enters a makeshift tent for a quick photo among the finish line chaos. The photos showcase the pain and suffering well, but some photos also capture a bike racer's most damaging feeling: doubt.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:45 -0800

Those faces convince me to continue to drive, not pedal. Sorry environment.

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:52:51 -0800

Those are the faces of massive endorphin rush. Sign me up.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:55:02 -0800

The look on Andy Schleck's face is amazing. It's unlike all the others, and not just because he's not old enough to have gotten weathered yet. It's because he might still be in the race in his brain, but he's also completely crushing the opposition in that race in his brain.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:57:55 -0800

Wonderful photos. I like the one of Florent Brard the best.

By: anthill

anthill — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:00:43 -0800

These (admittedly stock) faces convince me to continue to pedal, not drive.

By: echo target

echo target — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:01:10 -0800

Weird-lookin' buggers, ain't they.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:01:28 -0800

Amazing photographs - what a great, and difficult moment to capture.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:01:41 -0800

Also: the photo of Hinault in the doubt link is a keeper.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:06:02 -0800

I love the dirt patterns. Like tribal masks.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:06:50 -0800

I'm cultivating a similar thousand-mile (sorry, thousand-klick) stare when I bike-commute to and from work. Wish me luck.

By: Koko

Koko — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:07:12 -0800

They're all winners!! Really dirty winners.

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:07:27 -0800

What's that strap around Magnus Backstedt's chest? Is it connected to something?

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:09:45 -0800

That's a heart-rate monitor, Greg Nog.

By: Brittanie

Brittanie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:10:03 -0800

It's a heart rate monitor.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:11:11 -0800

Complete amazing portraits. But man, those guys look fucked up. Where was this race again? Paris-Dakar? It looks like they had to bike around the clock for days, killing their dinner with their bare hands. While fighting off hyenas and/or Tina Turner. Also, yeah, I hope I don't look quite like that when I get into work after biking. 13km is along way!

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:12:01 -0800

Thanks! Good to know!

By: Heretic

Heretic — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:12:16 -0800

Michael Boogerd and Robbie McKewen both have that glorious endorphin high shining in their eyes-- half exhausted, half ecstatic. And I love any picture of Big Magnus Backstedt. Thanks for this post, mathowie. I'm taking the day off tomorrow and going for a 50 mile ride.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:12:31 -0800

Critical Mess?

By: sveskemus

sveskemus — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:15:27 -0800

Wonderful photos. Thanks for this!

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:25:36 -0800

So, so, so good. Not just because it's bike racing, or because #1 posted it and I want to suck up, but wow. Great work. There is tired (Cavendish) and then there in mental (Boogerd). This guy should shoot Paris-Roubiax.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:26:17 -0800

Well, it's spelled right in the URL, anyway.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:29:49 -0800

I'd be happy if I never saw a serious cyclist again. After seeing Olympians cycling at 4 to 5 times my speed for about 10-20 times the distance I feel about as big as I did as a teenager walking out of the cinema with 5 girls after seeing St. Elmo's Fire. Carl Sagan can't make me feel smaller. On the plus side the only bag of urine I have on my person is my very own bladder. Great photos.

By: netbros

netbros — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:30:50 -0800

Brazilian soccer player Wolfdog.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:32:55 -0800

Awesome photos. I wish I could take portraits like that. The Andy Schleck one looks like he's thinking "Well, how did I get here?" Great photos that really tell the tale of how grueling the sport really is.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:35:24 -0800

Oh, and to me the doubt photo is more "Get me back on my fucking bike so I can catch these motherfuckers." At least anyone that knows anything about Hinault would think that.

By: clearly

clearly — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:40:59 -0800

I want to see the look on this rider's face after the race. but some photos also capture a bike racer's most damaging feeling: ~~doubt~~ embarrassment.

By: afx237vi

afx237vi — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:45:02 -0800

Thanks mathowie, those are some awesome shots. The Andy Schleck one is the best... that guy just looks like a pro cyclist (ie, effortlessly cool). His brother too, actually. I think it was the 2006 Giro, though. Neither Schleck nor Cavendish were pro in 2005. Oh, and it's peloton, not peleton. Anyway, the photography reminds me a bit of Dennis Rouvre* (Flash site). He travelled around France and visited rugby union matches, taking photos of the players' faces immediately after the game ended. It's a similar kind of thing... brutally honest, nothing glossed over or airbrushed out. *Click enter, work, Broken Faces.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:50:50 -0800

bike enough and you too can look like Lyle Lovitt. These guys are manlier than I could ever hope to be.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:51:01 -0800

These are great photos. It doesn't look like people live behind those eyes. On a tangent, the first comment in the doubt link reads: Pick yourself a training route that goes up and over the local mountain range. There's nothing to doubt if you've got to get back over that thing before sun down.
That sentiment is one of the most important things I've ever learned in trying to make things happen for myself, but I've never seen it so succinctly put.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:01:40 -0800

Oops, fixed the spelling and year on the post. Check out the photographer's other galleries from other races, it's all top-notch stuff.

By: misanthropicsarah

misanthropicsarah — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:12:34 -0800

awesome pictures. annoying website. i HATE scrolling sideways.

By: grouse

grouse — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:12:37 -0800

Great photos, annoying web site.

By: nevercalm

nevercalm — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:12:50 -0800

Ye gods, those rugby photos are crazy. What I'm taking from this thread is that athletics make you crazy.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:15:47 -0800

Never mind, he did shoot at Paris-Roubaix.

By: Mr_Zero

Mr_Zero — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:21:36 -0800

Pedro Horrillo FTW! He looks like he just got done fighting off an anaconda in a swamp.

By: Nick Verstayne

Nick Verstayne — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:21:37 -0800

That "Doubt" link photograph at first glance looks like Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is grabbing the guy (didn't know that was Hinault).

By: fijiwriter

fijiwriter — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:21:59 -0800

I know it's not an online gallery or free to view, but for any cyclist out there, THIS is the picture book to get, which covers the legendary brutal one-day race of Paris Roubaix. Paris Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell They also have a sample section in PDF format, found here (pdf). Even my non-cycling wife was stunned by the pictures, especially the after-race ones in the famous velodrome. It's coffee table-worthy.

By: afx237vi

afx237vi — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:27:35 -0800

Seconding what fijiwriter says. I got that book for my birthday earlier this year and it's stunning.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:44:04 -0800

I too bought that book (and a giant one of classic Tour de France pics) and it also sits on our coffee table. Everyone (including non-cyclists) is stunned by the photos of Paris-Roubaix.

By: RockyChrysler

RockyChrysler — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:41:10 -0800

Odd site design. But great, compelling photos! My wife will be stoked to see Robbie's up first! A small consolation for his otherwise disappointing Tour this year?

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:41:21 -0800

Fantastic. Also, am I the only person reminded of this?

By: paddysat

paddysat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:30:22 -0800

These are great. If you had told me that this was a long lost Richard Avedon series, I would have believed it.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:30:43 -0800

Also, am I the only person reminded of this? "This is the dark side of the reality of war. ... People don't want to know the Marlboro Man has PTSD."

By: JeffL

JeffL — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:34:26 -0800

Great! Coincidentally, this is the first thing I saw on the web after I finished a 104 mile ride today. I looked pretty bad before I got hydrated , but not ROLF ALDAG bad. Yikes.

By: cccorlew

cccorlew — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:03:36 -0800

What a great bunch of portraits. I'd love to have a series of posters of them. Or better yet (like I could afford them) actual prints. Wow.

By: Tulipdog

Tulipdog — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:11:25 -0800

They remind me a lot of picture of jockeys from the Depression Era like Red Pollard.

By: Megami

Megami — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:07:34 -0800

Isn't Robbie wearing le Tours green jersey in that picture? But a cool collection nevertheless.

By: photoslob

photoslob — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:24:30 -0800

Great images! I shot something last month where I was trying to go for the same emotions/ exhaustion and later I thought maybe I'd be the first to do it as a project. Alas, like everything in photography, I was far from the first.

By: biffa

biffa — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:00:49 -0800

Some of those chaps need to think a bit more about sunscreen.

By: a3matrix

a3matrix — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:59:38 -0800

What's that strap around Magnus Backstedt's chest? Is it connected to something? It's a shock collar. Connected via remote transmitter to the coach, who presses the button when you start slacking off! MUSH! MUSH! hehehe

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:50:11 -0800

Wow. This is great stuff. Good find Matt.