Cycling 'My View': 2012

Thursday, 9 August 2012

Luis León Sánchez Gil 'Broken Chain' London 2012 Olympics Time Trial 1st August 2012

London 2012 Olympics Time trial

Luis León Sánchez Gil

Face of change as dreams evaporate for Sanchez, now watching Tony Martin ride to his eventual Silver medal after being passed nr Cobham on what must be an Olympics to forget. Sánchez started his day by snapping the chain with his starting effort, forcing a bike change and inevitable lost time. His form was good after a fine performance in the recent Tour De France Time Trial, so expectations were high. Huge crowds nr Cobham cheered him on as he passed, but by now his ride was more out of respect than a race he’d already lost. Bravo Sánchez.

Andy Sharpe

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

London 2012 Olympics Time Trial 'Bradley Wiggins Road To Victory' 1st August 2012

Art & Photography

The camera has 1 eye, we have 2. We can’t be in 2 places at once though ! Before we arrived today at the London 2012 Olympics Time Trial Course, I had already decided it was going to rain and or be overcast, much like it normally is in Great Britain. It certainly was the last time I raced in this part of the country, on 3 occasions it was low light from memory. Coming through Chobham the rain came down for a short while then stopped, followed by a nice grey sky that produced lovely dark areas under the tree canopy, typical in these parts of Surrey. Checking the course on the Google map prior to the event gave me good reference points to aim for (we were almost on the G214/10 - cyclists lingo for area race course key) but I still hadn’t decided where we would park. So when arriving in Byfleet without hold ups of any kind I was pleased. I looked around to see many folk making their way on folding bikes. Hmm, I almost put our bikes in the car! Where to park? I looked around and could just see a little lane off the main road, so drove in to see a tall hedge to park near. The lane was a bit narrow, so I walked up the drive of the nearest house to alert the owner of my presence, a lady answered the door in her curlers. I apologised for the inconvenience and said I hope you don’t mind me parking outside in the lane, we have come to watch the Olympic Time Trial; she said no of course not, but its a bit narrow so give me a minute and I will move my car, you can park on the drive. Who said generosity had gone in this county. After a quick chat with smiles all round we left for a hike up the Byfleet Road with backpacks, leaving the lady equally excited ready to watch the Olympics on TV. As we got to the corner with Seven Hills Road and Byfleet Road I clocked where I was going to get those in the face and side on shots of riders coming out of a 90deg left hand corner. We squeezed through the crowd to get on the floor as the road was coming down hill towards me, perfect. Well, almost, it was a bit dark. Tension mounted. The women’s event arrived in still, low light conditions; the girls looked so, so smooth, that familiar rumble of carbon fibre disc wheels took me back to my racing past. Loud cheers from the massive crowds that lined the road greeted every rider as they went by. Quite different from UK time trialling which is a more quiet affair; often too early in the morning, a mixture of cooing wood pigeons followed by hearing the rasp of your breath in the chilled morning air and the smell of embrocation cream. I loved it; I miss it terribly at times but less said about that at the moment. As the day progressed through to the men’s event I kept thinking about that corner I was taking shots of, so put a plan together. By now the light was coming up, so I could stay where I was, or move. Where we were, I planned to do some arty shots, panning for those nice blur saturated colour views. I set the camera at 35mm with a nice slow shutter speed at F/16, got the white balance how I wanted it, and crossed my fingers the light would gradually improve. I said to my wife, right, all I want you to do is pan and press the shutter release. With a caveat, keep it smooth and synchronized with the rider and not to worry about taking too many shots, just take pictures. I made my way to the corner and headed towards a flat bed truck. A crew with flo yellow jackets had charge of things in the highway department. I pleaded, they showed kindness, I got pictures I will never forget taking. A special thanks guys, I really appreciated the opportunity & of course a special thanks to my wife for having steady hands.

Andy Sharpe