2023 Top 25 Road Pics

A slight throwback but I think it will be good to look back on 2023 to be able to see progress and change when doing my Top 25 Photos of 2024. 

The word “favourite” is key within the title as there are other better photos, but photography is about emotion, and these all make me smile. 

I’m going to start at 25 and work my way down to 1st…

At 25, Amy Gornall (Pro-Noctis) decided she didn’t want to start near the front of the bunch, so she walked her way to the back row. 

At 24, Richardsons-Trek-Das is setting the pace up the climb in a move to try to disrupt the enviable Saint Piran win. I love the pain faces on all races, and the angle means that you can see all their riders at the front.

At 23, Gemma Mitchell (Team Boompods) is taking a fast right-hander at Sheffield GP. Sheffield was the first race I asked people if they wanted me to take photos of them, and I think I delivered. (Side note: It’s fun looking back, as now I would change the shutter speed to get a blurry background.)

At 22, This was completely accidental, as I changed the focus point to the left side of the road. However, it did give a great photo of Corrine Side (Pro-Noctis) looking back, and the riders she’s looking at are the ones in clear focus.

At 21, While I did miss the actual high-five, it’s fun to see the rider (Ruth Shier) celebrate with the team (Hutchinson-Brother) staff immediately after crossing the line. 

At 20, This photo is one of my favourites for two reasons: 1) it’s two teammates for TrainSharp riding together on the climb, and 2) The difference in approach when watching a race for the crowd. You have a beer garden to the right, while selfie-takers are on the left.

At 19, some kits deserve to be showcased, with the Canyon-Sram kit being by far the best kit in the women’s peloton. 

At 18, going into Lancaster GP, I realised that there is the Williamson Dome (where the riders start) and the Cathedral, which should align perfectly with the 1st KOM of each lap… however, it wasn’t the case. The clouds meant that the Cathedral wasn’t in view for most of the race, and the angle of how the riders ride the corner meant that the riders weren’t centred within the two buildings. However, I did get the photo once and that’s why I value it so highly. There's always next year for another chance!

At 17, the first time using a lens that wasn’t 12-40mm was at the Tour of Britain. But that allowed for some really great photos of the landscape, including this one. The bike race can seem really big from within but a small glance at this photo and you probably don’t realise what is happening is a bike race.

At 16, Saint Piran dominated the Lancaster GP (like they did almost exclusively), but I did get some really good photos of them. This photo is from when they dropped their final competitor. In the process, Jack Rootkin-Gray dropped his two teammates before looking back, which I was in the perfect place to capture with Jack looking back and realising what he’d done.

At 15, Crashes are never good and luckily all riders weren’t hurt in this crash. That said, crashes can be some of the most interesting photos from a photography point of view due to the dynamics of the situation. With the photo capturing the moment Will Tidball puts his hand out to brace himself.

At 14, Lucy Harris posing as she goes up Saltburn climb, the first of a few riders.

At 13, Saltburn has the most impressive landscape in the British Cycling scene with the hills, sand, piers etc. With that comes the crowds (when it was hot and not raining), which adds to the already great landscape. All you need, then, is the riders with this photo of James Knox (Soudal-Quickstep) looking across the road at the Saint Piran duo. Not often do you get a chance to see continental riders go against world tour riders, so it’s always fun to see.

At 12, Photography is about taking the “had to be there” moments, and for me, this is one. We have two sets of teammates, with the lead rider looking back at the same time a dog on the side is. 

At 11, Not often do you see the best riders riding in the UK, but one of those occasions is the Tour of Britain. This photo has two teammates followed by their team car, making it even more unique, all in front of a beautiful landscape.

At 10, I took quite a few really high-quality photos of Team Boompods riding as a team, and this is one of them. I love that they are aligned symmetrically away from the camera.

At 9, like with pic#23, I was asked to take photos of Wheelbase-Cabtech-Castelli, and I was very happy with the results. This photo was my favourite of the selection because I captured a perfect dive bomb. 

At 8, photography is all about using the angles that you have available to you. Using the climb to how riders come through the spokes is one of those opportunities when at the top of the climb at Otley. It’s actually the first of a few times I’ve gone for this to capture both the foreground and background.

At 7, cycling can be chaotic and this was no different. CiCle Classic is one of my local races and it’s great to capture. Riders are all over the place with the car right in the middle. 

At 6, while technically cycling, I did take a few podium photos. Again, it’s about capturing the moment, and this is one of them I’ll treasure.

At 5: The same breakaway as in pic#16, but this time the side-on view. While others are knowing where to position myself, this is one of my best that pros would look to capture.

At 4, the Newark Crit was sponsored by Pro-Noctis, so I was delighted to get a photo of their team going across their logo. Even better, it was of their former national crit champion, Jo Lindley.

At 3, Trinity's slogan “Calm from Chaos”, and the weather at that point during the National Championships was definitely chaotic. Two teammates going up the road together with the clouds in the background covering the sea. I love that if you zoom in close enough you can see how heavy the rain was.

At 2, Alice Barnes was one of the biggest names racing the National Champions in 2023 so I love that I managed to capture her attacking the peloton with the peloton in the background. To finish off the photo is the pier and the beach, as the background.

At 1: I mentioned that I don’t like crashes and this wasn’t a photo that I posted until after the season as I wasn’t sure how the riders were. From a photography point-of-view, it’s a perfect photo. You have action in the foreground with the crowd clearly animated, with the background a massive crash with riders everywhere.