Peaks and Valleys Photographing My First World Tour Race

Photographing bicycle racing is never easy. Whether it's an amateur crit, local mountain bike short track, or an Olympic-level road race, capturing the action of fast cyclists in varied locations will always present a challenge. But the higher the stakes of an event, the more difficult it’ll be. Attempting to photograph my first Grand Tour at the most recent edition of Giro d'Italia, I was made acutely aware of this latter point, having to improvise more than carry out what I thought was a well-crafted plan.

Before I explain how I ended up pointing my camera at one of cycling’s most prestigious events, just at the grandest Grand Tour of all (Tour De France) kicks off, some stage-setting is in order. SILCA currently has partnerships with two World Tour teams: Visma Lease-A-Bike and UAE Team Emirates XRD. For years now, Visma’s mechanics have used SILCA wax products to maintain meticulous drivetrain performance, along with cleaners, pumps, and other accessories. They’ve also been close collaborators in offering feedback about existing products and co-developing new items for the brand’s catalog.

A more recent relationship, SILCA started formally working with UAE last season. Converts to wax-based drivetrain lubrication for its performance benefits, longevity, and overall cleanliness, its mechanics have been optimizing their program heading into the height of summer race season, with The Tour right around the corner. As part of ensuring best practices were in place, UAE asked SILCA to send representatives to its service course for a training demonstration. As SILCA’s resident editorial lead, I was one staff member tapped to travel to Team UAE XRG’s service course in Italy, meet the team of mechanics, and document the partnership. The timing of the trip, and destination near Milan, coincided with Giro stages 14, 15, and 16, all within the city or a short drive away.

With Visma already taking a commanding lead in the prior stages, we finished up a couple days of bulk chain waxing and coordination at the UAE service course and headed out for an extended weekend attempting to photograph the nearby excitement of Giro d'Italia.

Stage 14 took place within the stunning Aosta Valley of Italy’s northern Alps, just about a two hour drive from central Milan. Perhaps due to a hefty dose of beginner’s luck, this first day on course was by far my most successful in photographing the action. The route began in the storied town of Aosta, which some refer to as the "Rome of the Alps" because of its preserved Roman structural ruins, arches, and amphitheater. Despite covering a relatively short distance of just 133 km, the peloton had to endure over 4,300 meters of climbing during a heat wave that exceeded 30°C. With so much elevation gain, there was hardly any respite for the racers, as they headed straight from the start line to the long Category 1 ascent of Saint-Barthélémy. This opening peak was followed by the sharp steep climbs of Doues, Lin Noir, and Verrogne, a that kept early breakaway attempts at bay.

The final steep 17 km ascent to the ski resort of Pila marked a overall shift in the race. By the time the general classification group hit the mountain’s lower slopes, barely 20 riders remained at the front.

The Visma squad retained commanding control of the pace with a lead-out from Davide Piganzoli to isolate the favorites and drop the overnight race leader, Afonso Eulálio. With a short 5 km remaining on the steepest 9% pitches of the mountain, Jonas Vingegaard launched a solo attack. The team leader went on to distance his rivals with a third stage win of the race by 49 seconds over Felix Gall, and, for the first time, taking the pink leader’s jersey.

Of the three days we spent tracking the race, and photographing riders on course, Stage 14 was by far the most successful. After posting up in Aosta for the start, we were to find multiple positions to see the beginning portion of the race unfold. After a slight detour departing the valley, we were able to reach a high point on the climb towards Pila where thousands of fans gathered to cheer the riders. Visma came through with a strong lead out for Vingegaard, which marked a historic moment in the race, as he would soon after went on his own to the finish line and would change from the blue climber’s jersey to the leader in pink for the reminder of the Giro.

Next up for us, Stage 15 offered a completely different atmosphere and challenge. Moving from the mountains to the city, the route featured a mostly flat, 157 km profile from the countryside town of Voghera into the center of Milan. After a high-speed traverse through the Po Valley, the stage concluded with a city circuit consisting of four laps around Milabn’s city center. The flat profile offered the sprinters one of their last chances for glory before the race headed back into the high mountains.

While a mass bunch finish was expected at first, a small breakaway group disrupted the sprinter teams' calculations and offered a heightened energetic environment to observe from the roadside. Attackers like Martin Marcellusi and Mattia Bais built an early advantage that the main field failed to reel in on time. In an exciting finale through the streets of Milan, the breakaway held off the charging pack by just a few seconds, allowing Norwegian rider Fredrik Dversnes to win the sprint out of the escape group and mount a big win for Uno-X Mobility.

Navigating Milan to watch the race was trickier than expected. We had hoped to find at least two spots on course to photograph the stage unfold, and then dash to the finish line to see its conclusion. This proved challenging, however, as the finish zone was heavily coordinated off, making access nearly impossible without a special credential. Seeking an alternative that could still yield captivating photography results, we posted up in a roundabout bookmarked by a Lidl supermarket that had a full spread out front supporting its sponsored team. It was also a key location that saw the circuit pass by multiple times, offering multiple chances to document the action.

After determining that there was no way to make it back and attempting to find a spot to observe the finish in real time, we stayed at the roundabout for as long as possible, making our way back to the finish and comfortably watching Dversnes’ captivating sprint on a big screen with hundreds of cheering fans.

Following a much needed rest day in which we went back to work at UAE’s service course, stage 16 brought us across the Italy-Switzerland border for another mountain route. I hoped to essentially repeat our strategy of the mountainous stage 14 where we snapped a few photos of the start and then headed up the climb for a near-finish line view, but the route of stage 16 proved much more challenging. And this was made particularly more poignant with a fatal flaw in our logistical tactics. Starting in the historic town of Bellinzona, the race entered the rugged Ticino region and put the pollution into a repeating mid-stage circuit.

This loop took the riders over consecutive demanding climbs of Torre and Leontica twice, before a final, brutal 11 km ascent up to the alpine ski resort of Carì. While the peloton was busy with circuit laps, we planned to drive the highway to just below Carì where it was expected Vingegaard and Visma would make moves to cement their overall lead. Ultimately, they did indeed dominate in the high peaks, with Vingegaard dropping his remaining rivals to secure his fourth summit victory of the race and cling to the leader's pink jersey.

But we barely saw it. A wrong turn put us driving on the course, rather than around it on the adjacent highway. After a few km up the mountain, slowly ascending the closed road with no other vehicles in sight, officials made us pull over and wait until the race passed through. Right then our hopes of documenting a mountain top finish were squashed. We had to wait it out in a small town with a group of locals that had spent the day eating, drinking, and festively enjoying the rare occurrence of a World Tour race at their doorsteps. Their positive spirits helped temper my disappointment, but with this being the last stage I’d have the chance to see on my visit, I couldn’t help but be bummed out.

That’s one of the aspects of photography that keeps me interested in the pursuit. There is always a better shot, and I can always try harder to get it. Next time I am fortunate enough to attend a race of this caliber, I will not make the same mistakes. While I’m sure I’ll always wish for more, the outcome will be better.

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