His favourite 10 frames

We’ve asked around to some of our favourite cycling photographers lately to put together their top 10 cycling images. In this pause from racing, lets all revel a bit in the beauty and glory, from seasons past. First off the blocks is Australian photographer Zac Williams, and his chronicle of his ten frames from the races.

This is a shot from last years giro, stage 19 at the San Boldo Pass. I’d never seen a crowd this big before and the switchbacks through the tunnels in the side of the mountain made for an amazing location for pictures.

This shot of Mathieu Van Der Poel is from last years Tour of Britain. He had just launched a ridiculous attack to win on top of the steep final climb into Kendall and was leveled over, totally spent when he came to a stop over the line. I’d hedged my bets and stayed back with the Soigneurs to get the riders as they stopped after crossing the line and this time it paid off.

This shot of Giulio Ciccone is from the Mortirolo stage of last years Giro. About 25 mins before the riders came through, the clouds rolled in and the weather turned from a clear but cold, to bucketing rain and 4 degrees. It was brutal, huddled in between the fans on the outside of the switchback someone let off a flare just as Ciccone rounded the corner, adding to the crazy atmosphere on the infamous climb.

I took this at this years Australian National Championships. The elite men started their TT at 6pm in the evening so the light was stunning. I took advantage of a pedestrian bridge that ran above the road and shot this of Rohan Dennis as he passed under me on his first lap. I was stoked to be able to pull this off as I’d been picturing a shot like this since the first riders had started at 10am that morning. Spending the day with that weighing on my mind for 8 hours and then managing to nail the shot was incredibly satisfying and it’s one of, if not my favourite shot I’ve ever taken.

This is from the Giro last year, stage 12 into Pinerolo. It was a brutally steep, narrow cobbled climb that the peloton had to do twice. We asked the Nuns at the monastery at the top of the climb if we could use the balcony to shoot off as the riders came past, they kindly obliged and I have this shot to thank them for.

This shot is of Alaphilippe taking the stage 3 victory at last year’s Tour de France. I had all but given up on being able to get a shot at this stage’s finish. Deciding against standing beyond the finish line I aimed to get a shot on the final corner of the climb before the last 150m stretch to the finish. This plan was ruined when some very territorial French TV employees kicked me out of their little compound on the corner to mix in the the crowd and try my luck. I managed to sneak to the front of the barriers and outstretched myself to see past the hands and arms of the fans madly screaming at their French hero as he appeared, Solo, on his way to the yellow jersey, snapping this frame from behind as he raced into the final few metres.

This shot is from Stage 1 of last years Vuelta. It shows Team Astana as they started the TTT in front of the massive salt hills of the salt processing plant the race started from. The salt, reflected on the water made for an amazing backdrop as Astana lined up their formation perfectly in the first few hundred metres, giving me the best reflection shot of any team on the day.

This shot is of Bauke Mollema after he won Il Lombardia last year, claiming his first ever monument, solo. I glanced into the gap backstage from the photographers pen front of stage and saw Bauke had a few seconds alone, not hesitating I snapped a few frames and managed to get him, filled with relief and joy as he reflected on the biggest win of his career so far.

This shot is from the Tourmalet stage of last year’s Tour de France. That day the weather on top of the Tourmalet was incredible, clear, warm and sunny. After the main GC group passed through a band of clouds rolled up from the valley and just as two riders ascended past me, I snapped this shot to cap off what was an awesome day on one of cycling’s most fabled climbs.