A couple of months ago I was asked to do some photography for the Sam Miranda weekend of cycling which was held last weekend. Initially I was a little perplexed about the offer as I was particularly keen to join in the racing myself.After thinking it over I agreed to photograph the road race held on the Saturday and race myself in the handicap on the Sunday.That way I wouldn't miss out on racing and still get to take photos, which I love doing.As the road race was going to use a section of dirt road which has come to be known as Strade Nero, a 6km stretch of dirt road with a average gradient of just under 6%,I knew it would be important to get some images there.
Photographing and event like this takes a little planning and I was aware of this during the reco. rides we did over the course leading up to the event.I wanted to take photos from various points throughout the course so there would be some variety in my images.I would start at Sam Miranda's winery,where I was quite keen on getting a broad shot of the landscape encompassing the winery and cyclists.
Photographing and event like this takes a little planning and I was aware of this during the reco. rides we did over the course leading up to the event.I wanted to take photos from various points throughout the course so there would be some variety in my images.I would start at Sam Miranda's winery,where I was quite keen on getting a broad shot of the landscape encompassing the winery and cyclists.
B Grade Peloton leaving Sam Miranda.
I watched various grades start from the winery and calculated if I left after B Grade then hopefully I'd be able to drive up to the 1st KOM point near Myyhree, before C Grade arrived there.Just making in time with about 5 mins to spare a decision was made to set up right near the KOM point to photograph the riders as they passed over the top. I was a little rushed and not that happy with the shots I got here.
The leading C Grade rider passing the KOM point.
After the bulk of C Grade passed the KOM it was time to head for the dirt.This was what I had been waiting for and had a few ideas of where I might park myself.But in reality it was a case of stopping where ever you could find a spot to squeeze your vehicle off the road.The first riders to pass me were the leading A Grade women closely followed by the remaining A grade and B Grade women's field.
The 3 leading A Grade women on the Strade Nero
A Grade rider chasing the leaders.
After the women I shot the B Grade men's field and then the A Grade Men. I was pretty happy with the photos I managed to get on the dirt.
The bulk of the B Grade men.
The head of a very strong A Grade field on Strade Nero.
After A Grade men had passed I drove back down Strade Nero to Boggy Creek Road, made my way back to Moyhu.Thinking about it on my drive down Boggy Creek Road I was pretty sure that C Grade would be getting close to the finish of the race and I wouldn't have a chance of getting there before they did.So on arriving at Mohyu I asked some interested spectators what the state of play was.C Grade had come through ages ago and the A grade women had just passed a couple of minutes before my arrival.So I decided to see if it would be possible to overtake the women and then pull over to get some shots of them at a couple of locations.
One of my personal favourites from this section of the race.
Driving up and down this section of the road trying to work out the best options for some more pics knowing B and A grade men were still on there way I knew I wanted to get a couple of finish line pics too. After B Grade passed me about 5 km from the finish A grade appeared very close behind and it was at this point I decided to make a bee line for the finish.After explaining to the Police on the last corner that I was an official photographer for the day they let me pass and drive down the little side road to where the finish line had been set up.
Quite pleased to get a decent shot of Rhys Pollock taking out the A Grade race.
That's pretty much my day in a nutshell.I'd left home around 9 am after double checking all my gear and stopping in Wangaratta to purchase another memory card. Leaving Sam Miranda's after taking photos of the presentations around 5.30pm.Lucky I had Shane Miller and Von,his fiancee,staying with me who had kindly offered to organise dinner Saturday night so I could get home and download my photos and upload a few onto twitter.It was a hectic day and as usual I forgot to eat anything until presentation time,well there wasn't really an opportunity before then.I had a ball and was reasonably happy with the day's results.This was the first time the race has been run over this course and it's quite difficult to always pick the best options,you certainly need an element of luck on your side too.
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