Getting the shot: Full-on sprint in Poitiers for stage 11 of the Tour de France

So, with the many restrictions that the Tour organizers have imposed, we are forced to find new spots to photograph in and around the finish. And sometimes that’s a good thing!

Related:

• Getting the shot: Alexey Lutsenko and Neilson Powless on the Col de Lusette
• Getting the shot: Julian Alaphilippe and Primož Roglič during stage 4 of the Tour de France
• Now you can buy your own Sticky Bottle

This year, there is a little opening along the barriers on the side of the tech zone just before the finish, and several of the photographers have started to congregate there. It’s a bit of a crapshoot really.

Yesterday, for example, we had to shoot directly into the sun, with a whole mess of reflections. And then you are totally dependant on the riders as they pass. And if it is a tight finish, it is easy to have the winning rider blocked out. But today things were better. The light was more consistent.

As Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, Wout van Aert, and Peter Sagan made their last push to the line, Caleb, the eventual winner was on my side of the road — a nice bonus I must admit.

I got three images off before they passed by, but in the end, it was the first shot, just as they are just coming into my frame, that I feel is the strongest. In terms of composition, it is more original as the cyclists are weighted against the spectators, not to mention the emotion on the riders faces.

I didn’t get a lot of shots today. But I’ll take that one!