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MTB XC Championship, Wicklow.
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From a shoot I did with Steve Crozier back in April. I’m only starting to sort through some sets now…so organised I am… ;-)
It was such a freezing cold wet day..I have every admiration of the people involved in this sport. I just wanted to get home to a warm dinner..and I was only photographing!!
The weather was so extreme on the day that there was a lot of this kind of thing going on…with bikes carried rather than ridden:
Robbie
8)It’s a great sport but difficult to get any decent images given the lighting conditions. The guys on the bikes look under strain though and the guy in the short sleeves…amateur!! Feckin eejit probably got the arms cut off him with branches.
Many moons ago I took part in the first Pro-Am mountain bike race in Ireland, down around Carrig-on-Suir. The weather was so bad that Sean Kelly refused to ride in it! Great sport though and it isn’t as hard as it looks in this collection.
Alan.
I dunno Alan..looked bloody hard to me that day…was just glad I was photographing not cycling.. ;-)
Oh and the guy in the short sleeves is a girl as far as I know…it was a mixed event…well..there were about 3 or 4 girls I think..
and I bet you’re right..her arms were sore that night for sure.. :wink:
Paul..thanks for the comment…first one is my favourite
Robbie
8)
I like this set Robbie, it’s a difficult sport to shoot and it can be hard to show an appreciation of how steep the trails actually are. I think you left out a few of the better shots you have on flickr.
This looks more like XC rather than downhill, the downhill guys mostly (I assume they have to) wear full face helmets and loads of protection.
irishwonkafan wrote:
Great sport though and it isn’t as hard as it looks in this collection.
That’s a bold statement Alan!! I think it’s very hard, bit like a time trial, pretty much flat out from the gun… No hiding in the pack like in road racing :wink:
Ah you could be right Sinead..I don’t know a lot about it to be honest. I thought they said it was Downhill on the day..but I could be wrong..wouldn’t be the first time… :wink:
That’s a bold statement Alan!! I think it’s very hard, bit like a time trial, pretty much flat out from the gun… No hiding in the pack like in road racing
Very true, it isn’t like road racing but some are suited to pure speed on the road, some for hardship. I was better at the latter. Ah, the days…only 5 stone ago. And definition of “hard” can be misinterpreted. You taste the flavour of your lungs, your legs burn like they’re on fire, your eyesight flashes with your pulse, you eat mud, you gracefully fall from the bike at the finish…all to come in way down the field but I’d do it again if I had the time and committment…not to mention the secret to the reversal of time.
And Robbie – Sinead is right – it is a circuit race. Downhill MB racers rarely have a saddle high enough to be able to sit on and are like armadillos with body armour.
Alan
Great photos Expresbro. I will hopefully be going out at the weekend to photograph some lunatics like these. :D Any tips, its my first attempt photographing any sports and I reckon I picked a difficult one to start with.
irishwonkafan wrote:
Many moons ago I took part in the first Pro-Am mountain bike race in Ireland
so were you the pro, or were you playing the Bob Hope role…
Good shots there Robbie-
really gives a feel for the sport-Hope you didn’t frighten them with your slap…
but maybe that was before you had to get into character…j[/list]
Great set Robbie………..so that’s April sorted????
:lol: :lol:
Cheers Steve
Thanks Guys.. :D
Yeah Steve…that’s April..can start on May now… ;-)
Joseph..this was long before Mr.Todd and Co took precedence..and if I’d looked like I did on stage there would have been many’s the more tumble from the bikes :wink:
Button..not sure what tips I could give except wrap up well… :wink: Just find a good spot where you think there might be a bit of action…myself and Steve positioned ourselves at the bottom of this really steep muddy drop..but as it turned out it was so dangerous that most of the riders gave up and carried their bikes down…so there wasn’t as much action as we thought there might be. I tried to concentrate on getting some close up shots of the riders faces..some of the expressions were priceless as you can imagine.
Steve..I still shiver when I think about it!!
Expresbro wrote:
I dunno Alan..looked bloody hard to me that day…was just glad I was photographing not cycling.. ;-)
Oh and the guy in the short sleeves is a girl as far as I know…it was a mixed event…well..there were about 3 or 4 girls I think..
and I bet you’re right..her arms were sore that night for sure.. :wink:
Paul..thanks for the comment…first one is my favourite
Robbie
8)
The Guy in the short sleeves is a guy from belfast, and thats a cross country race, great set a pics
:PLooks like a good sport for off camera flash, or are they likely to kill you on the way by?
Merv
I did take a good few with the flash off camera..
But then common sense got the better of me and I reattached it to the camera…way too many large muddy wheels getting too close to the SB800 for my liking Merv :wink:
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