astana rider at ventoux

looking forward to hit the ventoux again in approx. 3 weeks.

the great ventoux. it rips out lungs of the unprepared. it tears up the mind of young riders. its a long drag of no mercy.

mercy. mercy. mercy.

fränkenstein

being pushed around by colleagues, i realised that the legs of a worn out rider are far more interesting than arms raised with some bowl of silver or what ever.

'tighten up your legs fränk' i yelled.

'tight'em up real good man!' i insisted.

he didnt even look at me.

the muscles on his thighs though - they grew a little and you could see his veins move to the beat of his heart.

car wash

at the team hotel - south of the galibier - 2 men were fixing bikes and skodas for the next days race.

they always talk

i dont know why. but some of the riders in the peloton talk a lot. about playstation and women.

swiss suffering in briancon

when you come to a stop

inside out

some times you just feel like turning your body inside out. 'really - going up ventoux was the worst thing i ever tried' he later told me. that was after a big hug and a nice massage. i didnt believe him.

finally there

despair at ventoux

abuse is often seen in the peloton. certainly abuse of legs applies easily. especially on a thursday in june.

young rider in valence

nervous and excited at the same time. young astana rider. and me. at the same time.

the road to galibier

the night before the riders arrive. it almost seemed like the infernal roads going up to the sommet of galibier were waiting for the riders. in silence. but very conscious about the land of pain the riders were about to explore the next day.

galibier the night before the riders

riders going into briancon

mont ventoux - finally there

'the mountains of provence are beuatiful' the mother of his firstborn child told him, when he phoned her before the depart in valence.

dauphiné libéré - valence

big boonen before the start of etape 5 of le dauphiné 2009.

mont ventoux 11.06.2009

dauphiné libéré 2009. the top of mont ventoux. riders exposed to severe damage. 'this is just the beginning' i told him and he thought of col d'izoard and the struggles of the next two days. 'i will be there too!' i replied, when he told to me go to hell.

velodrome

the velodrome of ck aarhus - riders leaving after racing one night in june 2009.

1 winner, men in black pants & campagnolo rims

blow job

diquigiovanni rider blowing his nose a steep place outside maastricht.

dark riders

amstel gold race 2009, sastre, rebellin etc.

little big schleck arrives in liège

when you arrive hastingly in ans, the suburb of liège, where the liège-bastogne-liège finish line is located, you realize that you are in belfast. here some young women with rushing blood, run to salute baby brother schleck.

a disapointment in valkenburg

all this talk about good legs. some days you have and off course - some days you dont. realising that some russian guy had the best leggies today, cunego longs only for a kiss or two by some young girl. dont get carried away he said, but i was only listening to the shutter in my canon.