Anatomy of a Photo: Agony

Paul Sherwen after the 1983 Paris-Roubaix; Photo Graham Watson

Sitting at the top of Haleakala, I thought of this photo with the staunch realization that there are no words to describe the agony of exhaustion, except Graham Watson’s caption in Visions of Cycling:

Paul Sherwen’s mother cried when she saw this picture of her son, taken after the finish of the 1983 Paris-Roubaix

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Zoncolan says:

Feb 2 2011 at 11:55 am

@Collin

Yeah 24 hour racing brings the unused third of our brains to the fore. Weird shit does indeed happen...i was talking french to an ant on my arm apparently. Ou est le Peleton?
frank says:

Feb 2 2011 at 12:06 pm

@Buck Rogers
Gianni's thoughts during the Six Days Of series for The Worlds: http://www.velominati.com/racing/six-days-of-the-worlds-chambery-france-1989/

One of my favorite races EVER.
Rob says:

Feb 2 2011 at 12:26 pm

Buck Rogers:
@Rob
Wow! I have never even heard of that race. Buckfield used to be a great one. I remember racing againast Frank and Mark McCormack there a few times. That Maine International sounds like a super race.

Frank and Mark were coming up as I was going down.Good racers and nice guys.

You and Petro talking about those great race images - Even if we did not see it live or on TV(for me Hampsten in those snow banks) they are burned into our collective brains... and now into your wife's too!
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 2 2011 at 12:50 pm

Here's another finish that just leaves me spent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJNLMYpr2TM&feature=BF&list=PL373D13547C979A89&index=2

This is either the longest sprint or the shortest pursuit in the history of the world. The other guys just can't grab his wheel. The suspense kills me.
Oli Brooke-White says:

Feb 2 2011 at 1:29 pm

Cheers Jeff, that is one of the greatest ever stage finishes - I never tire of watching it!
Nate says:

Feb 2 2011 at 1:41 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro
The desparate argy-bargy behind Spartacus in that one is hilarious.

While we are talking about all time great finishes here is a fave of mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUQKOSti7FQ
Pedale.Forchetta says:

Feb 2 2011 at 2:20 pm

I've seen great finish, this one is my favourite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijcwmw4hiNs
michael says:

Feb 2 2011 at 4:19 pm

Jeff in PetroMetro:
Here's another finish that just leaves me spent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJNLMYpr2TM&feature=BF&list=PL373D13547C979A89&index=2
This is either the longest sprint or the shortest pursuit in the history of the world. The other guys just can't grab his wheel. The suspense kills me.

That is not a sprint, that's a rolling start kilo. Nothing harder in my book than a kilo except trying to win from a kilo.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 2 2011 at 4:21 pm

@Nate
Phil's got a classic line there: "Argentine's heart must have hit his boots." Yeah. If I looked around and Sean Kelly magically appeared out of nowhere, I think my heart, my brain, and my lunch would hit my boots.

I guess Argentine made a couple of mistakes in the corners. It's hard to tell when he's alone and there's no point of reference. And Kelly must have been perfect.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 2 2011 at 4:30 pm

@Pedale.Forchetta
I agree. In the States, we still hear about how Jonathan Boyer's rainbow jersey was ripped away by LeMond leading the chase. I was such a LeMan fanboy that I bought the other version of the story: Boyer was fading and he was gonna get caught.

Now that I'm older, it's hard to tell.