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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Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 2 2011 at 4:39 pm

@michael
You're right. That's a flying start kilo--against the best sprint trains in the world on the biggest stage in the world. Spartacus--what a beast.
Nate says:

Feb 2 2011 at 4:49 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro
If you were Argentin in that scenario, you might as well just hand Sean your lunch, because you know he is going to lick your plate clean before starting in on his.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Feb 2 2011 at 5:03 pm

@Nate
So true.
il ciclista medio says:

Feb 20 2011 at 6:25 pm

Not sure if it has appeared anywhere else (?) but I thought this article might have relevance to the theme of this page, agony. Just appeared as I was viewing the news headlines in OZ. This is a bit graphic so finish your food before viewing if you have a weak tummy.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/malaysia-cyclist-has-giant-splinter-removed-from-leg-20110221-1b1te.html

This bloke is a hardman, bearing in mind that he finished the race & claimed a bronze medal at the track World Cup Keirin, with that "splinter", which is probably the biggest splinter I have ever seen. Those Keirin riders are freakin' tough.
Marcus says:

Feb 20 2011 at 7:44 pm

@il ciclista medio
I recommend you watch the Youtube footage of the race - Hoy wins the race and then the minor places are decided by blokes in various stages of injury running across the line carrying their bikes.

Almost as good as the Stage 1 finish of American Flyers!
minion says:

Feb 20 2011 at 8:17 pm

I've watched the video a couple of times and can't see what caused the crash, the commentators called it as Awang's fault trying to squeeze through a gap that wasn't there, forcing another rider up the track and sliding out. He's lucky he wasn't DQed if it was his fault, but he's good at interfering with other riders and challenging the lines they hold.
Geoffrey Grosenbach says:

Feb 20 2011 at 10:14 pm

Marcus:
...the minor places are decided by blokes in various stages of injury running across the line carrying their bikes.

This one has more detail of the finish:

2011 Track Cycling World Cup Men's Keirin Final
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-Dinan
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