Anatomy of a Photo: Just Go Faster

Phil Anderson does the Cipolini "Where are you guys?"

This photo of Phil Anderson’s genuine surprise at the gap between himself and the guy who won at losing reminds me of a story my dad tells of a crewmate from his boat at Laga. My dad was the stroke in a boatful of guys who went on to the compete in several World Championships and the Olympics, some of whom actually won medals there.

Two of the guys even became World Champion in the double one year, winning the race by a few boat lengths. During his post-race interview, one of the two was asked what the secret was to their dominating win. In all seriousness, he responded as follows:

For an important race like this, I’m a little surprised the other guys didn’t pull on the oars harder.

I loves me a good, Stead Up with More Speed Paradox.

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.

Next Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Tours »

Previous « La Vie Velominatus, Part VI: In Pursuit of N+1

View Comments

Oli says:

Oct 5 2011 at 7:43 pm

@Oli
After doing some digging around in my archives I'm sure that's right - the Toshiba rider tucked in behind Le Skippy is no doubt Fabrice Philipot who finished 2nd to King Kelly.
mouse says:

Oct 5 2011 at 7:52 pm

@Oli
@Oli, it has to be said; It would be a wonderous thing to have a look at your archives to see what gems might be unearthed.
Steampunk says:

Oct 5 2011 at 7:58 pm

@Oli
Gadzukes!"”you might be right: is that Fabrice Philipot tucked in behind Anderson? Where's Delgado?
michael says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:04 pm

The shorts are different unless that's lens flare.
Oli says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:05 pm

@michael
Different in relation to what?
michael says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:14 pm

I was just pointing out that in the top photo there is some emblem on the right leg of Phil just above the computer. This emblem is absent in the bottom photo. We've already established they were different days/races but all of this could have been avoided if we had just played that "find the differences in these photos" game that we all played in "Highlights for Children" at the doctor's office.
Nate says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:17 pm

@michael
The top photo is from de Ronde as indicated by the placard on the front of the moto. Also in #1 Phil is wearing a differnt pair of Oakleys.
Steampunk says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:17 pm

@michael
Unless his sheer awesomeness splatted a multi-colored moth onto his right gun as he powered through to the finish...
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:19 pm

@michael
You know, they still play that in the back of People magazine. Helps Americans get smarter.
ChrisO says:

Oct 5 2011 at 8:36 pm

Possibly apocryphal but Tom Landry, the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys, said to his players about the elaborate celebrations of touchdowns something like "What's the big deal - you're the Dallas Cowboys - you're supposed to score".