Categories: Anatomy of a Photo

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.

View Comments

  • @michael

    The shorts are different unless that's lens flare.

    I'd assumed it was lens flare, but we've already dispelled the notion that it's the same race. I'm disappointed he can't keep his cap on right, though I suppose it's hard to keep it down when it keeps recoiling in fear of your massive gunnage.

    @Oli
    Amazing.

  • @scaler911

    The first photo is great. Check out the slammed stem. Phil is in the bottom of the drops, bunch of chain slack in the big ring, just one bidon in the cages. Fuckin drilling it! (sorry 'the baron')

    That is hard core rad. Never been a big fan of his until I got this book recently. He's just layin' it down in every shot of his. And the captions are all of the same nature, "And here's Anderson in a typically aggressive shot..."

    Classy dood. Too bad he was on TVM, which is beyond a sullied name. The DA group, which was Shimano's only group that rivaled Campa for beauty, the Zullu frame, the saddle...it's all perfect.

    I love the sausage helmet. Wonder if a guy could still get his hands on one. Totally useless in a wreck, but I'd rock one of those on a century or something.

    You can get them on eBay; I've always wanted one, too. But can't justify owning it because I think I'd wear it eventually and then, of course, crash on my head that day.

    But I'd love to believe I would just wear it in the cafe and then switch to a real helmet for the ride.

  • @mouse
    I had the same with all the cinelli stems I've ever owned. They have a bubble that keeps them from going lower.

    @Oli

    Good grief. What is this weird obsession all about?

    It looks cool. That is all. I might suggest, though, that you are equally or probably more obsessed with spacers than @scaler911 and @mouse, given that you've dedicated an entire site to not slamming your bars down. N'est pas?

    I don't see the difference between being obsessed with having them or not having them so long as you're no first and formost focussed on the rider's position. No sense in looking down your nose at someone for having different taste than you.

  • @Ron

    Damn, that's a nice Zullo he's on! Love the top tube paint madness, the aero Campa post, the thin-tubed steel with the low profile rims. Oh boy.

    Actually, that's a Dura-Ace aero post. That DA group was totally awesome.

  • @wiscot

    Closer inspection of Stumpf's bike makes me think it's not an extended head tube; it's a crazy stack of spacers! That must have been flexy!

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