Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Capturing the Thrills and Spills - by Sarah Lee

Image by Sarah Lee
The hill town of Colne is a perfect setting for the high speed Colne Grand Prix on Wednesday 17 July.

Councillor Paul White who leads on tourism for Pendle Council says:

“Thousands of people flock to Colne to see the UK’s top cyclists race in an exciting high speed free event.

“We’re proud to support the Colne Grand Prix – and this is our tenth year!”

“It puts Colne on the map, with coverage from Sky Sports and lots of the UK’s top sports photographers come to cover the event,” he adds.

“It’s a real challenge for a photographer,” admits Pixel’s Editor, Lee Johnson.

“Everything’s happening so fast and the year I was taking pictures the big race ended in a thunder storm and torrential rain! 

“It was pretty dramatic and the light, rain and speed made it an interesting event to try and capture,” he adds.

“At first it can be hard to spot the Olympic and World champions battling it out in that blur of corporate sponsorship and lycra,” says Lee.

“So the last lap when the top riders surge ahead is quite something to watch,” he adds.

The race is part of Britain’s Elite Men’s Circuit Series and Colne’s own 2012 Olympic gold medallist Steven Burke will be racing. 

Colne Grand Prix 2011 winner and fellow Olympic gold medallist Ed Clancy MBE has also signed up for the race.

Another top rider we’ll be watching is Kristian House who rides with Rapha Condor.

Pendle company, the national cottages4you, sponsors the event each year and have lots of keen cyclists on their staff.  It’s a passion for them, too!

“But it’s not all about high speed thrills and spills,” explains Mike Williams, Pendle Council’s Tourism Officer and one of the event organisers.

Image by Larry Hickmott - Velo UK
“On the fun side, there’s a welcome return of the entertaining chopper bike dash with a Le Mans style start. 

“Local enthusiasts will race for their retro bikes and do two high speed laps.

“It’s fun to watch and great to photograph,” he laughs.

This year the chopper riders are taking part in a Bradley Wiggins lookalike side-burns competition -and that includes the women. 

Every year it gets madder!

For the full programme go www.pendle.gov.uk

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