Top 5 Pics from Beaumont Trophy 2023

Continuing the series of reviewing photos, this week's Mens race is the Beaumont Trophy (the men's race on the same course as the Curlew Cup).

At #5, Taylor Hill (CyclingSheffield) is preparing for the feed zone. The feed zone was at the top of a climb, which lends it to being flat out heading into the feed zone. The riders can't get dropped but also get ready to collect more bidons or food - which provides the opportunity for a lot of good photos.

Taylor, in this case, has the bottle in his mouth but both hands on the hoods. Behind him, you have a rider from Embark and Wold Top The Edge Pactimo both in full focus - as is the background. It is a really sharp picture with something "odd" happening.

Beaumont Trophy #4 is continuing the theme of Cycling Sheffield and Embark, this time as a duo in the final metres of the race.

Getting one rider to look at the camera is fairly common, but getting both riders to is not - then comes the pressure of having a good photo... In this case, the photo is as close to perfect as you can get (excluding the background). The photo could easily be split up into two solo pics, and they would still be amazing. The background, though, could be better, but you cannot do much about a house refurbishment.

I'm just really happy with the result of the photo - my only issue with it is that I can't work out who the actual riders are - one of the joys of taking photos. (Note it is Dean Watson of Embark & George Wood of CyclingSheffield)

Beaumont Trophy #3 is the sprint for victory, which saw a seven-rider sprint (out of a nine-rider group, Joe Brooks of Halesowen and Zeb of Saint Piran rolled in).

The photo was taken just as the leadout trains ended with Ed Morgan (Wales Racing Academy) in the first, followed by Trinity and the Saint Piran duo of Jack Rootkin-Gray and Finn Crockett. Behind those four, we have Alex Richardson (Saint Piran) and Damien Clayton (Unattached) also sprinting.

I mentioned previously (when discussing Curlew Cup Pic#4) that the best group photos are ones where you can see the riders' emotions and this is a great one. I've zoomed into each rider's face so you can see in more detail.

To start, we have Ed Morgan (Wales Racing Academy) looking at the Trinity leadout, knowing he doesn't have the legs to win.

You have the Trinity lead-out rider who is pulling one of the best faces I've captured - you can't say he's not going full out.

Next to him, you have Jack Rootkin-Gray (Saint Piran), who has his tongue out.

This is followed by Finn Crockett (Saint Piran), who looks very relaxed. You can tell that Finn is by far the most comfortable, and it showed by the distance he won in a downhill sprint.

Behind those four, you have Alex Richardson (Saint Piran) who you can tell is putting in an effort with a grimace on his face, but it isn't as bad as Damien Clayton's.

You can then see Joe Brookes, who is looking around, and Zeb, who is interested in seeing if any of his two teammates (Jack or Finn) can win the race.

As shown, this is a great photo for showing raw emotions of a sprint.

Beaumont Trophy #2 is one of my favourite styles of photo and something I always hope to get. You have a solo rider out of the saddle, followed by a group / peloton with a rural background.

This photo has a rider from Embark attacking out of the peloton (chasing the Saint Piran attack) with the peloton behind him all trying to get onto his wheel.

The peloton is to the right of the shot, while the Embark rider is to the left, due to the angle, allowing for a clear distinction and focus on each aspect of the photo. Looking at the peloton, I like that there is a mix of teams trying (including PB Performance and CyclingSheffield) to chase the solo rider.

The background is also one that I like because it's all trees, showcasing the rural nature of the course.

Beaumont Trophy #1 and the final blog posting for this week... My favourite photo from the Beaumont Trophy was Richardsons-Trek going flat out. This photo has most of the things you want from a peloton shot - stretched out led by a single team, bright colours, looking at different things and emotions.

Richardsons-Trek put five riders on the front of the peloton to try and create a hard race - something that might have potentially cost them with their top rider finishing in the lead group. However, they tried, and that is what is important - also, they have great team photos now!

The first rider is going 100% (as you would expect) and the second rider isn't going that much easier, both of them have their mouth wide open. The third rider is out of sight but looking behind to see the damage, they caused. The fourth rider is looking directly at the camera and the fifth rider is getting as much draft help possible, and therefore out of camera shot.

Behind the Richardsons-Trek team, we can see the Saint Piran rider and the 05-03 (Saint Piran development team) both sticking out the line adding another thing to look at within the photo. The background, then, is also in focus and pleasing to the eye.

Why is it my favourite? It's good to see someone looking and be willing to put everything on the line to challenge Saint Piran and the photo is, also, good.