Reflections of 2007

 

British Cycling's MTB photographer and reporter Joolze Dymond chooses her favourite photos from the 2007 season and explains what they mean to her. There are more of her superb shots in the gallery linked above.

 

Link: Joolze's 2006 Selection

 

Update: Vote For Joolze! - we're delighted that Joolze has been nominated for the Singletrack Reader Awards in the "Best Photographer" category. Joolze has done a huge amount to help promote and cover the sport of mountain biking and has been our chief mountain bike reporter since 2005. To vote for Joolze visit the Singletrack website - http://singletrackworld.com/vote.php?id=6 

 

Reflections of 2007

 

Well another 12 months is nearly over and with it a year of events both home and abroad that I've had the privilege of attending with my camera to pick up the atmosphere and emotions and translate them via my photography to tell their stories, time and time again.

 

Each picture I've chosen for my retrospective of 2007, has not been selected for its technical merits, more for the memories it evokes and tales of commitment and passion, of a love affair with the bike be it on or off road, that each rider no matter which level there are, has.

 

Once more it's been a difficult task to choose just a few from an archive of thousands, from events both large and small, but I hope the ones I've selected help tell that story, of a fantastic 12 months of events where hopes and dreams have slowly evolved and culminated for many in a successful year, be it in terms of winning or in just achieving a simple goal. Enjoy.

Photo 1 - CX Worlds Belgium 2007
I love this photo, although it's depicting a crash something which I rarely go out of my way to capture, it reminds me of the assignment I had to my first World CX Champs. A great introduction for me to the passionate world of CX racing as found in Belgium. It's a whole different world over there, a national festival with over 50,000 spectators crammed in to cheer on the stars. GB fielded a strong team in the juniors, women and seniors, with International fell runner Rob Jebb making his GB debut. Every time I see this picture it brings a smile to my lips! I could tell you a few more stories but that'll be for another day!

Photo 2 - BMX Training Camp
From time to time I'm given assignments that have nothing to do with racing. This time I was lucky enough to be able to spend a day with the GB BMX Talent squad as they went through their paces in an indoor track in Leeds. A great bunch of lads with some serious talent and a great sense of fun, but with real commitment for the sport they love.

Photo 3 - Enduro 6
This photo depicts the sheer delight of winning. In a real tight race in the Enduro 6 hour pairs, Jamie Newell & Jody Crawforth pulled off the win after a staggering 15 laps and less than a 3min margin over the 2nd placed pairing of Stuart Bowers & Jonny Pugh.

Photo 4 - 10 years of Mayhem
This year saw the 10th anniversary of Mountain Mayhem, the 24hr event that changed the face of mountain biking in the UK. For many it's the off road communities equivalent of Glastonbury, complete with rain and mud. Since it's inception back in 1998 Mayhem has seen over 13,000 riders, complete over 75,000 laps, clocking up enough miles to take them to the moon and back 3 times. Between them they've spent 3,500 days in the saddle, used 26 metric tons of energy gel, produced 35,600 gallons of sweat and drunk 40,000 cups of tea. And still they come back for more! Me included, I'm proud to say I've been in from the start.

Photo 5 - Piper
Another shot from Mayhem; it was a surreal weekend, what with fire-eaters, gorillas, giraffes and discos in the woods. And then just when you thought it could get any stranger a piper wanders in from a nearby wedding and asks if we mind him playing. A great pic that just sums up the fun that encapsulates Mayhem. You never know what'll turn up next.

Photo 6 - Midlands XC - the start
A simple picture which sums up the start of a brand new series in the Midlands. After lots of discussions on various forums, 2 brave souls - Nadine & James - bit the bullet and opted to organise a series of events in the Midlands. To their credit, all their hard work paid off and now the Midlands will see 3 more races being staged next year.

Photo 7 - Twentyfour/12
2 races in one with a 12 hr and a 24 hr race being run side by side. A great weekend, which very nearly saw a whole season of weather in one 24 hr period. A beautiful setting in the Cotswolds, a lovely day sent off with the best sunset of the year (I was at this point in the woods setting up some shots, so I missed probably the best shots of the year too!! - Gutted, me?). This is a night time shot out by the mogul field a series of little bumps and dips that scattered the riders all over the field before spitting them out on their way for another lap.

Photo 8 - Twentyfour/12 the day after
However, come midnight at Twentyfour/12 and it started to rain. The Cotswolds were flooded, as was most of Gloucestershire and still the race went on. This pic shows Vet rider Tracy Miles being greeted by hubby Warren as she crosses the line on her second 24hr solo race in 4 weeks, she went on to complete one more 24hr solo, giving her a record of 3 solo rides in just 8 weeks. Her reason for doing this? - she wanted to see what it was like!

Photo 9 - Margam Park
Along with all the other obstacles that XC riders have to face, Margam Park throws in a few herds of deer as well?

Photo10 - XC Training Camp
I was lucky to be able to spend a week with the GB Cross-Country ODP and Academy riders on a training camp prior to the World Champs in Fort William this year. I watched and recorded the young riders go through their paces, growing in confidence as they completed each section of the World's XC course. Up till now I'd only seen and spoken to the riders briefly at NPS races, now I fully discovered their characters and their commitment and enthusiasm for the sport. The XC course was pretty tough, mostly manmade with numerous berms and tons of fast singletrack. This photo depicts one 'natural' section. A ribbon of mud depicts the trail as the riders speed past. By the end of the actual races themselves this section became almost unrecognisable as each rider made their own line through the lush green.

Photo 11 - Fletcher
A shot I was delighted to take at the Worlds as Dave Fletcher crosses the line to pick up a medal in the junior XC race. Our first podium since Liam Killeen picked up a medal in the under 23 a few years previous and only our 4th ever medal in this discipline at the Worlds. Boy done good.

Photo 12- Wilkes
Ian Wilkinson is a real character at any of the races. He had a phenomenal year this year both on and off road. Here he dons the 'Superman' pose as he crosses the line at the Worlds! A fun end to a tough race - this photo always brings a smile to my face.

Photo 13 - SITS
One of many great shots from Sleepless this year. The colours and the smiles, a great coming together of riders from all levels to each achieve their own goals or working with their mates as part of a team. I love the atmosphere and the camaraderie that you get at the 24 hr events. An excellent, if not tiring weekend for everyone. Can't wait for more of the same next year.

Photo - 14 - Kate Potter
What can I say - this lass is class! A tough Aussie cookie, with a heart of gold. This was taken at Sherwood Pines where conditions were pretty grim. Kate wasn't feeling too good the day before in the XC, but still she made it to the start line for the 100km the next day. One of her goals this year was to take the Marathon series and knowing she was missing out one of the rounds due to work commitments meant she had to finish this one. She rode round on autopilot, or so it seemed. Her eyes set in grim determination, not even her usual cheery greeting when she swooped past. I knew she wasn't right. At the end of the race, which she won, she had to be picked off her bike and rushed away to get cleaned up and warmed. Her lips were blue and she was shivering so much and all she could do, was thank Cotic her bike sponsor for a great bike. Typical Kate!

Photo - 15 - James
Another muddy endurance race and another winner. After 20 years of racing James Ouchterlony finally won a National GB title - The National Marathon Champs.

Photo - 16 - D2D
One of the UK's best loved enduro events, unusual in that it starts in the dark and races in the singletrack fun that Thetford offers for 12 hrs before ending in the morning light. A fantastic event, where in its 6 years of running has never rained. Taking shots at night is pretty hard work, but D2D is a challenge I love. I really like this shot, with all the riders' lights blazing, like little fireflies ready to buzz off into the forest.

Photo - 17 - Autumn Colours
A shot taken at Thetford at the first round of the successful Marin Winter series. I spend a lot of time looking at how best to interpret the rider's journey through the landscape. This was towards the end of the day, and a lucky find. The colours were amazing and contrast brilliantly with the riders.

Photo -18 - Unsung heroes
I have loads of shots like this, featuring my husband Dave. An important part of my set up if getting the lighting right and my husband generally has the task of helping me organise this. So at each race, you generally see him standing quite still in the middle of the track as I tweak the output. He's a very patient man and a valuable asset that helps me take the sort of photos I do. When he's not being my model, you usually see him taking his own selection of photos and you'll always see him taking podium shots, which allows me to concentrate on interviewing riders. He's my unsung hero, who is one of many that work tirelessly behind the scenes at races throughout the country to bring you all these fantastic events.

As I said before this is a difficult task, with so many events attended this year, with so many disciplines covered, so many stars in their own right to talk about and depict. It's been a great year, with medals at the Worlds both in XC and in DH, some great battles have been played out in the NPS XC and some fun times have been had at endurance races. I'm looking forward to getting back into the thick of the action next year, where new organisers and new venues and plenty of new events should see me dashing round the UK capturing lots more classic moments. Until then I hope you enjoy the brief snapshot into my year and thanks once more to the thousands of riders who's enthusiasm for the sport in all its form makes this job so worthwhile.