Cyclist
Behind the scenes at the Giro d’Italia with photographer Chris Auld
Over the course of three weeks, the 2024 Giro d’Italia took the pro peloton from Turin to Rome via soaring mountains, Mediterranean vistas, timeless villages and ancient landmarks. And always following in the peloton’s wake were the cohorts of race photographers, jostling for position with rivals and braving extreme conditions to get the shots – the images that bring home the pain, the joy, the beauty and brutality of La Corsa Rosa.
British photographer Chris Auld is a veteran of Grand Tour photography and knows exactly what it’s like to blast around Italy for three weeks on the trail of the maglia rosa. For Auld, the Giro captures the essence of Grand Tour racing.
‘It’s a proper European cycling experience,’ he tells Cyclist. ‘It’s the most authentic Grand Tour to watch and it’s a lot more accessible than the Tour de France. Plus, it’s easier to get around and the roadsides aren’t busy with tourists. The majority of people watching the race are Italian. They’re so passionate about cycling. The locals make sure to come out in their thousands and wait by the roadside to cheer the riders for those milliseconds when they rush by.’
Waiting for the prey
Photography is for the patient. There’s a lot of research, scouting and instinct that goes into framing a shot. This usually happens hours before the pros arrive.
‘Some of my colleagues will plan everything ahead of time,’ Auld says. ‘But it doesn’t always work. Planning can come to nothing if you turn up and someone has erected a huge banner in the way of your carefully pre-planned shot. Races never consult photographers, so we have to be flexible. I prefer to wing it. I just like to drive the course, find a shot, get it, and only then figure out where to go next. We work in pairs – one of us drives, the other navigates.’
Grand Tours offer 21 days of material, but those photographers who aren’t following the race on an official moto only have a few chances to catch the riders along the route each day, and so resilience is a key asset.
‘All too often we leave a stage disappointed for one reason or another – sometimes that’s our fault, sometimes it’s because things didn’t unfold as we wanted. We beat ourselves up over not getting the right shots, regretting those hours spent waiting on the roadside. You can’t let that get to your head, though. You have to dust yourself down and move on to the next stage.’
The ride that goes wrong
The Giro does a good line in chaos. Despite all the careful organisation, the nature of Grand Tour racing means something is bound to go wrong at some point, especially when the Giro heads towards the northern Italian peaks.
Stage 16 of the 2024 edition renewed the yearly administrative standoff in the face of extreme Alpine weather. This came as no shock to the photographers.
‘Every year the race organisers decide to go over the highest mountain and it all goes pear-shaped. When this happens, you’ve got no information whatsoever, and the organisation is very economical with what they tell you,’ says Auld.
‘We didn’t even shoot the start of the stage because of the torrential rain. We were sat in a cafe waiting for information to come through. Some colleagues up the road told us that the Stelvio had been closed. Then we got a message to say the riders would go over the Mortirolo instead. This couldn’t happen because it was shut for roadworks.
‘We spent the whole day driving about and all we got was Pogačar’s finishing line shot. Twelve hours of work for one shot.’
Capturing the boy prince
Through snow, rain and sunshine, photographers played a crucial role in memorialising Tadej Pogačar’s unstoppable Giro. Along the way, the UAE Team Emirates leader clinched six stage wins, the mountains classification and the overall crown. A more dominant Grand Tour performance you’re unlikely to see.
Auld envies the Slovenian’s ease: ‘You rarely see a pain face from Pogačar,’ he says. ‘Even when he’s digging deep, it’s not written all over his face, which is a shame as we like to see a bit of pain. But he’s great at showboating at the finish. That’s gold for us. It’s deflating when riders just stop their bike computer as they cross the line.
‘Looking back at the pictures, you truly realise his dominance. When it was happening in front of me on the road, I didn’t feel as though I was capturing cycling history. But I reckon when I look back in time, I will.’
Picture in pink: Giro d’Italia 2024 gallery
Main image: ‘We were driving along the Ligurian coast ahead of the peloton on Stage 5, and I could see an elevated road to our right. I knew there was a good shot to be had up there. Photographers like me don’t have helicopters, so this was a rare chance to get up above the race and capture the peloton with a wide view of the town and sea in the background.’
‘At the final presentation one of my photographer colleagues asked Pogačar to kiss the trophy,’ says Giro photographer Chris Auld. ‘“I’m not doing that.” he said. So he bit it instead.’
‘This shot was from the start line of Stage 1. All the other riders and photographers were behind us, lining up for the beginning of the stage. Ineos Grenadiers rider Ben Swift was just sitting on these steps beneath this beautiful Italian façade for a bit of quiet time. I saw him there and just snapped.’
‘One thing the Giro has over the Tour de France is this transparent sign-on board. The photographers love it. With 21 stage sign-ons, we have to try to find a different way to photograph it each day. This was Stage 1, but by the end of the race the riders are far less enthusiastic about it.’
‘On Stage 11 we drove into this town in the south of Italy – I forget its name – and I just knew this was a place to shoot. I loved the old run-down buildings, which are always a photographer’s favourite. I stood by the road, took out my camera, waited for the peloton to arrive and hoped for the best.’
‘The Giro is the highlight of the year for little villages like Cigliano in the northwest of the country. The race passed through on Stage 2, and the town was decorated with pink balloons and ribbons. This statue adorned with pink captures the fun essence of the Giro.’
‘This is Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers on the queen stage up to Livigno in the far north of Italy. You can tell that the Italian fans absolutely love him, and at this point the race had broken apart completely so I could stand in the middle of the road behind him and capture this moment with the tifosi.’
‘This is Stage 20 with Geraint Thomas and Valentin Paret-Peintre on their way up the Monte Grappa. By foreshortening the image, it gives the impression of the fans crowding in on the riders and makes it feel claustrophobic.’
‘Every photographer’s fantasy is a rider climbing through smoke. I know it’s frowned upon at races, but photographers will sniff flares out and stand next to them. Nine times out of ten they’re set off either too early or too late. Here, on Stage 20, it was the former.’
‘Pogačar was wearing pink for so long the podium shots all started to blur into each other, to the point where I can’t actually remember which stage this was [it was Stage 11]. Of course, podium shots are a necessity and we end up with hundreds of images, but capturing one you’re truly happy with can be trickier than you think.’
• This article originally appeared in issue 154 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe
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