Tour de Bintan | Craig Sheppard Photographer

Tour De Bintan – Stage 3

Watching each of the categories leave the start line for Stage 3 from the side of the road was a strange feeling after being in the thick of it for the previous two ‘action packed’ stages. I was assured my driver would be here as soon as possible but with only a 38 kilometer, relatively flat stage with an anticipated high pace I was worried I was going to miss it all. Finally, after 20 minutes my new driver and motorbike turned up. As we speed off it immediately became clear that this wasn’t going to be as smooth as the previous stages. We managed to get to the final sprint point and set up position just before the Cat 1 peloton arrived and with a little coaching and encouragement my driver settled into the rhythm of the peloton for the last 15km back to the finish.

Overall I had an absolute blast on the back of the motorbike and I can’t wait to give it another go. I honestly did miss being on my road bike and racing with the team but I did not miss all the nervousness and anxiety that goes with it.

I would like to thank Metasport for allowing me to be part of the Tour De Bintan 2011 and of course my motorbike drivers who did a magnificent job of getting me so close to the action.

Click here to visit Stage 3 gallery on my website.

The Cat 1 Men returning to the finish pass the Women’s Cat on their out bound leg.

Congratulations to Kate Poat, her first stage race and first across the line in stage 3. Well done!

Tour De Bintan 2011 – Stage 2

Waking to a fine day on the second day of racing was a relief as it meant I would not have to flounder about trying to keep all my gear dry and shoot at the same time. As soon as the flag dropped two riders, Ryan McKay (Cannasia-Cannondale) and Timothy Lim took a flyer off the front of the peloton. With the first king of the mountain at the 8km point, getting away early was essential to gaining early points in this competition. Sadly for them a couple of Pico Bikelabz riders bridged the gap and robbed them of the points. Unfortunately, due to an unprepared Motorbike driver, I had to leave the race at this point to fill up on petrol so I missed some potential scenic peloton shots along the resort road to the checkpoint which led the race into the ‘real’ Bintan. After rejoining the race a break formed around the 25km mark and stayed away until the finish. Here are some images from the day.

Click here to see additional Stage 2 photos.

Ryan Mckay drives the two man break from the flag drop.

The break is joined by one of the Pico Bikelabz riders.

Zamri Salleh (Pico Bikelabz) attacked the break to claim the first KOM points for the day.

There were numerous attempts after the first KOM to get away.

The winning break.

Tim Wilkins (Cannasia-Cannondale) rejoins after his nature break. What a chase to get back on and I’m sure he’ll think twice about doing that again.

Rider Portraits – Tour De Bintan 2011

After each of the stages I tried to grab some quick portraits of some of the riders. I felt sorry for them having a camera shoved in their face as soon as they had finished racing but hey, that’s the life a cyclist, pro or not. I took my inspiration from an amazing photographer Timm Kolln and his book ‘The Peloton’. Up and coming cycling photographer Veeral Patel also encouraged me to get in there and get some closeups of the dirt and sweat us cyclists have to endure during racing. I’ve intentionally over sharpened the images to hopefully bring out the pain and suffering they had to endure but most of them seemed happy to see me and gave me a smile.

Click here to see a few more portraits on my website.

Tour de Bintan 2011 – Stage 1

One of my dreams as a cyclist and a photographer is to photograph a race from the back of a motorbike. In November I got the opportunity to realise this dream by photographing a fantastic little race on the island of Bintan in Indonesia. I spent the majority of the 157km Stage 1 following a breakaway of 8 cyclists from the Men’s Open Cat 1 over hills and through rain storms. It was an exciting and eventful day and after over 4 hours on the back of the motorbike I came to learn that it’s almost as tiring and painful as the actual racing! Below are a selection of my images from Stage 1.

Click here to look at more images of Tour de Bintan Stage 1.