Welcome to Escape Collective. Please select your language.
Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect. All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense, please double check in English.
The 2023 edition of the Mark Gunter Photo Awards (MGPA) opened a couple weeks ago and the entries coming in have been tremendous.
Each week over the holidays until entries close on January 6th, we’ll be showcasing a selection of images submitted by amateur and professional photographers alike.
Every single entry is making a difference. Not only do we get to shine a light on some of the best cycling photography that you may not have ever seen before, but the entry fees go towards two fantastic causes — cancer research with Tour de Cure and Young Cyclist Assistance Award for up to two young aspiring cyclists.
This year’s competition will be judged by an extended group of talented art professionals and cycling photographers – Russ Ellis, Alex Broadway, Bram Berkien, Gem Atkinson, Jeff Curtes, and Rupert Hartley – who you can read more about the here. Our largest judging panel ever will deliberate on who’ll take out the honours and amazing prizes on offer.
Thank you to Wahoo who are once again generously supporting the awards by providing these fantastic prizes for the amateur category placegetters:
1st place: KICKR MOVE and KICKR CLIMB. The MOVE is the bike trainer allows your bike to move naturally for a more comfortable and realistic riding experience than ever before. The CLIMB which physically adjusts bike position to mimic real roads and mountain climbs up to 20%.
2nd place: Speedplay POWRLINK Pedals. Built on the iconic Speedplay Pedal System, POWRLINK ZERO power pedal delivers reliably accurate power and cadence data in convenient pedal system.
3rd place: ELEMNT ROAM. The new ELEMNT ROAM, Wahoo’s best GPS cycling computer that is packed with features that turn any ride into an adventure. With a 64 color display and a long lasting battery make it easier than ever to stay on course longer and explore further.
Photographers in the professional category vie for the chance to win the perpetual trophy and medallions for the first three placegetters
We hope you enjoy this small selection of the hundreds of images entered in the MGPA competition below!
“CX World Championships Hoogerheide – a large crowd of fans witnessed an electrifying battle between Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel in Hoogerheide.” Rhode Van Elsen @rhode_photo“Not much to be said here… Tom Pidcock, waving his Yorkshire flag in front of a home crowd to be crowned Elite Mens MTB World Champion” Piper Albrecht @piperalbrecht“Rise Sir Tom. Tom Pidcock saluting the crowd after winning the World XC Championships at Glentress in Scotland.” Paul Brett: @mrpaulbrett“Shot for the Harbour Tour, a Grand Fondo passing through the enormous Rotterdam harbour. This brutalist structure is a ‘windbreaker’; it breaks the wind for the ships passing through the canals behind it, so they won’t have any problems.” Merlijn Spenkelink @merlingraphy“On June 6th NYC recorded as the city with the worst air quality in the world. The scenes through the city resembled images from the movie “Blade Runner”. It still didn’t stop the pedicab riders from going out and looking for tourists in Times Square.” Daghan Perker @dperker“Everest, cycling. A 10 day route averaging 4.000m and altitude sickness being an ever-present concern. I had the opportunity to witness a group of thrill seekers conquering Everest Reserve. The day we scheduled to arrive there I asked the driver to drop me off, grabbing a spare bike and riding this final leg with the group. from all stages i simply couldn’t miss this one. No bib, no shoes, no helmet, just my trousers and a down jacket, camera on the back, I rode the last 65km up to 5.600m.” Vincent Engel @elevenspeedloservincent“A young rider had a crash, his friend Jokingly holds his as they both laugh at Valley Preferred Cycling Center in PA.” Ron Short @shortcycles“One of my favourites this is Fred Wright on his way to winning the British national road race championships only a couple of weeks after loosing his team mate Gino Mader in a crash at the Tour of Switzerland. I took a punt that the climb just short of the finsh line would be the best shot. This turned out to be a good call. The emotion and drive to win is there for all to see. He honoured his friend at the finish line.” Gary Main @garymainphotographer“Crit races involve an entire neighborhood for the day, and I love that there is an opportunity to not only wander a course and cheer but take a break and support the local businesses. I popped in to check out the view from this restaurant and ran into this photographer that was having a quick meal while still watching the race (camera is hidden under the pizza. ” Michael Smith @mikeyplaysbass“If a face could tell a tale of 4000km. Christian bellowing in the dead of night, after waiting for friends that didn’t exists and being chased by wild dogs.” Saskia Martin: @saskiacmartin“A patron using one of 5 community benches at the “Iowa City Bike Library” – our local community bike shop. Patrons are taught to work on their own bikes that they borrow or buy from the library. Bikes are donated and rebuilt by volunteers to be repurposed for those in need of a bike for transportation and/or recreation. We teach community members of all ages, genders, and races to work on their bikes, ride their bikes on organized rides, and to connect with an inclusive community of bike riders.” Ren Stinson @drrenjamin
“Sydney summer racer.” Stuart Baker: @stuhbaker
This photo of Line Burquier was a tad more difficult for me as I doubted if I could take the photo. She just finished Short Track and was noticeably exhausted by it, her face completely covered in mud, so basic instinct said, “take the shot!” I just couldn’t, realised she was in a vulnerable space as she was changing shirts and felt like I had to give her a bit of time to get her new shirt on, but the look was so empowering and vulnerable at the same time so I couldn’t resist taking the shot.” Vincent Engel: @elevenspeedloservincent
“This is Ibrahim Kamara finishing third on stage 2 of the Tour de Lunsar and ending the day as first Sierra Leonean rider. The girl hugging him is his younger sister. He was very emotional having moved teams before the race and not having an ideal preparation. He wanted to prove that he was the best rider in the town and with his placing on stage 2 he certainly did. The next day he would collapse from heat exhaustion and sadly not finish on the podium again.” Oskar Scarsbrook: @oskarito1997
“Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain competing in the individual time trial at the UCI Paracycling World Cup in Huntsville, Alabama. The closeup shows Ricardo’s disabilities and adaptations that allow him to become a multiple time world champion. Ricardo has one leg and no arms, a result of an accident when he was small. With the help of prosthetics and endless determination, he is able to be a successful and powerful rider.” Casey B. Gibson: @cbgphotoFreddie De los Santos of the United States leads Loic Vergnaud of France and Luis Costa of Portugal through a turn during the H5 road race at the UCI Paracycling World Cup in Huntsville, Alabama. Cyclists competing in the H5 category do not have any use of their legs or lower body. Sitting in a “bucket”, they propel their bikes entirely with their arms and shoulders. I was at ground level on the inside of a turn, and was able to capture them diving aggressively through the turn.” Casey B. Gibson: @cbgphoto“The last stage of the Tour de France is over in Paris. Sepp Kuss of Team Jumbo Visma finds his wife in the crowd. The scars of the tour clearly on show, Stage 20 wasn’t kind to Sepp after crashing on the decent of Ballon d’Alsace.” Nick Phipps: @phippsimages“The leading group passing through the Aubisque tunnels on stage 13 of La Vuelta.” Naike Ereñozaga Orue: @naikefotosport“The Gravel World Championships this year was one of the most gruelling races I’ve ever witnessed. This rider from The Netherlands crossed the finish line and sat down exhausted after what was obviously a very painful and long day out on the race course.” Andy Rogers: @fameandspear“This picture was taken during the second day of Race Around Rwanda, an ultracyling event. Despite Manuel was forced out the competition due to a problem on his bike, he decided to continue the course and finished anyway. We were behind him looking for a spot to stop when around the bend we suddenly noticed those children playing in the ditch on the side of the road. This made us think a lot. Not following the race and taking it slow was an opportunity to reflect about this country, its people.” Chiara Redaschi: @chiara_redaschi“Usual morning. Fog, sun, travel.” Yurii Naumovych: @naumovyc
