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Alan B - 06/30/2009: If you'd like appropriate and fast-tempo music for Saturday's Tour de France extended Prologue up and down the hills of Monaco, you might look for anything by the Michael Doucet's Cajun band, known as Beausoleil, seeing that the route gradually ascends the Cote de Beausoleil, then twists down the steeper side back to the finish. This sort of routing seemingly favors une grande descendeur, perhaps more than une vrai grimpeur, n'est ce pas? So, who in the starting peloton qualifies for that description? Good question, Alan - I think the winner will either be an overall favourite like Contador or Armstrong (someone with a point to prove), or a madman like Thor Hushovd or teamate Haussler... GW
Dave S - 06/30/2009: Hi Graham, I loved your collection of photos from this years Giro that you ran in the Summer issue of Cycle Sport magazine. The DiLuca descending one is my favourite, but I wondered if you noticed the tiny detail that his chain is off on the outer-side and he rockets down that hill? Hard to spot, but perhaps that's the reason for his grimace. He rode a great Giro - he's a joy to watch, with his aggressive style and never say lose attitude. Let me know if this detail changes your own view of the photo. thanks Dave Thanks Dave, in fact an earlier 'reader' pointed out DiLuca's dropped-chain which I had not noticed myself. He is grimacing because that was the start of a death-defying downhill attack that won him the stage, and I really believe he did not know then that his chain was coming off... I'm no mechanic, so I cannot figure out how DiLuca managed to keep the chain on, as it looks past the point of recovery to me..! GW
06/29/2009: Hi Graham, As I'm off to the Pyranees this year to watch the tour I thought I'd purchase your recent book "Tour de France Travel guide". It's a brilliant read and packed with plenty of facts and historical photography. Definitely one of the better books on the tour. I couldn't help noticing however that on page 245 that you refer to Robert Millar coming over the Tourmalet on his first stage win in 1983, and that it was the last climb of the day. Are you sure you haven't got muddled up somewhere with your undoubted wealth of knowledge on the Tour? Surely it was the Colombian Jiminez who was first over the Tourmalet that day, and the last climb was two columns later - the Peyrosourde on which Millar dropped Jiminez like a stone. Regards, Matthew. Okay Matthew, you've got me on that detail, hopefully there are only a few other mistakes - I trusted my memory, instead of the fact-book. GW
Norman K - 06/26/2009: Hi Graham, How have you been preparing for this years TDF, equipment and physically? I often liken going into a big project as going to war, adrenaline, stress and checking everything twice. Always love your work, Norman Hi Norman, I treat the Tour like any other race, that is until I get to the start! Seriously, I'll rock up on Friday afternoon like I would the Giro, Vuelta or any of the big one-day Classics. But then the reality hits you - the Tour is like no other event... It is the preliminaries that get to you the most, like the queuing for credentials behind people you never see at other bike races, and the general scale of things at the race HQ. There are meetings to go to, alliances to re-start after a year's gap, fiddling with the new Internet system, and generally finding there is too much to do and take-in just 24 hours before the big event. But that's why I show up so late - to avoid the bullshit and concentrate on the job in-hand. My cameras will all have been cleaned and serviced to deter problems later-on, and I have just enjoyed a week's cycling in the Alps, so I'm in fairly good shape for this 2009 Tour. The real secret is to restrict yourself to just one bottle of wine over dinner, no deserts, and to be in bed by midnight if at all possible. That way you stay ahead of any problems that can make a Tour very hard work... GW
Adam S - 06/18/2009: Hi Graham Firstly, just wanted to comment how since I first became interested in cycling back in 1987, I have admired your work very much. Secondly my interest in cycling continues now, more as spectator than a competitor. Hence, my questions to you as I have recently decided to try cycle photography myself. Working currently with a Canon 40d and 75-300mm f4-5.6 lens and wishing to photograph local club TT and RR events I need advice on the following and any other pointers you can give me:- 1. What focusing techniques work best? (AF or MF) 2. How best do I obtain correct metering of riders? 3. Should I shoot Raw or Jpg? 4. Which focal lengths are usually best for most situations? 5. What shutter speeds should I begin with? 6. Do you use the panning technique on riders coming through? Any tips on improving this technique? I realise that these questions may take considerable time for you to answer, but I would really appreciate you feedback Kind Regs Adam Hi Adam, rather than make you wait one month more - the Tour starts this weekend - try scrolling back through the older questions, you'll find most of the answers are amongst them somewhere. I usually answer questions like this every few months, so you won't have too far to look back... GW
Andrew - 06/17/2009: Graham - I was watching Levi Leipheimer's travails in the Giro and I could not help wondering how much his performance in the final week was impacted by the absence of Chris Horner. What are your thoughts? Andrew, I think it is simply a question of Levi not being in the right form at the right time. His success rate in recent years seems to point to good form in February and good form in late-summer, but not so much in between. He shows flashes of his brilliance in the Tour, of course, but noticeably when he is riding for someone else on the team. He seemed relieved in the Giro when Lance started to ride better and better, who eventually had to help Levi instead of Levi helping him. It'll be interesting to see how Levi performs in this Tour - he is officially 3rd man behind Contador and Lance, and as a result we may see a better performance coming from him. Chris Horner is a fun man to have around, but Levi is quite a focused athlete and does not need anyone's help to perform better or worse. GW
Tim B. - 06/11/2009: I've been a long-time fan of cycling and of your photography. I was recently in Rome for the final stage of the Giro. I saw you near the starting ramp for the time trial and told my wife I was as happy to see you in person as I was to see Lance Armstrong! Keep up the great work! Thanks Tim, I must have looked a bit hungover as well, we had our Giro last-night-party the evening before... GW
L P - 06/10/2009: Hello, I just wanted to say that I think your shots are great and often original so keep up the good work. Also, I noticed reading Graham Watson's section in the latest CycleSport magazine that Di Luca's chain is off the big ring and looks to have slipped under the crank arm. This is the photo I am talking about: http://www.grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/updateframesetcall?openform&09g iroSt10 Do you know whether his chain came off? I thought that it could be because he is going from the little ring to the big ring but that doesn't make sense as it wouldn't go over the top and he would already be in the 53 anyway! Thanks, Louis. Louis, that's a good observation - I just studied the image and Di Luca's chain is defintely about to come off, except that it did not. He is a few kilometres down a fast descent, he would have already been in the big ring, so I am guessing he hit a bump on that bend and the chain almost came off... This is DiLuca launching a downhill attack on his rivals - he won this stage alone, so the chain definitely stayed on... GW
Alan B - 06/06/2009: Understanding that the route of the Tour de France varies one boucle to the next, is your just-announced "Tour de France Travel Guide" specific to the 2009 TdF, or is it more generic? Might future editions come out directly after the route of the next year's Tour get announced, or might you establish a year-specific set of website pages, the way that some medical textbooks are now kept up to date? Alan, the guide goes back to my adventures of the late-1970's, and includes anecdotes/suggestions/experiences every year since then. It's probably got a timeline of about 4-5 years before needing to be published again, as the hotels/mountains/routes/restaurants won't change much over that time... I may do one on the Giro eventually... GW
Paul J. - 06/01/2009: Graham, you've just finished photographing the Giro and as with all your races you post a set of images from each days stage along with your commentary but, over the three weeks how many images do you shoot in total, before you edit them down.? Paul Phew, that's a hard one to answer as I never really look at what I've taken, just at how much I keep afterwards. A guess would be that on average I shoot 400-500 per day at a stage of the Giro and Tour - slightly less for the Vuelta. And I get a finger massage each evening... GW
Don D. - 05/30/2009: G.: Just received the new Tour travel book. Excellent! My wife insists we NEED to go to each and every spot in the book. I'll be broke forever now.... Ah, but Don you'll be happy forever as well - travelling around France for the rest of your days! Glad you enjoyed it, I had a lot of fun writing it... GW
Kieran M. - 05/27/2009: Sir Graham: Your coverage is the best and over my morning cup of coffee and always check your race updates. My question: is it me, or is Lance getting stronger? I know I have the yankee bias and I am a huge Lance-Fan, but I think he's getting his form in time for the TDF. Kieran, Lance has obviously angled his form for the Tour - even taking into account his collar-bone breakage, he is still on-cue for that... He is stronger than before muscularly, and his age has added another sort of strength to him, as has the ordeal of running those marathons. But he is not as fluid a cyclist as before, his body-language is noticeably different - because of the extra muscle power. It will be interesting to see how he copes with riding the Tour, there's a very fine balance between being too muscular but stronger at the same time... GW
henrikthuge - 05/27/2009: Are you in love with Lance Armstrong? No, why do you ask Henrik? GW
Rob Lettieri - 05/23/2009: How did you decide to not shoot the finish of today's stage into Bologna? You made a good choice to capture the battle between the 3 jerseys...(great image) on the last climb. Who is your pick to win? I do't think Levi quite has it against those guys.....please advise.... Rob, if I sense there are more important images to be had of the overall favourites, I do sometimes ignore the finish - if it is an escaper who is going to win. That hill was only two kilometres long and Gerrans was three minutes ahead of the Maglia Rosa group, I couldn't do the finish and take shots of Di Liuca and Menchov... Today's stage had a longer run-in, so I was able to shoot the Di Luca/Menchov group, then the chase of Armstrong, and still overtake the whole race to do the finish shot... GW
Leonardo - 05/23/2009: As a true sports photojournalist, how do you feel about Lance Armstrong's use of a "personal" photographer to document his comeback tours? It seems only one photog is getting exclusive access. Is Mr. Armstrong cutting out "neutral" journalists all around? Tweeting instead of taking legit media questions, etc.? Should any of us be concerned? Are you? Len, Lance is entitled to do anything he pleases, he still embraces other photographers and media, after all that is part of his business, spreading the word, etc... Twittering has given him an excuse not to talk every day to the media, but you have to be honest and say his twittering is pretty factual and honest and that why does the media need to seek him out all the time? Having a personal photographer comes with his stardom, everyone appreciates that - Liz Kreutz is also a very close friend who Lance likes having around, like having someone to fall back on amidst all the BS that comes with his way of life. GW
bruce h. - 05/18/2009: Hi Graham, thanks for the wonderful photos and commentary! I'm wondering what's your opinion of the "riders' revolt" during the Milan stage? thanks for your pics and thoughts! bh Brian, I have such a simple answer, even though I know it is unrealistic. That circuit should never have been used, I think the mouthy guy who looks after the cyclists interest - Cedric Vasseur - had better start checking out such circuits at major races, that way the problem would never have happened. But I think the cyclists were seriously wrong to protest the way they did - the watching public deserved a real show, not a parade. And if they managed to race the last two laps at full speed, why couldn't they have done the whole race like that - the circuit was usable, clearly, and these guys are good bike-handlers... I think the organisers showed a lack of respect at leaving parked cars around the course and having tram-lines at some sections, that's what the cyclists were protesting about - lack of respect. GW
Chris - 05/18/2009: Hi Graham! I'm heading to the Tour de France this year, and am hoping to extend my cycling photography skills. I was wondering what shutter speeds you tend to most commonly use when taking shots of riders from a stationary position? I imagine you would be able to slow the speeds down somewhat when you're level-pegging on a motorbike, but I'm hoping to secure sharp images from the roadside. Also, my camera allows me to use manual fill-flash for speeds up to 1/200 second. Do you think this will be sufficient for roadside cyclist shots at Le Tour? I'm imagining I'll have to practice my panning skills to ensure sharp images at this speed though! And finally, do you manually set apetures, or will you let the camera usually take care of that? Many thanks in advance, and keep up the fantastic work!!! Hi Chris, around 1/500th of a second is the basic shutter speed to use from the roadside, but you can bump up the ISO rating if you are using a good digital camera and then shoot at 1/800 or faster still. With your flash, it sounds like you need to be a bit creative - try shooting close-up with a shutter-speed of 1/125th, the aperture will close down nicely and you can get some 'blurred' side-on shots that highlight the cyclist's face a bit more. Working close-up with a wide-angle lens, with the cyclist just inches away from you - that often works well. I pay the top prices to get the top cameras, so I always let the camera do the work for me, only compensating manually if I think it needs a bit of help... GW
Brian L - 05/18/2009: Firstly, I would like to ask what was your first assignment to photograph for Cycling Weekly. We met on that weekend trip to see the TdF in 1977 and met up a few times afterwards. I remember comparing pictures in a car park at a Kent RR and thinking " this guys, good " going away ashamed at my meagre efforts but being inspired to improve my work. Thanks Graham you really fulfilled the dream that I would have loved for myself. God Bless, Brian Hi Brian, that was a long long time ago, but good fun all the same... I think I got my first gig photographing a local time trial for Cycling Weekly - something called the 'Croydon hardriders 25'. That was probably early in 1978, after I won a prize in that magazine for a shot of Eddy Merckx at that '77 TDF... GW
Alan B - 05/06/2009: With today's announcement that the 2010 Tour of California will be held in mid-May, conflicting with the Giro, I suppose you'll chose to quaff Italian vino next spring, instead of our fine California cabernets, right? ...no, Alan, I don't plan on doing anything just yet - I'll let it simmer in my mind for a few months before seeing what to do. I was hoping the race would go to late-April which meant I could not do it, for sure, with the Classics in Belgium and Holland. May is different, though not neccessarily better or worse. The Giro celebrates 100 years of existence this year, and I know it will be around for another 100 years as well... The TOC, as good as it is, could disappear like Georgia did, it is only about money - money versus the tradition and history of European cycling. Whatever my choice will be for 2010, it won't be an easy one to take... GW
Deven - 05/04/2009: Graham, when you are photographing the riders approaching the finish line in a close race, how do you choose which one to focus on? Deven Deven, you have to use your instinct, which means focussing the guy obviously in front as you first see the sprint coming towards you. It helps to know the cyclists too, as a McEwen can come to the line late, whereas a Cipollini/Cavendish/Zabel sort of sprinter is already out in front. Generally, you won't get to see the sprint until it is 200-feet from the line, by which time the winner is almost obvious. You sometimes need to keep your 'other' eye on the sprint as well, to make sure a maverick sprinter hasn't launched himself down the other side of the road; once you are looking into the lens, you are blind to anything else going on... Your worst scenario is two riders on opposite sides of the road, with no clue as to who is the fastest! Practice makes perfect, as we say over here... GW

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