The 2025 Giro d'Italia through the lens of Harry Talbot

For the majority of fans, consuming a Grand Tour means sitting at home watching it unfold on TV, following coverage in media outlets, listening to podcasts and sharing thoughts on social media. Of course, it’s not the same as being there, on the roadside, soaking up the atmosphere – this is where the photographers step in. Increasingly, we are fortunate enough to be transported to the race through the lenses of these incredibly talented creators, who make it their mission to follow the race and capture the most memorable moments on film. It’s part dream job, part logistical nightmare; but what’s it really like to travel alongside a race, balancing the practical demands of deadlines and travel alongside the artistic drive to pick the best spot, take the best shot, and tell the story of a race, through a lens? 

We grilled New Zealand born, Girona-based photographer Harry Talbot on his return from the recently completed Giro d’italia, to find out.

What's it like to follow an entire Grand Tour with a camera? 
That's a big question. The first thing that comes to mind is just 'difficult.' It's hard work, you know, like it's far from a holiday, but at the same time, it's so special. And to me, it's everything I want to do. Obviously, I do this for a job, and that's a choice, and I'm choosing to do it because I love it. So to me, it's the most special thing in the world. I feel incredibly privileged to have this job following a Grand Tour with a camera, it's everything I wanted. But at the same time, it's incredibly difficult. you're moving every day so much, and there's so many obstacles that are always working against you, just when you’re trying to do your job. 

What are the main challenges you face, that fans watching on TV wouldn't even think about?
I think just the actual number of times you see the race is so low. There are days where I will shoot the race in one place. And you have expectations and deliverables from the people you work for, to give them beautiful pictures and different pictures and a certain amount of pictures, and so that's really stressful when it's a 200-kilometre stage and you can only shoot one place. You have to figure out where you're going to shoot, because you need a place where you're going to be able to deliver what you need to and it's super difficult figuring out, okay, we need to leave before the peloton, and then where we're going to shoot. Okay, that spot’s really good. But then how do we get back in front of the race? So we have to navigate off course, and regular traffic, and then come back on. And sometimes the police don't let you back on, despite you being allowed. 

You're always battling these things. And then you have to figure out how to get to the finish on time, and then where are we going to park the car because, you know, there's so many people there, there's no parking, and we always arrive the latest, because we're trying to get the most of the race that we can. It’s definitely the logistical side of shooting bike racing that I find the most challenging. Taking the photos is almost the easy part, because that's what I'm good at. But figuring out all of the logistics, that's hard work.

What can’t you do without when you’re on the road?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I feel like I've lived out of a suitcase for so long that I'm not too fussy about that stuff. For sure, I need my cameras and my laptop, my chargers and that stuff. I have a comfortable, plain black sweatshirt that I will always pack with me wherever I go, because it's, like, super comfortable, and it feels like home, you know? If I’m having a bad evening, I put that on, and I feel slightly better, maybe, something like that.

Tell us something weird that happened. 
I mean, I got robbed. That was weird. I was in the hotel editing, also on stage 11, after the stage, and I was played, you know. Someone dropped some money, and so I picked it up for them and at the same time their accomplice went into my camera bag beside me and took a lens out and I end up, chasing them out of the building and I end up in their car and we had a fight, and then I was thrown out of the car. So that was pretty chaotic. I don't have a photo to go with it. I wish I had that CCTV footage. But yeah, that was super weird, really annoying. I can't think of anything crazy in the race that was super weird. I mean, obviously, like UAE’s tactics on the last stage, that was weird. I don't think anyone understands that. 

Do you enjoy shooting any particular type of stage more than others? Yeah, I always look forward to the mountain stages, but a lot of the time they actually under-deliver. You know, you hype them up in your head, and then they're just not as beautiful as you thought they would be, or they don't work as well as you hoped, or you can't actually shoot as many places as you want to. But I always look forward to them, and when it's a really good one, like Finestre was, and even the day before was nice, stage 19. I do really enjoy those, that's my favourite photo to get, you know, mountains and riders suffering. But there's always the sprint stage that's flat the whole way. You can't find anything good on Google Street View and then you get lucky and find some cool stuff. Those ones are always satisfying as well.

Who do you enjoy shooting; is there any particular rider who’s great value for money? 
I know he wasn't at this race, but Mathieu van der Poel, you know, he's the best-looking cyclist on a bike, the way he rides. It's like poetry; it's hard to take a bad photo of him, honestly. Pogacar because he’s Pogacar, he's in the world champ stripes. He's class for sure. Aside from those two, I like shooting Mads. He looks good. Just any of the big riders are always good. People like to see photos of the big riders, you know, so you always try to photograph them, and whoever else is animating the race. Hugh Carthy has a unique and incredible pain face, but again, he wasn't at this race. I like photographing Egan Bernal. He looks great in his national champs jersey.

What was the trickiest stage to shoot?
Stage 11 was tricky. That was the day Richard Carapaz won. I’m not sure if ‘trickiest’ is the right word. Maybe just annoying, or, like, complicated. I think we shot two places, but they were both really shit. There was just nothing good to shoot that stage. And then there was the San Pellegrino climb, which was crazy busy with fans, but there was no parking, so we had to drive through it, like there was literally no place we could put our car and stop even remotely close to it. So that was annoying. And then the shortcuts we had to do to make the finish were like an hour long and on the most winding roads, so we had to drive really hard to make it in time. It was awful, we were all car sick. That was annoying, for sure.

What was the hardest moment, something you'd rather forget?
When I got robbed, that was for sure rock bottom of the Grand Tour for me. I’d definitely rather forget that. I hate to say it, but it just happens. It's part of it. You know, I have insurance for a reason. 

Man, I also got really grumpy a few times, when I had to shoot somewhere I didn't like. I just lose my mind, and I get so frustrated and angry. Stage 7, stage 19. Those were the days I was the most grumpy, probably, and I'm just getting mad at everyone, and I'm so short and people try to talk to me, and I'm just a dick, honestly. I just blank them, because I'm not in the mood for it. And, yeah, I behave a bit like a child when I'm at a place I don't want to be to shooting and I can't make something work. I'm just a little shit, to be honest.

Do you find yourself becoming more of a fan of particular riders, after spending time shooting them?
Isaac del Toro, for sure. You know, I actually really liked him since [Tour de] l’Avenir, way back. But, yeah, this race, for sure, I was like, man, this guy is a steezy bike rider. He's cool. You know, there's his celebration when he won on the Mortirolo stage. That was super cool. I like that it's a little bit cocky, you know, it's but like, ‘Yeah, I'm a good bike rider.’ Own it. Yeah, for sure. Isaac del Toro.

I've always been a big Mads Pederson fan, and seeing what he did this Giro, I thought that was super cool, for sure. I became a fan of all the EF riders, I was staying with the team this year, and just getting to know them all, they're all really, really great people. I like those boys a lot. 

Is there an image you're particularly proud of? 
Yeah, for sure, I have this photo I took maybe stage 12 of the peloton coming down a set of switchbacks, and it's just chaos. There’s this tractor with an Italian flag. There's other photographers in it. The peloton is bunching up like crazy on a corner. There's just mess everywhere but it's super cool as they work their way down this hill and the actual angle and opportunity to get a photo like that I've never seen before, so I was super stoked to be able to shoot that and we stopped, like, a kilometre-and-a-half earlier, and we were gonna shoot on the downhill. And I just didn't really like it, so I just kept walking, and I'm like, I'm gonna walk until I find what I like. And I found this other shot, and then I was looking around and saw this, and thought, maybe that works. Then I saw the motorbikes come down. I'm like, ‘Oh, this is gonna work, for sure.’ And I shot that, and I actually had so much time to shoot it, because they took so long coming down that set of switchbacks. So, yeah, that photo I'm super proud of.

Is there a photo that you were fortunate to get? 
I think in some respects, all of them are a bit like that. But at the same time, almost everything I shoot now is pretty thought out. When I shoot I'm definitely thinking about where and why I'm doing what I am. Looking through the gallery, I think probably that shot of Nico Denz with the guy in the window smoking. I'm just super lucky that he came out the window and was watching the race, because if he didn't do that, that photo wouldn't be cool. And there's this shadow on the road, and Nico's all in it, apart from his helmet. And like, maybe five riders out of the 30-rider breakaway were in that spot and that's kind of just luck, like, I obviously saw it, and knew that it could happen, but you don't know where exactly they will ride, because, you know, 30 centimetres changes that so much. I think there's a lot of luck in that shot. But also, I did see the man as he was coming out, and I knew it was happening.

Which stage was most fun to shoot and why?
That's easy. It's the Colle delle Finestre. It was incredible. I've never seen so many fans at a bike race before, and obviously the racing was some of the best racing we've ever seen in the last few years at a Grand Tour. Seeing [Chris] Harper come up and then the rest of the breakaway, wow, and then Yates with this crazy, huge gap, and then Carapaz and Del Toro… it was electric, like the crowd was going crazy. You know, it's like this wall of noise being there on that mountain. And shooting, you know, you're stressed because you're working and you're working among fans which is always difficult because it's super unpredictable. But that was the most fun for sure. 

What was the most memorable moment?
Colle delle Finestre again. You know, I'm never gonna forget that, it was so special to be at 2150-odd metres, like on a mountain, and it's turned into a stadium because there are that many people. And you're there as some of the best bike riders in the world are on the limit, suffering. That's special, and I will always remember that.

Any stories behind particular photos you’d like to share? 
I'm looking at the gallery now, and I feel like I could probably tell a story behind most of them, where do I start? I'm gonna go with stage 20, the Finestre photo on the switchback of Chris Harper coming around it, the lead car behind him. I climbed onto a tractor with my friend Russ, and we stood there for like three hours because there was no space on it and we didn't want anyone else to stand there. We knew this was the photo we wanted. So we just occupied that space for like, three hours, and it just kept filling up with more and more and more fans, and we were so excited. 

And it's funny, like I took off my 28-70mm lens, and I shot that on my 16mm, just to prime. It's this, maybe 300-euro lens. You know, everything else I own is super expensive, and this lens I use probably twice a year, because, like, I actually hate it, but when it works, it works so well, and I love it. For a shot like that, you need it. And it was magic. You have the road going back up the mountain, but ahead of him, you can just see where it is, because it's lined with people, and it's this wall of colour, and you have the fog just leaving. You know, we were up there, and it was a perfect day, and then the fog came in, and you couldn't see anything, like none of what's in that photo. And then the fog cleared again, and it was spectacular. I love that. It's a crazy photograph. 

This is photo from stage 9, the gravel stage that has, Wout, Kaden Groves, Quinten Hermans and Isaac Del Toro on the gravel. It's from the side. Then there's this Tuscan Hill, and these moody clouds. I like that. It's super cool, the sky is incredible. It was this crazy cloud in the sky, it felt like it was about to pour down. Then the gravel was so dusty, it was crazy; you got covered every time a car came past. I'd seen that spot on the map the day before, and I knew I wanted to shoot there. It's a super-clean photograph, which I always look for, you know, just a few elements to it. We were there for a good half hour before the race came. It was beautiful. I could have shot five different places there, and it's nice because that section was in Strade [Bianche] this year but we couldn't shoot it, because logistically, if you shoot there, you would miss too many other sections. So to be able to do that this year at the Giro was really, really nice.

Stage 10, the time trial. There's a photo of a Cofidis rider, and it's super blurry, and it's like this double exposure of the rider coming down to the bottom. And I love that. It's so weird, you know? It's like, why would you ever shoot it like that? And the answer is, because you can – why not? 

Time trials are so long and so boring, but we're in this super cool spot, and man, I was just messing around, you know, I was putting my shutter speed on stupid slow, like, one second, and you're just playing, like you're a kid having fun, basically. Like ‘Okay, if I do the weirdest settings in the camera, what happens?’ Some of it's terrible, and some of it's just really cool. I love that it's such a bizarre photo but there's enough of the bike brand, the helmet, the rider in focus that you know what it is, and you're left staring at it, like ‘how did that happen? How does the camera make that effect?’ It's super fun, I think.

Thank you to Harry for taking the time to answer our questions, and for selecting the very best of his images to share on the site. See the gallery below for the best of the rest...