Tour de Pologne

And there it is! Another 2025 sporting event checked off in my calendar and on my camera's memory cards. This time, it was the Tour de Pologne and its grand finale – the individual time trial in Wieliczka. You might ask, "Dude, why the time trial of all things?" Well, let me explain.

First of all, this stage was on a weekend, and as a respectable working man, on weekdays I chase my deadlines, not cyclists. Simple as that! Secondly, and most importantly, I’ve already had a traumatic experience with shooting a peloton. Seriously, I tried it once, and that was enough. Imagine this: a hundred guys zipped past my lens in about 30 seconds and... poof, they were gone. The joy of shooting was over before it even began!

But back to Wieliczka 2025. Let me tell you one thing: it was HOT. Like, inhumanly hot. The only appropriate attire for the day would have been swim trunks. All the "civilians" were shuffling along the roadside like zombies, desperately searching for a sliver of shade, while these incredible guys on bikes had to squeeze out every last watt of power they had left.

I set myself up with my camera on the final kilometer of the route. This was the moment and the place where you could see absolutely everything on the riders' faces. It wasn't just a race against the clock and their rivals. It was a battle against their own muscles, their lungs begging for mercy, and the scorching heat pouring down from the sky. Fatigue, sweat, and determination all mixed into one incredible picture. Every face told the story of the hundreds of kilometers they had ridden that week.

And you know what? It’s for moments like these that I love sports photography. For that raw, unfiltered passion and emotion that you just can't fake. How much strength and character do you need to push yourself to the absolute limit in that kind of heat all the way to the finish line?! Mad respect, gentlemen!

And me? I was sitting so close that I could literally feel the whoosh of air as the cyclists flew past. And now I have the photos as a souvenir. And some more hot memories, too. Both literally and figuratively!