Mark Renshaw Leading Mark Cavendish to Finish Line, Sacramento. 2010 Amgen Tour of California. May 16, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mark Renshaw leads out Mark Cavendish with J.J. Haedo in pursuit 200 meters from the finish line in Sacrmento – Stage One, 2010 Amgen Tour of California.

I shot this photograph at about the 200 meter mark near the finish of stage one of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California professional bicycle stage race in Sacramento, California. While it is exciting to be at the finish line – though just about impossible given the crowds – bicycle racing fans can see a lot of amazing action before the finish line, especially this close to a group sprint finish.

I thought about calling this photograph “How It Is Done.” While Cavendish is a phenomenal sprinter, he is even more of a threat given the discipline and power of his Columbia HTC team. The end of this race was an object lesson in how this works. The Nevada City to Sacramento stage was viewed as a “sprinter’s stage” ahead of time. With only one climb of consequence on a route that was mostly downhill or flat, it wasn’t likely that anyone would get away and stay away until the end, and that turned out to be the case. The peloton rolled into Sacramento largely intact, which is a setup for a battle between the sprinters.

The race ended with four laps on a large loop around the capitol grounds before the final sprint. From the first lap it was clear that Columbia-HTC was setting Cavendish up for the sprint. The team was at the front with Cavendish drafting a paceline of five his teammates, each of whom was prepared to push until he couldn’t continue in order to deliver Cavendish to the finish line in the last 100 meters where he would be ready to jump. On each lap the HTC group became smaller as team members finished their pulls at the front and dropped off. When I made this photograph slightly more than 200 meters from the end, Mark Renshaw, head down, was pulling with everything he had to get Cavendish to the finish. A second later he began to pull to the side and Cavendish pulled through with J.J. Haedo (seen at far left) of Saxobank trying to overtake Cavendish… unsuccessfully.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 100mm
ISO 800, f/4.5, 1/125 second

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