The Images of 2024

Just before we leave the 2024 season behind and unveil big changes to the team for 2025 our photographer and media coordinator, Adam Winfield, takes a look back at his favourite moments, and images, of the year.

Attending training camp with the whole team was a real privilege and provided a great opportunity to create a portfolio of media incorporating all the team members, the only time of year when this was possible. Capturing a range of team photos, including unique formal shots for the website and sponsors was great fun but it was the chance to use the distinctive backdrops of northern Spain that made the images stand out.

it wasn’t just the natural landscape that provided a creative backdrop in Spain

The highlight of the year was without doubt The Women’s Tour of Britain, the team’s first World Tour race and the culmination of years of work, a real achievement, especially for Rick. It was a really proud moment when the team took to the stage in Welshpool to be introduced to the crowd alongside some of the biggest teams, and riders in the world.

a special moment in Welshpool, regrettably the only time the whole team lined up together at the Tour of Britain

Whilst off the bike, the Tour of Britain was incredibly challenging for the whole team, the girls came together and raced from the heart, turning heads, grabbing attention and really showcasing the strength and togetherness of the group.

With two immense break-aways resulting in combativity awards for Lucy Harris and Jo the whole team showed they weren’t intimidated by the biggest names and were prepared to go head-to-head with the stars of the sport.

A memorable moment of the week came when word reached us that the biggest team in the world had made it known they were not prepared to see one of our riders go off the front of the race again and were therefore going to mark us for the remaining stages!

Jo’s break on stage 3 gave me the opportunity to scout locations ahead of the race and choose a unique spot from which to shoot a defining moment of the team’s week in the north west.
thankfully I was able to make the most of the great view I had chosen but without a clear sight of the approaching riders, and no definitive word that Jo was still ahead of the peloton, I had to react quickly and hope that everything worked out in my favour. And thank goodness Jo knew to be on the right hand side of the road at that particular moment!

I can’t write about 2024 without remembering the wettest day of the racing calendar, but one which created the most atmospheric shots of the year, as the Tour of Britain headed up the Rake at Ramsbottom on the final day.
Whilst the weather forecast for the day had promised rain, the steep climb above Ramsbottom was dry when I arrived, the first drops only beginning to fall as the lead cars passed us. By the time the race proper arrived it was pouring down, but the rain only seemed to added an appropriate drama to the scene.

Bexy gives her all as she climbs the Ramsbottom Rake at the Tour of Britain

The National Championship Road Race was held in Saltburn, a venue that’s become a familiar location for racing over the last couple of years. The village of Brotton had embraced the racing and decorated the roads accordingly. Lucy Harris was no stranger to riding alone at races this year and timed an attack perfectly for me to capture her alone, through the colourful bunting.

Whilst victories were in short supply throughout 2024 the team still performed at the highest level and entering the penultimate round of the National Road Race Series, Lucy Harris remained in the overall individual lead, racing in the leader’s white jersey.
It’s always a great opportunity when I get chance to shoot individual riders at a race, it’s much easier than the usual scrum to get to the team only to find they’ve split up and are scattered across a tightly packed peloton!

The final race of the year, The Curlew Cup is always a difficult race to photograph, it never seems to attract many spectators and is raced over a roads that are predominantly bordered by tall hedges or stone walls.
The single big climb in the circuit does at least offer the chance to capture the whole race in a single frame.

One of the great things about working with a cycling team is never knowing what’s ahead, team performances, competitors, environment…… and as the team step up to new levels, so the challenges of recording and sharing their achievements increase.

Another highlight is planning for a new season, a new look, style and approach to keep things fresh and ensure the team, and their sponsors, are always in the spotlight. That’s what we’re up to now and I can’t wait to share the results with you, here’s to a fast, successful 2025, #morethanateam

Photos and text by Adam Winfield, Through the Lens Media