CyclistViva Espaa: the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa in picturesThe 2024 Vuelta a Espaa was meteorologically speaking a race of extremes. Scorching temperatures in the south of Spain were followed by foggy deluges in the north. While this presented problems for the riders, it also made life harder for the photographers trying to capture the action.Its horrific, says photographer Chris Auld. You think, Oh, this is going to be great the fogs going to look amazing. But really, youve got no view and its the worst possible scenario. Then youve got to somehow edit the pictures.Auld knows his business, having worked on WorldTour races since 2017 and covered five Vueltas. While it can be a solitary pursuit at times, if things go awry the informal alliances that form between colleagues can be invaluable. Related Posts Grand Tour 2025 route rumours: What we know so far Vuelta a Espaa2024 reflections: PrimoRogli victorious, Australias champions, Equipo Kern Pharma and Max Poole shine The 21 best photos from the Vuelta a Espaa2024 We share transport and accommodation to keep costs down and well share pictures as well, says Auld. So if youve missed something your clients need, someone else can sort you out. It gives clients more bang for their buck, since we can cover different angles and more of the race.As with any professional group, there are hierarchies: Youve got day photographers in their coloured bibs who are lower in the pecking order than the full-timers or whole race photographers. And then the guys on the motos get priority over everyone. Thats just how it is.Ive been around a while so my colleagues will let me get a spot on the railings when I need it. You get guys turning up at the finish line of the final stage who dont know about the hierarchy and try to muscle in. Suffice to say we soon let them know how it works.And when you do finally get the spot you need, the next challenge is getting the right angle.Im desperately just trying to get rid of all the horrible advertising signage in the background, while the race organisers are doing everything in their power to get it in. If we shoot it without advertising its better for us. Its cleaner, its nicer, and its available to other brands that dont want images containing rival logos.Unlike the Tour de France, which keeps everyone at an unrelenting pitch of mild panic for the whole three weeks, the Vuelta is calmer.The Vuelta bosses are cagey about the information they will give you. They might say, You cant access this climb after 3.30pm, even if youve got your official sticker. I absolutely had to get the climb shot for my client so I couldnt take the risk and went straight there. Lo and behold, my colleagues shot the rest of the race, rocked up after 3.30 and drove straight through.It was insane when the Tour started in the Basque Country last year, but at the Vuelta the crowds were smaller. The Spanish fans are pretty respectful and you dont get those walls of people that you get at the Tour. Its easier to cover.There are still plenty of rules for photographers to follow, however, and dealing with bureaucracy is a constant challenge.Driving is another challenge, although easier than in France: Instead of closed roads, the Vuelta uses rolling roadblocks. That means we can drive towards the race instead of away from it, which gives us more flexibility and the chance to make more shots. You find the race, stop, shoot, and then hop back in the car. If they do a loop, it means you will see them twice and get two shots, whereas at the Tour, if youre behind the race, thats it, youre finished.This does have its downsides, though: The Granada stage had a really short loop, so we tried to get them on the climb twice. Unfortunately the broom wagon riders were going so slow that it looked like the lead vehicles were going to catch the back of the race. I was in one of the last cars behind the race police coming past and the road was getting so narrow and tight.As for those extreme temperatures, Auld thinks starting the stages earlier might be the answer: At 5pm it was still over 40C on some stages and yet theyre starting the races at the hottest time of day.An earlier start would also help with the photographers diet: We get back to the press room at 9pm, at which point you start your three hours of editing. Its why you spend so much time at McDonalds on a Grand Tour.The 2024 Vuelta a Espaa in photosMain image: This is early in the race when I still had some enthusiasm for sign-on. Eventually I gave up going to them because theyre the same every day and clients stop using the images too. Here I managed to find a different angle of Wout van Aert in the leaders red jersey, which was something slightly new.Chris AuldBike races have a tendency to put a horrible electronic screen behind the podium riders nowadays, which is why I look at every possible way of avoiding this screen to stop it ruining the pictures. Heres Wout again on Stage 3, checking how he looks in the mirror before his jersey presentation.Chris AuldThis is Ben OConnors huge solo win at Yunquera on Stage 6, where he put four and a half minutes into everyone else. It was reasonably easy to get a good spot on the line to catch the win; the struggle is avoiding all the advertising signage. As for Ben, he endeared himself to the public with the way he handled himself. It seems like he might have changed a bit since that Netflix series.Chris AuldOn Stage 3 it was about 40C. You see fans standing by the road for hours with no shade and I just think theyre crazy. I went into this tunnel just to keep cool, and thats where I caught Visma-Lease a Bikes Edoardo Affini with his yellow jersey standing out against the grey concrete.Chris AuldMy colleagues thought I was nuts for bothering to shoot the depart of Stage 6, which started inside a Spanish supermarket. But to me it was the story of the day. Its the Vuelta in a nutshell. Im sure Carrefour were over the moon with how much coverage they got, although I suspect Lidl-Trek were a bit disgruntled.Chris AuldThis is EF rider Owain Doull just before the peloton did the double ascent of the category 1 Alto de Hazallanas on Stage 9. There were some boys at the back suffering in the heat, and getting the water-over-the-head shot while theyre riding just requires being in the right place at the right time.Chris AuldI actually prefer shooting in this kind of sparse, scorched landscape in the south of Spain, as opposed to the Basque Country were everything is tree-lined and green and could be Yorkshire. This looks more like the Vuelta to me. It was Stage 9 on the way to Granada and this was a good place to stop, with the road arranging nicely underneath the pylon and the overlapping hills.Chris AuldAround parts of northern Spain the scenery can be very samey for the whole day just rolling green hills forever. Before Stage 13 my colleague saw this concrete roof on Google Street View and we thought wed go for it. If the parcours is a bit bland and the bunch is together all day, then you need to find new ways to get a good range of images.Chris AuldThis was Stage 15 on Cuitu Negru, one of those super-steep climbs the Vuelta is famous for las rampas inhumanas where the gradient hit 24%. We had to get a ski lift to the top, and again it was thick fog, which is far from ideal as you just end up with a blank backdrop. You can see the pain on Mikel Landas face, partly from the steepness, partly because he is being dropped by his main rivals in the last few kilometres.Chris AuldWildcard team Kern Pharma were the story of the Vuelta and will have embarrassed a lot of the bigger teams. Here, Pablo Castrillo is taking the first of his two stage wins on Stage 12. Its a cresting shot and I tried to maintain a clean background; I would have liked the Spanish flag to be fully unfurled, but Ill have to live with that.Chris AuldBecause Primo Rogli spent so little time in red only taking it off OConnor in the last couple of stages thats why the red Specialized bike is at the front of the picture of the team celebrating in Madrid. The bike was never ridden. Its come about because Tadej Pogaar took his bike onto the podium at the Tour and now all the bike brands want it for marketing purposes.Chris AuldThis was one of the few shots I got of Rogli in red. At the final stage time-trial in Madrid I had to be really careful about where I stood. The fully barriered streets meant it was hard to get around, and I darent stray too far from the podium as Id need to be there as soon as Rogli finished the stage.Chris AuldStage 20 was the only road stage outside of the first week where Rogli wore the red jersey, so I couldnt afford not to get some images of him in it. On the Picn Blanco climb I got as low as I could to take this photograph, and I like the way the fans being on an upper bank above the riders gives it a nice, enclosed atmosphere. Related Posts Grand Tour 2025 route rumours: What we know so far Vuelta a Espaa2024 reflections: PrimoRogli victorious, Australias champions, Equipo Kern Pharma and Max Poole shine The 21 best photos from the Vuelta a Espaa2024 The post Viva Espaa: the 2024 Vuelta a Espaa in pictures appeared first on Cyclist.