Blog Post

When S#!+ Goes Sideways (Part 1) 6

GuyB

5/4/2020 4:43pm

Okay, I'll 'fess up. I don't go looking for crash photos, but on the other hand, when they're there to be collected, I can't/won't shy away from collecting them. For some, they might represent a momentary blip on their radar. For others, they could have a big affect on their career. My job is to document what I see at the races.

I had one rider earlier this year who was less than pleased that I'd posted a photo on Instagram showing contact between himself and another rider just before a crash. I get that it might not be a highlight moment that they'd want to preserve, but I'm also not here to be their PR people.

I'm generally most often focused where I expect peak action (and style) to be. That's generally not where you'll find the crash shots. But over my time at Vital, here's a batch of photos from when gravity is about to have its way with some of the best riders in the sport. Let's dive into part one.

Martin Davalos had already hit the deck here. This might be the second bounce.

This was such an odd crash for Alex Martin at Muddy Creek. He got cross-rutted on a section that rarely produced any crashes.

We've hashed and rehashed this one between Dylan Ferrandis and Christian Craig.

Speaking of Christian Craig, here's another from a while back in Las Vegas.

Crashes come in all flavors, including mild low-sides.

Jordon Smith was not a fan of the sand at this year's Tampa round.

This was a big one for Aaron Plessinger in Salt Lake City.

Jalek Swoll (and a whole lot of other people) struggled with the whoops before the finish line in Tampa.

Here's Brady Gilmore's souvenir photo from Tampa.

I had some shots of this, but Grant Dawson's was better, so I'm sneaking that in.

Ouch. Cooper Webb's crash at Arlington this year was so weird. I'd spotted some unusual movement out of the corner of my eye, aimed the camera in his direction, and got three shots. The one that had him in the most unusual position was really soft, so here's what you get.

Ugh. That's no fun.

Sometimes you catch a bit of odd movement out of the corner of your eye, try and get there, but it's happening so fast that the camera focus never quite catches up.