Tête de la course

A passionate ode to cycling in word and image

Behind every race lie countless stories – captured in the blink of an eye. Photographer Klaas Jan van der Weij captures that fleeting magic like no other: moving unseen through the roadside verge, scanning the scene, and pressing the shutter at that perfect moment when light, speed and emotion align. His images take you from the euphoria of Bardet and Van den Broek glancing over their shoulders at the chasers, to Egan Bernal seemingly riding through a mysterious optical illusion, and on to an exhausted Greg LeMond in the showers of Roubaix.

Alongside these masterful photographs are the poems of Joost Hontelez – pure in language, sharp in tone. His verses celebrate the thrill of the race, the yearning for the start in Bruges, and the humour of a sonnet like Ronny De Cnodder. At times the poems mirror the images, at others they dance freely across them – yet always they form an unforgettable whole.

Bert Wagendorp, who wrote the foreword, concludes:

“All in all, I consider Tête de la course one of the most compelling combinations of poetry and photography I’ve ever seen: photographer and poet in top form, in a joint and heartfelt ode to cycling.”

An essential book for lovers of racing, art, and poetry.