Letting a picture tell the story

I was going to write a blog on the Nove Colli. All 130km of it (yes, yes I did the short version), the Barboto which really is a wave of concrete and pulling out a sprint finish when I could no longer feel my legs. I was going to write about 30 degree heat, crazy Italians and how much I love racing in Italy where people actually say 'scusa' before overtaking you. I could have talked for ages about getting the racing buzz again and reeling in my bait.

But then the increasingly talented Tom Humpage sent me this picture of the final strait:

 And after that I didn't really have anything to say as I think this image is stunning. You can feel the heat, the slow motion of that final surge of energy, the crowds screaming; the head-down-don't-stop pounding, muscles releasing that last bit of power, minds focused. And all the time the Italian blossom falls. Now that's racing.