Behind And In Front Of The Lens

I seem to be 'on set' all the time this year, either in front of or behind the lens. It started with the Liquigas-Cannondale presentation in Milan, then team camp in Sardinia, followed by a trip up north for Paris-Roubaix.

On the cobbles as driver and 'grip' with Gardy.

In May, Mt. Etna hosted a large crew for the shooting of the commercial that ran on Vs. during the Tour. Sicily remains one of my favorite places in the world. It's easy to see why. Nibali's pals from home provided more entertainment than I could handle.

Great bike, great rider, great scenery, great spot!

Here's a couple of shots from behind the lens...

... and here's the added footage. We shot a different version of this, where Vincenzo finishes off his day in the saddle and heads into 'his' apartment. Thank you, by the way, to the village of Zafferana Etnea. I had to stand in and show him how the scene would go... here it is. It's actually my first ride on an Evo as well!

The Amgen Tour of California had me doing my usual thing when Liquigas-Cannondale comes to the US; however this time, we filmed our way across California and posted them all on Cannondale's Off the Front page. Stage three's episode had me going through all the team's vehicle preparation. It was nice having all these clips as a travelogue for me, as I didn't take a single photo during the entire race!

So at the Tour de France last month, it was finally my turn to try my hand at being the 'talent' (and I take liberties with that term). It's my second Vs. spot so I think I'm getting pretty comfortable with all this. Aside from ducking the rain and finding a good location, it took all of five minutes to shoot.

Finally, Peloton magazine teamed up with Cannondale for a contest this summer with the grand prize being a trip to the Tour de France to help and be an intern for Liquigas-Cannondale. Our contest winners couldn't have been scripted any better. Joe had camera experience as a weatherman, while James works at one of Cannondale's top retailers in the west. Again, I was left with no photos, just great memories and a couple of cool videos! Check it out...

Passionately telling Ivan something!