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FINISH LINE.

So, so happy everyone is ok

By Gruber Images

June 17^th, 2015

where to begin?

It started off as a beautiful victory. Lizzie Armitstead, all fiery colors and delight - threw her hands up and roared after a scorching sprint at the end of a fast first day of racing at the Aviva Women’s Tour of Britain. Her arms shot up, and the images Ashley’s took in the following moments stand as some of my all-time favorite salutes.

Then it went all wrong.

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disaster.

We have so many images from the first day of racing that make me happy - images I want to remember and show everyone - but it all pales next to what we witnessed on the finish line.

It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced in person - I’ve never seen anything like it. Maybe that means I’ve been lucky so far. Sure, I’ve seen crashes in pictures and on tv, but I’ve never watched it in such a manner, in person. From my vantage point high above the finish from a balcony, it was a horrifying spectacle.

I looked down to see Armitstead’s victory go horribly awry, and there she was hurtling into the group of photographers - then there were the screams - Ashley was in there. I panicked. My stomach turned, my hands were light and numb, I forgot about my legs, and I stood there paralyzed: close, but so, so far away. Riders flew in every direction. I kept shooting, but my eyes were only looking for one thing - that blue shirt - Ashley’s shirt. I saw it and breathed again.

Then there was everyone else, and I wasn’t sure if they were ok. Not at all.

the sequence.

I go back and forth as to whether it’s even right to show the following images, but I think they have value, and in a way, I want to present them as a way of getting these pictures out of my own head, to talk about them, to get them out in the open.

I don’t think anyone was truly at fault in this crash - I really don’t. Lizzie’s ecstatic celebration ended with her bike taking a hard turn to the left, straight into the small group of photographers. It was an accident. There was no time to respond.

It was terrible, but the more I look at these shots, the more I think it was just terrible luck.

Whatever you think, whatever your personal verdict might be, I’m just happy everyone is more or less ok.

And I hope I never, ever take pictures like this again. Really.

the crash.

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coryn Rivera's Hurdle.

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rider-less bike.

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the aftermath.

Lizzie lay on the ground for at least a half an hour. The medical crew gave her oxygen, put her neck in a brace - they took every precaution, and because they did, it looked terrible. It was hard not to imagine the worst. In those moments, little pieces of information began to swirl - I heard someone say that her head was ok. Did that mean her legs weren’t? Was she paralyzed? I think she might have broken her leg someone else said - maybe it was her hip, said another. No one had any idea.

megan guarnier.

Alongside the medics at the scene, there was US National Champion, Megan Guarnier, sitting there with her teammate, holding her hand.

picking up the pieces.

The normally fun podium ceremony was anything but. A cloud rightfully descended on the proceedings with so much uncertainty following Lizzie’s crash. In Lizzie’s place, her Boels-Dolmans teammates accepted her numerous accolades from her first stage triumph. It didn’t feel much like a triumph anymore though.

Everyone seemed to be a in a daze, not sure what to do next, not sure what to think, or how to react. I just wanted to leave. I think everyone felt that way.

Later, we got the almost unbelievable news that Lizzie had escaped with no broken bones. She was ok. Everyone seems to be ok.

Tomorrow, a new day. I can’t wait for our second day chasing the Women’s Tour of Britain. This is a special race, and we are looking forward to some happier stories.