Published January 22, 2018 06:26PM
Balint Hamvas turns Love Affair with 'Cross into Photo Annual
The 2017/2018 ‘cross season marks the tenth year Balint Hamvas, the man behind cyclephotos.co.uk, has been hooked on cyclocross. “I visited a Cyclocross World Cup race in the fall of 2008,” said Hamvas. “I hadn’t heard of cyclocross before then, and all it took was one race to pull me in. It was love at first sight.”
PELOTON / Images: Balint Hamvas
Balint has shot more than 200 world class races since then, and for the last seven years, he has produced a big, glossy, gorgeous book dedicated to the season that was. Balint is an accomplished photographer and captures all the drama, beauty, suffering and mythology that surrounds modern ‘cross. But it’s his relationships with riders, mechanics, manufacturers, and other photographers and reporters that allow him to take us behind the curtain of elite cyclocross. We get the beauty, but we also get to see how the sausage is made, which gives his annuals a truly compelling flavor.
“Riders, teams, brands, journalists – they’ve all been involved in the stories shared in this book. I really value their contributions. Not only do their stories give context to my images, but they often write about topics that are not often discussed.” says Hamvas. “The book will have four main sections – one each about the World Cup, the Superprestige, the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee series and the World Championships in Valkenburg.”
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You can enjoy a selection of Balint’s images in the gallery above, but it is no substitute for the book – 250 pages chronicling all the major European races and the U.S. World Cups, paired with features that help tell the story of the 2017/18 ‘cross season. Balint is again funding his book on Kickstarter.
To pre-order the 2017/2018 Cyclocross Album make a donation of £35. For £5 more, you can add your name to the book. For £250, your book will be signed by one of the 2018 Cyclocross World Champions and Hamvas will throw in a limited edition print. Hamvas anticipates a July 2018 delivery date