PEZ SEz: Just a few weeks earlier than the Cyclocross Worlds in Belgium – I obtained an electronic mail from PEZ-Fan Rick Potestio – with distinctive proposition – one I’ve not heard earlier than.  As an enormous CX fan, Rick was on his  was to attend the 2023 CX Worlds, and meant to color the motion in watercolors.  He reached out to PEZ to see if we may assist with media credentials, and I used to be all in – this concept match completely with our penchant for presenting tales you received’t see wherever else.  Right here’s the end result, and Rick’s account of his first time Portray the CX Worlds in watercolors.

Rick: I began portray races a number of years in the past as a stunt to advertise that 12 months’s CX Campaign theme “The Artwork of Cyclocross”.  As background: annually we suggest to our board a theme that can underly our advertising and marketing and messaging.  Along with the racing we create accent actions comparable to our annual Staff Competitors with a view to give the entire neighborhood extra methods to take part and compete.  In that exact 12 months, we tasked the groups to precise cyclocross with a distinct artwork type every week – portray, sculpture, poetry, efficiency, music, and so on.  Every week we judged the groups and awarded a venue flag to the workforce with the very best manufacturing.  I obtained on the market and began drawing… it was a clownish try at first, however quickly I used to be not solely having fun with it but in addition growing a method and solution to have interaction (wanting racing) that was vital and enjoyable.

Racers began asking to purchase the works, and my posts on instagram (@cyclosketch) obtained a variety of likes. So I assumed, why not attempt to make one thing of this? May I really set up myself as part of the scene?  I’m impressed by Greig Leach’s work and thought I would have the ability to seize cyclocross a lot as he does highway racing. Our media is actually the same- a sharpie and watercolor. Primarily based on his movies, I believe he’s portray within the studio from images.  I’m devoted to portray the motion and ambiance dwell… so my work is far more gestural and suggestive… every portray should be full in accordance with lap occasions.

Portray the Worlds
What an expertise!  My objective in portray cyclocross racing is to convey the vitality, velocity, and great thing about the racers and the game. The context, course and spectators are equally necessary as they type the idea and cause for the occasions.

Donning the vest and credentials of a UCI Media Cross was an honor.   After I nervously staked out a place on the prime of the Stairway to Heaven, the photographers jockeying for place checked out me quixotically as I had no cameras slung round my neck. Sideways glances turned to stares as I unpacked my stool, paper, paints and brushes. I felt awkward however at this level I used to be dedicated.

As racer’s charged up the steps, I discovered that some photographers have been inserting me of their frames…. that made me extra nervous, however gave me a measure of confidence within the general endeavor. Being within the zone reserved for media modified my perspective as a spectator however with my act of portray, I discovered that I had change into a part of the scene and motion itself.

Saturday dawned below low grey skies delivering a heavy mist paying homage to the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, the humidity soaked my paper, therefore the ink pens wouldn’t register and the watercolors bled uncontrollably. Later within the day it was drier, however a really chilly wind made for different challenges.  Sunday was much better with moments of solar.

I immediately realized with the primary lap of the primary race that capturing the motion was going to be far tougher than it had been at my residence race sequence, the Cyclocross Campaign. The course was designed for velocity even within the worst situations.  However the racers have been so unbelievably quick that I used to be significantly pressed to sketch them.  It’s essential that I seize the riders and their relative positions within the second they go by. I attempted to shoot a photograph as they approached; sketch their type gesturally; after which report their numbers. I used the remainder of the lap to finish the portray.

Reviewing the work, I see potential. It was a studying expertise that I’ll construct upon.  My ardour for the game has taken on a brand new dimension and I can’t await this coming season!

Race Notes
The photographer pool is massive – I’m positive a lot of them are well-known to one another. I used to be the brand new man… however lacking the cameras and equipment they didn’t take me significantly.  However as soon as they noticed me working, I had an immediate rapport with them. I used to be stunned by the overwhelming acceptance. Down time between races was spent hanging out and speaking. I traded contact information and hope to have the ability to maintain relationships.

Total, I used to be blown away by the talent and velocity with which the racers dealt with the deeply rutted, muddy and off-camber sections within the woods… most of this space was inaccessible to the spectators, so seeing this can be a matter of watching the movies – the drone was superb. There’s no sense of hesitation or lack of management in these racers (all of them ).

I used to be additionally impressed by the fan adulation for Felipe Nystrom Spencer. All the crowd would let loose an enormous roar as he rode by. After the race, he mingled with the followers, signing autographs and getting in photographs….he races the Cyclocross Campaign Race sequence, so he’s a well-known native right here in Portland, however he’s a star in Europe.

I used to be pissed off within the Girls’s Elite race because the  climate made portray tough and I attempted to seize the sections within the woods. I believe the work may have been higher. It was a lot tougher than I anticipated to seize sufficient element such that one may distinguish the racers…every has a particular character to their physique and place on the bike… however the variations are fairly refined and tough to catch in actual time. Between now and subsequent season I’ll be observe sketching from a variety of photographs.

Going ahead, I hope to have the ability to paint different US races and naturally the foremost European and World Cup races –  it might be fantastic to dwell in Belgium or the Netherlands throughout ‘cross season. That may represent an enormous dedication and expense, but when I get ok, it might be viable!

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Rick Potestio is an architect, painter and bike owner who based the Cyclocross Campaign Race Sequence.  Discover him at Instagram @cyclosketch
electronic mail: [email protected]