It’s a little over a week now since entries opened for the 10th Mark Gunter Photo Awards and already there are so many amazing photos to sort through. Beautiful vistas, close-up portraits, actions shots galore – we’re seeing images of all kinds that capture the beauty of our wonderful sport.
These annual awards are held in honour of Mark Gunter (1974 – 2015), a much loved Australian cycling photographer who died tragically young of oesophageal cancer. The Mark Gunter Photo Awards are a celebration of Mark’s life and the field in which he worked, conducted in partnership with his wife Leeanne Gatien. Entry fees raise money for cancer research via Tour de Cure.
The gallery you’re about to see is a selection of the many wonderful photos that have caught our eye over the first week of competition. You’ll see photos from the Professional category, and from the Amateur + Smartphone categories, all of them indicative of the excellent images that are coming our way.
Want to throw your hat in the ring? Entries are open until 11pm on Sunday January 4, 2026 (AEDT). You can find all the details at our announcement post and on the Mark Gunter Photo Awards website. Alternatively, if you’d just like to vote for your favourite images, you can do so via Mark Gunter’s website, making a donation to Tour de Cure in the process.
Without any further ado, let’s sink our teeth into some of these amazing photos.
Professional category
Tudor Cycling Team pros Simon Pellaud and Jan Stöckli training on the UCI Gravel Suisse route toward Taveyanne during the Villars, Switzerland event. This high Alpine hamlet above Gryon, built in the 18th century, still lies off the grid. Its historic buildings make a striking backdrop – and it happens to be part of my home training roads. Yes, I’m a lucky man. | Photo by Alain Rumpf (@aswisswithapulse)
Jolanda Neff during her race in Nové Město na Moravě. | Photo by Aleksandra Sulikowska (@olasulikowska1)
Matteo Jorgenson going all-in on the Tacx trainer that’s set up for him to cool down at the team bus after a Vuelta stage – or is he pretending to? | Photo by Bram Berkien (@bramberkien)
Stora Skär is a somewhat unusual natural pier that reaches out into the Kattegat. It’s been on my radar as a location for some time as it is possible to ride all the way out to the large rock/observation area. By chance I happened to be close working on a project and we noticed the clouds had begun to open. We believed there was no chance of a sunset. However the brief break in the clouds gave us a phenomenal backdrop for maybe five minutes before the sun dropped below the horizon. Perhaps one of those “right place, right time” moments. | Photo by Chris Lanaway (@chrislanaway)
The peloton crossing railway lines during the Tour of Britain. | Photo by Dave Dodge (@pelotonpix)
Past Alessandria and deep into the plain of Northern Italy, Sofiane Sehili stops for the night during his Eurasia record attempt. | Photo by Edoardo Frezet (@edoardo.frezet)
Racing on trails surrounded by the native towering trees in the southwest region of Australia is a unique experience. This image was captured with a drone as riders competed in stage 1 of the multi-stage Cape to Cape Mountain Bike race. The peace and quiet of the forest was suddenly broken by over 500 riders as they descended into the forest. As soon as they were gone, the forest returned to its usual symphony of little critters and birds chirping, with a small cloud of dust as the only sign of mad activity left behind by the riders. | Photo by Daniela Tommasi (@daniela_tommasi_photography)
The technical stage 3 finale of the TDF into Dunkerque saw a crash take down Emilien Jeannière. The sprinter could not avoid the fall in front of him and collided with the barriers at high speed. | Photo by Gareth Quinn (@mightyquinnphotos)
This shot didn’t exist 15 seconds before I took it. I was circling around the Tour of the Res when I first spotted a rainbow. The day had been foul – wet, grey, miserable –and all I wanted was to get to the finish line and a cup of tea. But there it was: a full rainbow, arcing across the sky. I thought, that would be something if the race came along just then … | Photo by Gary Main (@garymainphotographer)
During the Paracycling World Championships in Ronse I had a chance to try to shoot in some other angles. | Photo by Gert-Jan D’haene (@justjean.media)
Swiss cyclist Simon Pellaud finds himself alone during the Nedbank Gravel Burn. | Photo by Bruce Viaene (@bruceviaene)
Mathieu van der Poel pushing his limits over the Tiegemberg in a solo charge toward victory during the 67th E3 Saxo Classic ME, all while being passionately cheered on by cycling fans. The mix of fiery supporters standing so close to the greatest champions – it’s what makes cycling truly unique. | Photo by Stijn Bastens (@stijn_bastens)
Photo taken during the time trial of the Tirreno–Adriatico in Versilia, captured with a prism lens. | Photo by Simone Lombi (@simone_lombi_fotografo)
As a big fan of cross, I was stoked to see Wout go to the front in the 2025 Maasmechelen World Cup. I made a point of going to one of the decisive points on the track hoping the trek through hordes of fans would be worthwhile. It was! | Photo by Patrick La Petina (@beyondhorizonmedia)
On 16 May, 2025 Dr Sarah Ruggins (@sarah_ruggins) claimed the outright world record for cycling the length of the UK and back, a total of 2,700 km, in 5 days 11 hours and 14 minutes. Growing up, Sarah was a promising track star, with aspirations of joining Team Canada as an Olympic hopeful. But aged 15, Sarah developed an autoimmune condition so painful it ended her running career. She lost the ability to walk, to use her hands, or move. She was transferred abroad for urgent 24/7 care and would spend years fighting to recover. Eventually Sarah took up cycling, learning to ride a bike for the first time. Within five months, she was competing in some of the world’s most challenging ultra-endurance cycling races, finishing near the top of the pack. | Photo by James Busby (@jamesbusbyimages)
A rare glimpse of Tadej Pogačar on the final ascent of Mur de Huy, his cool composure giving way to the raw effort of a rain-soaked day at La Flèche Wallonne. | Photo by Karter Machen (@kartermachen)
This was my first time seeing a gravel race this big. Gravel culture isn’t really that common in Asia, so every scene and every moment felt completely new to me. | Photo by Ian Chen (@ianssnhl)
Kim Lea Muller executes a flawless tyre-grab high above the park in the European Freestyle BMX championships. The light isolated her, illustrating her skill, focus and athleticism. | Photo by Jude Bytheway (@cyclingbytheway)
For this photo I cycled up the mighty Mont Ventoux and found a spot with a nice backdrop of the top. When Tadej and Jonas arrived, the moment became magical. The best climbers, on a lonely height both literally and figuratively. | Photo by Elias Rom (@rom.images)
The moments immediately after Ffion Drake won the British National Trophy CX Round 4 women’s race. The joy of CX etched across mud her mud-splattered face and beaming smile. | Photo by Andrew Smith (@andy.smith_photo)Amateur & Smartphone categories
Cyclocross riders race through the sand along the beaches in Sint-Niklaas. | Photo by Amanda Crow (@a_crow_photography)
Caught in the early winter light, a rider takes a corner at Calshot Velodrome November 2025. Calshot was designed by Ron Webb and at 142 m it is one of the shortest tracks in the world. | Photo by Alex Burton (@3elementsmedia)
(Smartphone photo) A friend was moving out of town and organized a last ride on a classic loop in Marin County. The ride started deep in the fog and cold, putting a damper on spirits. As we climbed from Alpine Dam up BoFax road there started to be signs of light. At the top of the climb, in a stand of redwood that offers good photos in most weather, we got the extra special treat of the perfect combo of fog and sun to get the light streaming through the trees. 100 meters down the road from this spot, we burst out into the sun, above the fog and had an incredible rest of the ride. | Photo by Hannon Ayer (@hannonayer)
Lotus Cars Cycle Race League and the racers head into their final laps. It was a gorgeous early summer evening and I was able to catch the riders heading past the a sunset backdrop with this wide-angle shot. | Photo by Lex Spedding (@lexspeddingphoto)
The line between success and failure is a small one. During the Men’s U23 European CX Championship Race, held in the sand dunes of Middelkerke, Aubin Sparfel of France had pulled out a small lead, when a minor misjudgement saw him clip the trackside barrier, which sent him over the bars and into the sand. | Photo by Gary Hibbert (@galerie_cycling)
Just below our village of Gryon in the Swiss Alps. We rarely ride this road – it’s way too steep – but sunset makes it kind of worth the effort. Alain, my husband, struggles up the climb, with the Dents du Midi (3,257 m) towering behind him. | Photo by Lillie Rumpf (@cyclingheidi)
In the Netherlands whenever there is a cycling event/race, the organizers have the opportunity to add a ‘dikke banden’ Fat Tyres Race, for children from the ages 2 till 15, to experience on a fun way bike racing. This is the start of the race for toddlers on their walking bikes. | Photo by Marco Loman (@@lomanmarco)
Vancouver winters are highlighted by rainy weather. Gloomy, stormy clouds brew over a cyclocross race in the district of North Vancouver, as four riders dance along a steep ridge. | Photo by Filip Funk (@filipfunkphoto)
Every year I come up to the Poggio hoping for the perfect finale. Last March I was finally rewarded by these two giants offering the most impressive duel I have ever seen on that piece of road. | Photo by Alessandro Federico (@alefederico_sport)
A hot, sweat-soaked day. Three more hours of waiting for the finish of this stage. Mathieu van der Poel was edging closer to victory, and as I stayed locked on him in the final kilometer, a strange spectacle unfolded in my viewfinder. Unsure of where to place my focus, I chose to capture the entire moment. The result: a wild and unexpected image. | Photo by Tim Staes (@cyclimage)
I learned from a friend that when my local weather forecasts 4 º Celcius and rain, it might snow at the highest point of Belgium. Each year we set out to chase ‘first snow’. This year was crazy. I left home around 04:00, arrived at the Hoge Venen around 06:00. Still pitch black and covered in snow. We crossed rivers and snow field, an epic day. On the way back to the car I made this shot. The street already free of snow, white treetops and my friend in his vibrant-coloured jacked made a perfect day in First Snow – a memory I’ll always enjoy thinking back to. Man, my fingers remember too. Gloves on and off 100x to press the shutter was so cold that day. | Photo by Loek Luijbregts (@Loek.Luijbregts)
This photo was taken during an amateur cyclo-cross, with the last leaves on the trees and a nice sunset. | Photo by Nicolas Sanson (@aeronico)
This was just one of 10 shots I captured the entire night of Unbound XL. I went to the race to specifically capture a few shots of the racers with a long exposure to see the starts in the sky. | Photo by Thomas Prehn (@photobolder)
During the 2025 Canadian Road Championships, the 200 km course was difficult, featuring heavy rain and a temperature of 10 º Celsius. | Photo by Michel Guillemette (@micguill_photosportive)
Scott Bowden’s Across Home Ground FKT attempt, from Arthur River to Bay of Fires, showcased some of the best scenery in Tasmania. | Photo by Luke Newhouse (@lukenewhouse_)
Kian Reid of Bear National CX attempts to clear the barriers in the Cat 1/2 Men’s category at Earth’s Biggest Cyclocross Series event at Woodland Park in Seattle, Washington. Even with the bike-over-racer crash, he took the top step of the podium, winning by almost three minutes. Over 1,100 raced throughout the day, with over 250 racers on the course at some times. | Photo by Steve Everist (@steveverist)
There is a group ride in Denver, Colorado around Cherry Creek State Park that departs very early in the morning. This photo was taken on April 1, 2025 on a very cold morning, when the group was not very large. Two stalwarts came out despite the cold and the darkness to get in their early season miles. I knew the time when the sun would rise, and I had positioned myself to get a silhouette image. | Photo by Reid Neureiter (@reidnewphoto)
(Smartphone image) The featured person in this photograph had just crashed out of an amateur crit race. He was being attended to in the back of an ambulance and consoled by his partner. | Photo by Blair Hunter (@hblair_photo)
Huge push to get started in the JW19 flying 200m sprint qualifying at the 2025 Queensland Track State Championships (Anna Meares Velodrome, Australia). | Photo by Mat Gilfedder (@matgilfedder)
So often on days like this every stop you spend a good 10 minutes thinking “is there somewhere better just around the corner” or you look around and spot other photographers and think “how did they get there”. This was not one of those days. This lovely young couple just about heard me and understood me miming taking pictures and let me into their cozy apartment on an otherwise cold and wet day. | Photo by Chris Wallis (@wallisphotos)
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