World-renowned cycling photographer Cor Vos passed away suddenly on Tuesday morning at the age of 77. The Rotterdam native was an icon in the cycling peloton. Cor and his wife Carla – aka the Cor Vos agency have been our primary source for amazing race images since 2002.
Cor Vos with Tom Dumoulin
Cor Vos began his career as an amateur cyclist himself, later combining his passions for cycling and photography. Over the years, Vos became a well-known figure in the cycling world. In 1975, he founded his own press agency and for 35 years he was active in events such as the Tour de France from his motorcycle. On Tuesday morning, Vos suddenly fell ill and died in the hospital. He planned to retire in 2026 and travel with his wife Carla.
PEZCycling News founder and publisher, Richard Pestes: “He was the first legit cycling photographer to agree to work with us. So we stuck with him ever since. I think it’s been over 22 years. I met him at de Ronde in 2007(?) and then got to know him and his wife Carla over the years. Cor was from that generation that knew a different version of cycle sport than we do now. He started as.a photographer shooting film in black and white.
He was for me typically Dutch – that is very direct. It’s a trait we North Americans sometimes confuse as rudeness, which is a misunderstanding. But I always knew where I stood with Cor – there was never any bs. He was always loyal and treated us better than almost any other client I’ve worked with. Through the past few years of declining brand support for cycling media, Cor always worked with us and never denied us access to his vast catalogue of amazing images. He was a top class operator, and is a major loss to cycling media.”
The History Behind Cor Vos
The Rotterdam native’s name is synonymous with beautiful cycling photos. He has been a household name in cycling since the 1970s, even now that he’s no longer on the bike himself. Together with his wife Carla, he ran his photo press agency. He sent photographers all over the world and, from behind his computer, updated his database daily. And when there were no competitions, he scanned his old film and slide images to add to his vast digital archive..
Cor Vos with World champion Gerrie Knetemann
Cor Vos himself has a cycling background. “I was a racer, nothing special. I rode criteriums and short tours. But you need those to fill a peloton; you can’t just have winners. In 1968, the year Jan Janssen won the Tour de France, I crashed. Severe brain damage. That ended my career immediately. After that, I didn’t do anything for at least five years. Then I started taking photos. I’d never held a camera before, when I went to watch another club race. I’d bought a Russian camera—I still have it—and I started experimenting. I never took a course; I taught myself everything. Self-taught, they call it. I also taught myself how to develop on location.”
Vos experienced his first Tour de France as a photographer in 1975. Not yet on a motorcycle. “But if you want to be right in the thick of the race, that’s a prerequisite. So I went to race director Felix Lévitan with a journalist who spoke French. We said: ‘There are more and more Dutch successes, it’s time we let a Dutch photographer ride the bike.’ The following year, I was bike number seven. That’s how many photographers were in the race back then.”
Cor realised he started at a good time. There wasn’t much competition yet. And with the arrival of the TI Raleigh team, Dutch successes increased. “For the first two years, I rode with a French motorcyclist. He’s now 93, and I still send him a Christmas card. But I didn’t speak French, so I started looking for a Dutch motorcyclist. That turned out to be Joop Zijlaard, Michael’s father and Leontien’s father-in-law. After six years, he quit, and it was only then that I realised he’d always driven for me without a license! A good motorcyclist is so important. It accounts for at least forty percent of the photo’s quality. If I yell ‘stop,’ he doesn’t have to drive another hundred meters.”
Moto driver Joop Zijlaard
At one point, Cor got so busy that he hired a photographer. “And then another, and another. I arranged the car, bought the cameras, and paid all the travel expenses. Joop Zijlaard warned me: ‘Cor, you’ll teach monkeys to climb, and at some point they’ll throw a coconut at your head.’ That’s happened before, but most of them have been taking photos for me for years.”
The advent of digital photography not only meant a shift in Cor’s working methods, but also a redefined role for him. “After a hundred kilometres of racing, I’d take the cards out of the cameras and go to the press room. At some point, I thought: I’ll save a lot of money if I stay home and organise everything from Hoogvliet.” He rode his motorcycle less and less often, the last time being when the Tour de France started in Rotterdam in 2010.
Hard at work
Cor had a good eye for a great cycling photo. “I’ve been completely blind in my right eye since birth. Oh well, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Cor at 75, had no intention of quitting. “I still enjoy it too much, and I have the responsibility for several employees. But becoming the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t make much sense either. So my wife says: just keep going.”
Everyone at PEZ Cycling News sends their condolences to the Vos family and friends.
Tour de France 2010 – Cor Vos with Tour director Christian Prudhomme
# Thanks to WielerFlits for the history and quotes. #
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