It’s been a little over two weeks since the 10th edition of the Mark Gunter Photo Awards began and we continue to be amazed by the quality of submissions we’re seeing. Stunning landscapes, striking portraits, dynamic action shots – there’s been a bit of everything. Sifting through the photos has been a delight.
The Mark Gunter Photo Awards are an annual tradition here at Escape Collective and run in collaboration with Leeanne Gatien, Mark Gunter’s wife. Mark was a widely respected Australian cycling photographer who tragically passed away in 2015 from oesophageal cancer. The Awards are held every year to honour Mark’s legacy, showcase the best photography in the cycling world, and raise money for cancer research through Tour de Cure.
If you took some cycling photos in 2025 that reflect the beauty and passion of cycling, it’s not too late to enter the Awards. There’s a Professional category, an Amateur category, a category for photos taken with smartphones, and prizes available across the board. There are even prizes for the best shots taken by Escape members. You can find all the details at our announcement post from a few weeks back. Entries close at 11pm on Sunday January 4, 2026 (AEDT).
For now though, join us as we share another week’s worth of amazing photos from the competition. And if you haven’t seen it already, be sure to head on over to our week one showcase as well.
Professional category
Oli Munnik rides through stage 3 of the inaugural Gravel Burn, framed beneath a concrete overpass in the vast Karoo. With the heat unrelenting and the landscape unforgiving, this moment captures both the isolation and resilience demanded by endurance racing in South Africa’s heartland. | Photo: Fahwaaz Cornelius (@fahwaaz_c)
A Paris bridge commuter. | Photo by Romeo Oros (@romeooros)
The stunning views of the Seven Gravel Race, in the south west of Western Australia. Seven is part of the UCI’s Gravel World Series and the 125 km course includes challenging climbs, on different gravel surfaces, and a range of unique landscapes which will be the home of the UCI Gravel World Championships in 2026. | Photo by Daniela Tommasi (@daniela_tommasi_photography)
Kim Le Court-Pienaar won a Tour of Britain stage and it felt like a lot of pressure and redemption happened in this moment. The last time she raced the Tour of Britain she finished dead last. | Photo by Christopher Perry (@fullbeansahead)
A photo taken during the AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia. | Photo: Massimo Fulgenzi (@massimofulgenzi81)
Joanna, last year’s winner, finds a quiet spot in a cemetery somewhere in Tuscany, on day 3 of the VIA Race. Known for riding fast at night, she is leading this year’s event which started in Giovinazzo. | Photo by Edoardo Frezet (@edoardo.frezet)
Name a more sacred place in cycling than De Muur. That iconic climb in Geraardsbergen, where hundreds – no, thousands – of cycling fans eagerly await the arrival of the peloton. A natural stadium. The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The opening day of the Classics season. Finally, the race is back home. And the cycling fans? They’ve shown up in full force once again. | Photo by Stijn Bastens (@stijn_bastens)
At the end of the podium ceremony of this year’s Road World Championships in Rwanda I came across this young Belgian fan who was crying because her hero Remco Evenepoel lost the race to Tadej Pogacar. | Photo by Dirk Waem (@dirk.waem)
The racing between the Elite Pro Men during stage 4 of the Nedbank Gravel Burn was fast and unpredictable. This was the only time during the stage where we got far enough ahead to compose a shot. Through the back of a decommissioned, rusty, old farming double cab, I was able to capture just one of the many stunning backdrops the stage had to offer. | Photo by James Cameron Heron (@jamesheron_c)
I rarely use a flash and try to get the best look from the available light. This is always a challenge for low light and night racing. Construction lighting and street lights guided the way on course at the Littleton Twilight Criterium. | Photo by Ryan Muncy (@ryanmuncy)Amateur & Smartphone categories
Lucas Burgoyne after winning a very contested 80th Tour of Somerville. | Photo by Luis Bastardo (@luismbastardob)
Big‑mountain road engineering has reshaped Tibet over the past decade, opening a new playground of smooth tarmac and tunnels for high‑altitude road cycling. | Photo by Shannon Bufton (@serkcycling)
As the team didn’t have any races in the first weekend of August it ended with a training camp in not-so-sunny Denmark. | Photo by Klaus Hestkjaer (@hestkjaer)
Wout van Aert at the UCI Cyclocross Maasmechelen 2025. | Photo by Dennis Cornelis (@dennis_memorymaker)
Mads Pedersen waiting to ride onto the starting podium during Gent-Wevelgem … which he would ultimately win a few hours later in phenomenal fashion. | Photo by Naningo De Backer (@NDB_photopgraphy)
(Smartphone image) I’ve been intrigued by the long exposure option for Live Photos on iOS. I took this while riding and was able to keep a steady enough hand to keep the background in focus. The phone’s long exposure managed to capture an almost video game-like graphic. | Photo by Rick Dolezalek (@rickydolez)
Teuntje Beekhuis at the finish of stage 3 of the 2025 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women in Kelso. Stage 3 was the longest and hardest stage of the race, and it was made even more difficult by persistent wind and rain for most of the day. | Photo by Josh Wheeler (@jowsportsmedia)
Opening weekend of the Dutch National Cycling Series with the renewed DorpenOmloop in Drenthe, The Netherlands. | Photo by Marco Loman (@lomanmarco)
Since December 2024, I had been shooting on a Nikon ZF and was adapting an old Nikon AIS manual focus lens. On this day, I went to shoot bike racing not with a modern full frame camera and a 70-200 lens, but to capture scenes from the race more deliberately, one shot at a time. This was the fastest point on the course at the apex of a curve at the bottom of the descent down toward the Fox River in the historic district of Elgin, Illinois, a large suburb Northwest of Chicago. This photo was taken during the pro men’s race on this stop of Chicago Grit, and it was shot in Nikon’s default Deep Monochrome mode. | Photo by Jason Klein (@jasonklein)
(Smartphone image) Lord of the Squirrels (LOTS) is an iconic backcountry route near Whistler (British Columbia, Canada). Captured in late September, we set out for the full-day adventure in damp, cold conditions but were rewarded by the beautiful alpine scenery. | Photo by Alec Suriyuth (@alecsuriyuth)
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