Having the opportunity to photograph the World’s in the county of my birth was too good an opportunity to miss, and ‘God’s Own County’ didn’t disappoint.

I spent a few damp days recceing some of the courses, but you can only do so much. The rest is in the lap of the weather gods. The Women’s Elite race went to plan with a great vantage point on the climb to Lofthouse in glorious sunshine. The expectant crowds and press were witnessing the decisive move from Annamieke van Vleuten 100km from the finish. 

The Men’s Elite race was not such a happy hunting ground. Halfway into my walk up the climb of Buttertubs, a cyclist past me on the way down, stopping with the news the race had been re-routed. As sorry as I felt for myself, I had to feel worse for these hardy fans I passed on the drive down who now would have no reward at the end of their soaking ride.

The atmosphere in Harrogate was amazing for the three road races I covered. Dutch corner was a highlight with some fans donning wetsuits for the men’s elite race. The support was as much a part of the story as the bike racing itself.  Even if that did include a few dissenting voices. When I asked a sheep farmer on Greenhow Hill if this was the only time the race would come past their farm, the response was ‘Ah bloody ‘ope so’.

Dutch corner on Alpe D’Huez is famously one of the liveliest places on the Tour de France. So, when we heard that a new Dutch Corner, one in Harrogate for the World Championships had been formed, we knew we needed to sample the atmosphere. Even if the rain was biblical.

Dutch corner was easy to find; the road had around twenty-odd stencils of Mathieu van der Poel under the slogan “King Mathieu” leading us there. The corner wasn’t really a corner at all in all honesty; much more a kink in the road as riders make their way up the small climb of Cornwall Road/Harlow Moor Road. But what it lacked in degrees of bend, it made up for in decibels and dancing.

As Europop belted out from the three huge PA speakers carefully kept dry under a gazebo, over a hundred people crammed in to the area making a human tunnel for the riders to race through, dancing and taking over the entire road through as soon as the riders and broom wagon were through. There was an obvious appreciation from riders, especially those towards the back of the race as they had more time to enjoy the atmosphere – despite the grim conditions. We’re pretty sure we even saw Mitch Docker reach for a beer from a fan on the way past.

Speaking shortly after the race, Anneleen Bosma, Dutch cycling fan and 2019 Dutch National Zwift Champion, told us: “Without a doubt, this was the place to be. 

“Rain or no rain, we all danced and cheered on the riders as they came through the wall of people. What a day to be Dutch – but all other nationalities were welcome too, obviously!”

It’s just a shame that Dutch corner won’t be here every year.

Calm Before The Storm: As the Men's Elite World Road Championship peloton assembled before the start in Leeds, there was a sense of deja vue for some riders, as the site for the start was Millenium Square, just where the Tour de France had started 5 years previously.

The mood was decidedly different this time, as the World's riders were clad in National Team livery and there was little of the tension and high spirits always present at Le Grand Départ.

Instead, the riders were dressed to the nines for the cold, wet 7 hour race to come that afterwards, was deemed the hardest Men's Elite World Road Championship ever.