A Day in the Life of Tour De France Photographers

There are few sporting events as grueling and chaotic to photograph as the annual Tour de France, the world’s premiere cycling race. The multi-stage race covers about 3,500 kilometers (2,220 miles) across just over three weeks. To capture great shots of the event, photographers are outdone only by the cyclists themselves.

A video by EF Pro Cycling, as seen on DIY Photography, follows husband-and-wife photographer team Ashley and Jered Gruber as they photograph the 19th stage of the Tour de France.

Working for the EF Pro Cycling team, the Grubers plan their route and scramble from location to location as quickly as possible to get the perfect shot at the right time and from the ideal vantage. While they have photographed the event multiple times, the Tour de France’s route changes yearly, so photographers must devise new plans for every stage.

As seen in the video above, Ashley Gruber is sporting a cumbersome cast on her hand. In a move many photographers can sympathize with, Gruber protected her gear while she slipped on an embankment, leaving her hand to suffer the damage. While Gruber broke parts of her hand, she added that “The camera is fine.”

“He’s a really, really good photographer,” Ashley says of her husband. “It’s super nice to have him as a teammate on a professional level. On a personal level, it’s just nice to have your person with you.”

Jered echoes the sentiment. “The fact that I get to work with my best friend every day is pretty awesome. It’s just the two of us together, and we figure it out…I absolutely couldn’t do this without her,” he says.

“On an average day, I think at this year’s tour, we take about 10,000 pictures,” Jered Gruber says as he browses the day’s photos. “I take a lot of pictures of just pretty much anything that looks in any way interesting.”

Ashley and Jered Gruber are both Nikon Europe ambassadors. In an article for Nikon Pro Magazine, Jered talks about the Tour de France. “It’s always interesting but there’s a certain point, with the routine the same every day, when you’re just kind of over the details of it. But, what’s always interesting and always different are the people on the side of the road. An amazing assembly of humanity shows up to watch the race.”