Rapha Andes Prestige

On June 3rd, Rapha hosted the first North American Prestige ride of the year. The route was a 100+ Mile ride through the western Catskills. The route was challenging but incredible to photograph, with numerous backdrops and rapidly changing weather, there was no shortage of scenes to capture.

When we arrived at the start of the ride, we were enclosed by morning fog. It gave a dramatic feel to the start of the ride.

Rapha Prestige rides aren’t a race, but they do have squads of four that are meant to help each other across the Century ride.

Starting vibes.

We caught up with the mid-lead packs around mile 6. It was evident that climbing would be the theme of this ride, with over 10K of elevation gain.

Community.

Speed.

Sometimes you need to adjust the kit mid-ride.

King Kog fellas from Brooklyn.

Most riders decided on gravel bikes, which was the move. With a lot of the course having gravel and some single track.

Cows abound in the Western Catskills.

There was a very short pitstop at Horse Cycles.

Stay hydrated my friends.

At 11:30AM, the weather was still overcast. That was about to change in about an hour, with some clouds riders could enjoy some levity from the sun.

The front pack finished around 3pm, having started at 7am on this course that’s kind of insane.

You can’t count on cell service in the Andes, but you can count on beauty.

The start and finish were in the same location. Now uncovered from fog, all you saw was rolling green hills.

Incredible experience, thanks to Rapha for having me out.