28 photos and a number one super guy.

28 good quality and very sharp photos from Phil Melia here on the pixeptual site, including one of Hong Kong Fooey hitching a lift.

327 Penyghent photos from Anthony Crosland

Loads of photos of loads of riders pulling all sorts of pained expressions on their way up and down Penyghent here

Hundreds of Hi Res photos by Phil Haygarth on Flickr

My brother and many times Three Peaks finisher Phil was sitting it out this year after a house-move the day before and a very busy year. Thanksfully, he and his family helped me out on the middle section of the route - Chapel le Dale and Ribblehead

Phil's just posted LOADS of photos on Flick from his lovely Nikon D200 - lots of of me and my bike changes and loads of others of the leaders and other riders.

Slideshow also below of the latter...

Ian Cleverly and Simon Sarsbrook

Simon Scarsbrook's 13th ride in the Three Peaks - a feat in itself, was Ian Cleverly's 4th and Guy Andrews' third ride. The annual pilgrimage from London for the Three vets from Mosquito Bikes RT was not undertaken unwillingly... enthusiasm reigned.

All other rides pale into insignificance against this monstrous approximation of a 'cross race. Much as I love the fast and furious hour-long version that takes up the rest of the winter season, it does not compare. Road races, crits, even sportives: all are fine and dandy for the summer months, but they are a means to an end – all preparation for the big day.

Click here for the full blog post

Ireland's Greg May's energeting personal blog of 2009

Greg May writes an energetic tale of his PB in this year's race. Missed his goal time of 4:30 by five minutes but it seemed his preparationw as to blame... still he enjoyed some bits!

I love the road section at the start, fast, technical, and scares the crap out of the pure MTB heads.

Read in full here on the MTBIreland site

Market Harborough's local news... 3 Welland Valley finishers

Adrian Killworth, Andrew Wood and Dean Barnett of Welland Valley CC all rode this year's Three Peaks, this article in and their local paper does em proud.

Interestingly, there was very little in the three 'local' papers to the race this year; The Westmorland Gazette, Craven Herald and Lancaster Guardian all had very short mentions of the race... disappointing coverage compared to previous years.

Hundreds of Penyghent pics from Martin of CyclingImages

Some truly gobsmacking shots of pretty much all of the field on their way up and/or down Penyghent here from CyclingImages. Click on Sam's tired face to see the huge gallery.

XXC Mag: Phil Ingham article and photos

British Cycling's web manager and rapidly out-obsessing-me Three Peaks fanatic Phil Ingham has put together a great article for XXC magazine in double-fast time.

The mag then fatures some of Ian McVety's photos from the race.

XXC Mag is a PDF eZine dedicated to endurance mountain bike racing and riding. XXC collects personal experiences and photos from pro and amateur riders and racers from across the country and around the world, and attempts to show the beauty and the pain of the sport. The eMag can be viewed online or downloaded at xxcmag.com.

See below - and click it for full screen option to read...

Andy Nicoll's puncture-spoiled race

Bingley's Andy Nicoll had plans for a sub 4hr ride this year, and looked good fot it... until punctures had their way...

This really threw me as I knew I only had hand pump pressure in my back tyre which means that the road section would be slightly slower and I had to tackle Pen-y-Ghent lane on a less then perfect set up.

Sounds like one of those classic tales of heartbreak this race brings on every year... we've all had 'em - poor Andy - next year, eh?

Read his blog post here

Two years in... (at least) eight to go.

I've just heard from British Cycling's Web Manager Phil Ingham, who rode his second Three Peaks this year and is well and truly bitten by the bug... already talking of completing ten events...

I first chose to eat a bag of crisps - and don't all email in telling me off for my antiquated re-fueling habits, it works for me - on the downhill section from Cold Cotes to Ingleton and only succeeded in inhaling most of the crisp fragments as the slipstream upended the bag into my face. I then coughed them up for a couple of miles, missing several passing wheels in the process, before finally trying to settle myself down with a drink. I promptly dropped my nearly full bottle and had to stop and retrieve it. Streams of riders seemed to be passing me and I totally lost my rhythm.

Read his great perspective on the British Cycling site here

16 Flickr photos from Theo Stead

Spotted this link on the official 3 peaks photo page - thanks Keith !

Great coincidence (right) that me and my mate Jase are caught like cyclocross ships passing. If there is such a thing.

Pete Hartley's 2009 pics from Gill Garth and PYG

Roughly 1 billion photos from Pete Hartley on the Sleepmonsters website

1. Above Gill Garth

2. Above Gill Garth

3. Above Gill Garth

4. High on PyG (12.15-13.10)

5. High on Pyg (13.10-13.30)

6. Climbing & descending PyG (13.30-13.45)

7. Climbing & descending PyG (13.45-14.05)

8. Climbing & descending PyG (14.05-14.40)