The Philadelphia Naval Yard is one of my favorite races to shoot. The back drop of the former Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard, with its mix of urban decay, working original buildings, and new construction, makes for dramatic shots. I was happy to see that parts of the course were similar to 2014, which took riders past certain buildings that make for great shots.
Unfortunately, we only made it for the very end of the men’s 3/4 and Elite race, but there was still plenty of time to get some great shots of the race and the buildings.
In the elite race, a group of three riders were able to get off the front about midway though the race. As the laps ticked down, Ryan DeWald (Team Skyline), Daniel Holloway (Giant Racing), and Stephan Hall (PA Lightning) worked together to keep their lead ahead of the field. On the final lap, Hall and Holloway watched each other as DeWald powered away into the lead. Coming around the final corner, he had a large enough gap to sit up and celebrate the win. Hall refused to quite and took second place ahead of the 2015 national amateur criterium champion, Holloway.