Day five of our 12 days of visual treats from the Grubers! Today, it’s an ecstatic Purito after the Race of the Falling Leaves.

(Click on the picture to see it full screen.)

Joaquim Rodriguez, Il Lombardia

Jered: For a dazzling few minutes immediately after his second consecutive win at Il Lombardia, Joaquim Rodriguez looked like he had never finished second in his life, and certainly not in such heartbreaking fashion as he had the week before in Florence. It hurt to watch Rodriguez after his loss at the World Championships. I’m not just saying that, I mean it in the literal sense – my stomach hurt when he was on the podium doing all that he could to hold back the tears. So, it should come as little surprise when I say how satisfying it was to watch him stomp his rivals in such convincing fashion a week later. I know that the Lombardia win can’t make up for those grand tour near misses or that World Championships heartbreaker, but maybe, just maybe, he earned himself a moment of freedom to just be ecstatic and enjoy it.

Follow Jered and Ashley on Twitter; see their work on flickr and the Gruber Images website and watch out for them at races next year!

Image ©Gruber Images