Cycling photography for August The Local East Coast Australian Time is plus 30 minutes Chris Thater Memorial Criterium Ronde van Nederland US Criterium Championships Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Tour du Limousin Coppa Agostoni La Grand Boucle Feminine Volta a Comunidade Galega Clasico RCN Vuelta a Burgos Mount Evans Hill Climb Vuelta a Castilla-Leon Volta a Portugal Tour de 'Toona NORBA - Deer Valley Chris Thater Memorial Criterium Held one week after the US Criterium Championships, the Chris Thater Memorial Criterium is held in memory of a rider killed by a drunk driver. Douglas Sheppard was there to capture some of the action. 7 UP anyone? 'Will you please sign my back?' An Irish lass - Before the start Laura Van Gilder - Before the start A crash - That'll make a mark... Some action - From the women's race. The finish - Women's race Ronde van Nederland The Netherlands' national tour, the Ronde van Nederland (2.1) runs from August 21-26 this year. A contributor to cyclingnews, Ruud Voest, supplied cyclingnews with several of the following pictures. For more pictures by Ruud, please take a look at his website. Erik Dekker (Rabobank) - In the orange leader's jersey Main peloton - During stage one Fabrizio Guidi - Happy stage one winner Max Van Heeswijk (Mapei) - Wins the last stage Erik Dekker (Rabobank) - Smiles after his overall win in the Ronde van Nederland In addition, Jan van den Berg sent some shots of riders warming up in the prologue. Jeroen Blijlevens - Discusses tactics with a Polti teammate. Udo Bölts - Ironman in the making. Gianluca Bortolami (Vini Caldirola) - A surprised look. Jacky Durand (Lotto) - Starts to wind it up. Andrej Hauptmann (Vini Caldirola) - On the turbo trainer Vladimir Smirnov (Palmans) - Looking relaxed and focused And more from Dennis Philippi... Sergei Ivanov (Farm Frites) - Warms up Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) - During the prologue Erik Dekker (Rabobank) - Just after finishing his winning ride Gianluca Bortolami (Vini Caldirola) - Rides during the prologue. Romans Vainsteins (Vini Caldirola) - During the prologue Matt White (Vini Caldirola) - During the prologue. George Hincapie (US Postal) - Powers along Glenn d'Hollander (Lotto) - In full skinsuit US Criterium Championships The following pictures of the US Criterium Championships in Downers Grove, Illinois were kindly supplied by the organiser, Ken Clark. USCF Men's championships - Rahsaan Bahati looking good Rahsaan Bahati (Mercury) - Winning the USCF Championships Rahsaan Bahati - Holds Championship trophy aloft Laura Van Gilder (Charles Schwab) - Wins the women's championships Women's podium: Mayolo, Reinhart, Van Gilder, Freedman and Young The field together on Main Street - USPS USPRO Championships Roy Knickman - Hardest working yet least rewarded These were taken and sent in by Clark Maxwell: Antonio Cruz - And the Saturn team sign in. Henk Vogels (Mercury) - Rides to the sign in Scott Cochrane (Jelly Belly) - Signs in US Postal's Marty Jemison - Relaxes before the race. The field - Lap one The pace car - On lap one The field - Main street of Downer's Grove Peloton - Strung out A Saturn rider - Off line around a corner. The speed - Amazing out of the corners The bunch - Lap two An early break A 7UP-Colorado Cyclist - Toward the rear of the field. Henk Vogels (Mercury) - Up the front The view - From the road. The peloton - Speeds away. The peloton - Strung out on the closing laps. The peloton - On the second to last lap. The rear of the field - Onto the finish straight. Finish line - In the distance Laura Van Gilder - Women's winner (by Phil Marques) Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Held the week before the US Criterium Championships, the Manhattan Beach GP National Series event was hotly contested by the stars. Kenneth Samuels of Photographic Experience took these pictures. The finish - Of the men's 1/2 race Antonio Cruz (Saturn) - After the men's Pro 1/2 race. Rahsaan Bahati (Mercury) - A future star of US cycling Nicole Reinhart (Saturn) - Winner of the Women's Pro 1-3 race Tour du Limousin This year's Tour du Limousin was a close battle between Patrice Halgand and Jean-Cyril Robin, with the former prevailing on the last stage. Colombian Félix Rafael Cardenas (Kelme) - Wins the last stage into Limoges Saulius Ruskis edges out Sabastien Hinault - Third place in the final stage Patrice Halgand (Jean Delatour) - Gets the flowers Coppa Agostoni The second race in the "Trittico Lombardo", the 1.2 Coppa Agostoni on August 17 follows on from the Tre Valle Varesine (August 16), with the last race being the Coppa Bernocchi on August 18. This year, the Agostoni went to Jan Ullrich. Jan Ullrich (Deutsche-Telekom) - Wins the 54th Coppa Agostoni in Lissone Jan Ullrich (Deutsche-Telekom) - Celebrates on the podium La Grand Boucle Feminine Also known as the women's Tour de France, Le Grand Boucle Feminine is equivalent to the Giro in terms of ranking. Here are a couple of shots courtesy of James Victor, Australian team coach. Australian team - Pictured in front of the Piazza Duomo before the start of the race Australian team - At the presentation before the race Race favourite - Edita Pucinskaite (Alfa Lum) Zulfia Zabirova (Acca Due O) - Flanked by two hostesses after winning stage 11 Joane Somarriba - Toward second place in stage 11 Portrait of a Spanish rider - Joane Somarriba Arrola in yellow Joane Somarriba - On the podium after holding onto her jersey The podium after stage 11: Somarriba, Desbouys, Nayah, Slioussareva, Zabirova, Polikeviciute, Stiajkina and Bubnenkova Joane Somarriba - Rides in yellow during the last stage Joane Somarriba - Driving along the cobbles on the Champs Elysees Joane Somarriba - Leads her teammate, Edita Pucinskaite Somarriba - Congratulated by a teammate The final podium: Pucinskaite, Somarriba and Loewenguth Volta a Comunidade Galega Following on from the Tour of Burgos, the Spanish Tour of Galicia is another four day stage race, ranked 2.2. Argentinian cyclist Martin Garrido - Crosses the finish line of stage one The bunch sprint - Stage one Kazakh Andrei Teteriouk (Liquigas-Pata) - Wins the second stage to Santiago de Compostela Andrei Teteriouk - In the leader's jersey after winning stage two Clásico RCN The Clásico RCN (August 11-20) is Colombia's second most important stage race after the Vuelta in June. The following pictures are provided courtesy of Elcolombiano.com and Haroldo Camacho. Suffering on the climbs - Intense heat hovering at 40 degrees centigrade Colombia's anti-guerrilla peloton - Rolls past an army outpost near Medellín Julio César Aguirre - Barely has enough left to raise his hands at the finish Ivan Palacio - Salutes the crowd At the end - It all boils down to this! A breakaway - That wasn't Another work day in the mountains Clapping or praying - The peloton speeds past these two fans... Find the one who is not hurting - Stage 5 Tour de 'Toona The Tour de 'Toona, in Altoona, Pennsylvania is another important stage race on the US National Calendar. Douglas Sheppard and Phil Marques sent us these pictures. Gord Fraser (Mercury) - Interviewed after stage 1 Elita's Sarah Ulmer - Lines up for the first stage, resplendent in the yellow jersey Gord Fraser - In the final criterium, signalling his overall GC win. Crash - In the Pro 1/2 criterium Pam Schuster and Julie Young - Autotrader.com team Elizabeth Emery - Altoona criterium Tracey Gaudry - In the Altoona criterium Laura van Gilder (Charles Schwab) - In the Altoona criterium Lyne Bessette - In the Altoona criterium 3-time stage winner Sarah Ulmer (Team Elita) - During the criterium Odessa Gunn - Leads the field in stage 6 Vuelta a Burgos The Vuelta a Burgos (Tour of the Towns, August 7-10) in Spain is just four stages, but carries a 2.1 ranking. It's another important race for Vuelta a Espana candidates. Alberto Martinez (Euskatel-Euskadi) - Kissed on the podium after winning stage 1 Felix Garcia Casas (Festina) - Rides during stage 1 Andrei Tchmil (Lotto) - Wins stage two in front of Pascal Herve and Scott Sunderland Mount Evans Hill Climb The Top of Mt Evans in Idaho Springs USA is 14,200 feet, making it an ideal finish for a bicycle race. Neal McQuarie braved the mountain to take some spectacular shots of the race. A picture from the top of Mt Evans - 14200 feet above sea level Clark Sheehan and Chris Fisher - Trying to get back to Scott Moninger Mercury's Scott Moninger - Battles the mountain alone Kimberly Bruckner (autotrader.com) - Winner of the women's race Erin Light (Red Rocks Velo) - Winner of the Senior women's category 3 Vuelta a Castilla-Leon The five day, five stage Vuelta a Castilla-Leon starts the Spanish Tours off again in the second half of the season. This race also gives the Spaniards who haven't ridden the Tour de France a chance to get some race miles in for the Vuelta a Espana on August 26. Alain Turicchia (Amica Chips) - Celebrates as wins the second stage Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano - Rrides in front of his brother Igor during the fourth stage Stefano Casagranda (Alessio) - Shouts in triumph after winning the fourth stage Francisco Mancebo - During the last stage Francisco Mancebo (Banesto) - Wins the final stage and the overall Volta a Portugal Portugal's biggest tour is the Volta a Portugal, held this year from July 24-August 6. Here are some shots of the race. David Latasa (Banesto) - Rides a bicycle created in the 1900s Action during the Volta - The bunch in the heat The peloton - Pass by a donkey during the 8th stage Jose Garrido - Rides together with unidentified cyclists on his way to winning stage 8 Jose Garrido (Benfica) - Raises his injured arms as he crosses the finish line Pedro Horrillo (Vitalicio) - Smiles as he crosses the finish line to win the 9th stage Candido Barbosa (Banesto) - Crosses the finish line to win the 11th stage NORBA Round 3 - Deer Valley The USA's premier off-road series in summer is the NORBA series, comprising cross country (short and long course), dual slalom and downhill racing. Kim Morris was at round three of the series, held in Deer Valley, Utah, and kindly sent us these pictures. Chris Sheppard (Can) Haro/Lee Dungarees - Men's Short Track winner Seamus McGrath - Men's short track runner up Steve Larsen (USA) LL Bean/Mongoose - Bloodied Women's 3rd place - Mary Grigson (Aus) Gary Fisher/Saab Women's runner up - Jimena Florit (Arg) RLX Polo Sport Want some more? For more cycling photography, please consult our monthly archives