Graham Watson

Graham Watson is a legendary cycling photographer whose images have helped shape the visual legacy of professional road racing for over four decades.

Beginning his career in a London portrait studio, Graham first discovered the Tour de France in 1977 — and from that moment on, his path changed forever. Trading formal portraits for full-speed chase scenes, he spent the next 40 years documenting the world’s greatest cyclists — from Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Greg LeMond, to Miguel Indurain, Lance Armstrong, Marianne Vos, and Chris Froome.

Often perched on the back of a motorbike, Graham’s photography was as much about the landscape and light as it was about the athletes. His images appeared in magazines and newspapers worldwide, and he became the go-to photographer for English-speaking cycling media through the 1980s and ’90s. He was also the founding photographer for Spain’s Ciclismo a Fondo, covering the rise of riders like Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain.

From darkroom prints to digital transmitters, Graham lived through every technical evolution in photography — while staying true to his instinctive, storytelling style. In 2016, he retired to New Zealand, where he now enjoys life on gravel roads, good food, and Belgian beer.

His final publication, 40 Years of Cycling Photography, is a visual retrospective of a remarkable career spent on two wheels, in motion, and behind the lens.