Bold claim: some rider headshots aren’t real photos at all. Every year, teams release a batch of portraits featuring their riders in fresh kit, captured at a pre-season camp against a neutral backdrop. Riders pose with a classic stare into the lens, sometimes crossed arms or hands behind the back, and with a range of expressions from broad smiles to neutral. This image is presented as the definitive formal record of that rider’s season on the team. The photographer clicks, and the moment passes, often becoming a forgotten artifact.
Yet a surprising truth lurks: the standout photo may be illusion rather than evidence. Some riders on a team’s roster may never have attended the training camp in question.
The first hints emerged while examining the Alpecin-Deceuninck website while exploring another story idea about hair—and whether the team’s sponsor, which markets an anti-balding, caffeinated shampoo, only signs riders with “good hair.” The pattern began to reveal itself through repeated, matching body cues across images.
The early indicators appeared with Tobias Bayer, Sylvain Dillier, and Luca Vergallito—three riders who appeared to be composites. Bayer showed a glaring skin-tone mismatch; the others bore a telltale vein on the right arm. Dillier’s case was muddied by Swiss national champion armbands, yet a closer look at his left arm suggested post-production additions.
As the search progressed, more questions arose. Why does Jimmy Janssens’ head look off? Is Edward Planckaert’s head unusually large? If Alpecin doesn’t hire riders for their hair, how does one explain a rider named Simon Dehairs on the roster? How far does this phenomenon extend?
In short, the definitive team portrait might be more fiction than photo, raising larger questions about authenticity in sports photography and PR storytelling. Would you accept a headshot that appears flawless but isn’t a genuine capture as accurately representing a rider’s season? What about the potential implications for fans, sponsors, and the riders themselves?
