January 1, 2026
2025 was not just a big bike ride. It was mostly made of family time, client work, emails, too many hours looking at screens, laundry, taxes, and all the usual logistics of adult life. Somewhere in between, there was a healthy amount of riding. And on some of those rides, I took photos.
This post is about ten of them. Ten frames that survived the “why did I even shoot this?”, the edit, the second edit, and the eventual “OK, I’ll give it five stars” phase. They’re my personal favorites from the year, a way to look back, slow things down, and make sense of what I’ve been doing with a camera while riding my bike.
I shot roughly 30,000 photos in 2025. That’s not unusual for a working photographer, actually it’s not even that much. Which probably explains why I sometimes wish I were better at what I do. Good photography isn’t about YouTube tutorials or trendy presets, it’s about practice. Trial and error. Repetition.
Choosing just ten images out of that archive turned into a slightly masochistic exercise. But reviewing them also became one of the best ways to relive the year: the people I rode with, the places I visited, the conversations, the weather, the fun and the miserable moments between the “hero shots.” It also forced me to reflect on what keeps showing up in my work, sometimes without me even realizing it.
Recurring themes
One big pattern is hard to miss: small cyclists in big landscapes. That’s probably not accidental. It’s why I ride in the first place. Being out there makes everything else shrink a little. We’re tiny compared to mountains, valleys, weather systems, and geological time. Our worries, ambitions, and carefully curated plans tend to fade when you’re alone on a road with nothing but sky and rugged peaks around you.
There are a lot of mountains in these photos too, no surprise there. I live in the Alps, and I’m endlessly drawn to ridgelines stacking into the distance, valleys opening one after another, and landscapes that tell stories across different timescales. The long one: how rock was formed, folded, broken, and pushed skyward. The medium one: how people learned to live there, built villages, and carved roads to connect valleys. And the short one: how we climbed them on that particular day, where we were going, and how it felt.
And then there’s color. I love color. The world often feels increasingly dark, monochrome, and blurry, especially on Instagram. I’m drawn to green grass, blue skies, loud autumn hues, and people who look genuinely happy to be out there.
Top 10
So here are my ten favorite images from 2025. From Switzerland to Slovenia via the Dolomites, they’re a mix of places, people and stories that made the year what it was.
And here’s to 2026: more places to discover, more mountains to climb, and familiar roads to revisit with fresh eyes. I’ve got exciting projects already lined up, and still some space in the calendar. If you’re a brand or destination looking for thoughtful, grounded storytelling, with real cyclists in real places, let’s talk. I promise colors, sharp memories and bright smiles.
And if you just want to follow along and find inspiration for where to ride next, you can follow me (guess where…) on Instagram for photos and silly captions. Maybe the algorithm will be kind enough to show you my stuff.
That said, I am actually seriously playing with the idea of starting a newsletter to share images and stories on my own terms. Will it happen? I guess we’ll see that in my 2026 year in review.
Early March in the Swiss Jura, shooting a komoot collection commissioned by Vaud Promotion. This is that in-between moment where winter hasn’t quite left, spring hasn’t really arrived, and the landscape feels beautifully raw and stripped back. I love how the road meanders into nothing, how Luca rides alone, small against all that space. Fun fact: this photo exists because I had to stop for a natural break. Luca kept riding. Business done, I raised the camera. Credits go to my bladder.
Shot on the Sanetsch Pass with journalist and old friend Emil Bischofberger, for Gruppetto Magazin. Sanetsch is one of those climbs that keeps unfolding: from the Rhône Valley floor at 500 m to the pass at 2242 m, vineyards give way to silence, traffic disappears, and suddenly the scale explodes. This frame is why I love it: a thin strip of road, Emil turning the pedals, and all that space around us. Looking south over the Val d’Hérens, with the Dent Blanche (4357 m) looming in the background, it feels both vast and strangely calm. We spent the day riding, shooting, catching up after years apart. And yes, I keep coming back: I’ve shot this climb for several magazines over the years. Apparently, editors like it as much as I do.
Here’s a loop with the Sanetsch Pass on Switchback: https://switchback.alpsinsight.com/cycling/sanetsch-pass/
Exploring Slovenia in June with the support of Roadbike Holidays and Slovenia Outdoor. We stayed in three different regions, and on that day rode the Solčava Panoramic Road – a true highlight of the trip. This roughly twenty-kilometer ridge route is a gem: smooth gravel, well maintained, and surprisingly accessible, with views that never stop giving. From the road, you look down on three glacial valleys—Logar, Matkov Kot, and Robanov Kot. That’s Natacha and Javier in the frame, soaking it all in.
More on the Slovenia trip on the Switchback blog: https://switchback.alpsinsight.com/slovenia-small-country-big-rides/
This photoshoot was a birthday gift to Patrick from his partner. I loved capturing him on my home roads, riding the slopes between the Rhône Valley and the Col de la Croix, bathed in warm autumn light. This shot was taken just above Fenalet, a spot I know all too well – I’ve photographed it dozens of times – but the colors and light that day made me pause. Not peak autumn, yet sometimes good enough is perfect. Looking for a gift for a cyclist? Email me – I love creating lasting memories for passionate riders and spending time with great people.
Tudor Cycling Team pros Simon Pellaud and Jan Stöckli on the UCI Gravel Suisse route, shot for the Villars tourism board. The hamlet down the road is Taveyanne: built in the 18th century, it still lies off the grid, its historic buildings making a striking backdrop. I love how the gravel road leads your eye from the riders down to the houses, overlooked by peaks with clouds clinging to their flanks. And yes, this happens to be part of my training grounds – so technically, I was “working from home.” Lucky me.
No client this time: just a personal project to celebrate autumn on our home roads. We rarely ride this climb just below our village of Gryon – it’s way too steep – but a sunset like this made the effort worth it. Lillie caught me grinding up, lungs burning, with the Dents du Midi (3,257 m) towering behind. I love how this frame captures it all: falling leaves, the first snow on the peaks, and those blue, orange, and yellow tones that scream “autumn in the Alps” at every pixel. Proof that you don’t need to travel far to find beauty.
See the full story on the Switchback blog: https://switchback.alpsinsight.com/autumn-at-home/
Staying near Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites for Roadbike Holidays, I finally got to shoot the climb to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo properly. This legendary ascent has seen Giro d’Italia victories from riders like Eddy Merckx and Vincenzo Nibali, etching the route into cycling history. It’s steep, it’s long, and every switchback tests you – but the view is worth it. Here’s Natacha making her way to the Rifugio at the top, with two of the three famous towers rising behind. The Dolomites never fail to amaze: jagged limestone peaks rising from green meadows and pale, striated rock faces that catch the light in every shade of pink and gold. My third time on the climb, and it reminded me why I keep coming back to the Dolomites.
One last ride up Col de la Croix, the day before a big snowstorm forced winter closure. Our annual ritual: empty roads, snow-capped mountains, and bare fingers and calves feeling the crisp air one final time before thick layers take over for months. Lillie runs a guiding and coaching business, Cycling Heidi: her tagline, “Your guide for happy cycling!”, is written all over this photo of her.
Learn more about Lillie and Cycling Heidi here: https://cyclingheidi.ch
I captured this moment on Via Tremola during a gravel bikepacking trip I designed for Ticino Turismo and komoot. This climb from Airolo to the Gotthard Pass is legendary. Why? The last six kilometers are fully cobbled, and this is one of the first of more than twenty switchbacks stacked into that absurdly scenic finale. I love this image because it captures it all: perfect curves, tightly laid cobbles, and that familiar feeling of being small in such big alpine landscapes. That’s my friend Kaddy in the frame, patiently climbing while I stop… again. Needless to say, it was a very slow ascent, and my camera batteries emptied quicker than our legs.
Read more on this trip on the Switchback blog: https://switchback.alpsinsight.com/finding-simplicity-in-ticino-s-hidden-valleys/
My “secret spot,” just 2 km from home in Gryon: a small road winding up to a mountain restaurant on the ski slopes. Shot for the cycling landing page of Chalet Royalp in Villars, I could photograph this corner a hundred ways, but I love how this frame captures the contrast between the mountain’s layered geology and the motion of Adam and Natacha carving downhill. I usually shoot this road from above, with the Rhône Valley giving depth, but here I wanted the riders front and center, showing the curve up close and the energy of the descent.
Alain
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