Back when the world was in lockdown and most of us were unable to leave home for a while, it seemed an excellent moment to curate our pick of the best road cycling Instagram accounts. This is the result!
You probably won’t be surprised to find that we’ve got quite a bias towards the accounts that combine bicycles and travel – perfect for a dose of armchair daydreaming…
What do you think of the list? Let us know in the comments below and share any others you like!
Also, don’t miss our article sharing the best cycling apps.
Note: We work with Stolen Goat and Roadbikeholidays, though they didn’t have any idea we were going to include them in this round up (and we wouldn’t have done so if we didn’t love their Insta accounts)!
Part 1: cycling Instagram accounts (to inspire your armchair travels)
1. Professional cycling photographers on Instagram
The professional photographers travel the world taking photographs. They get behind the scenes access at the big races, which often allows them to capture the shots the rest of us dream about. Their shots are a goldmine for those looking for some armchair cycle-travel inspiration.
Tim De Waele
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What to expect
Tim is a Getty photographer and, with incredible access to the world’s top events, he shoots stunning sports photos from events around the world and catches moments you’d never otherwise see.
Best for
Sports fans that don’t mind some non-cycling photos too.
Take a look…
https://instagram.com/tdwsport
Ashley Gruber and Gered Gruber
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What to expect
Perhaps Insta’s most famous cycling photo-taking couple? Their photos are quite similar, so it’s difficult to choose one account over the other. Expect unusual shots that capture the emotion of the pro races.
Best for
Captivating perspectives of famous bike races and cycling moments.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/ashleygruber/
https://www.instagram.com/jeredgruber/
Cycling Images
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What to expect
Cycling Images is Russ Ellis’s account. He’s a pro photographer who calls people like Team Ineos and Specialized clients. Expect fantastic shots that capture the emotion of the pro peloton.
Best for
Lovers of the pro cycling scene.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/cyclingimages/
2. Road cycling holidays on Instagram
These accounts are great for finding out about cycling destinations all over the world, including regions not visited by the pro races.
You’ll find gorgeous photos that will provide inspiration, as well as practical detail around planning your next trip.
Epic Road Rides
(Well we couldn’t not, could we!)
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What to expect
Lots of winding mountain roads and dramatic landscapes from around the world. We bring you photos of the famous cycling destinations – and the much less famous too.
Best for
Inspiring your next cycling holiday.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/epicroadrides/
Band of Climbers
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What to expect
Sweeping roads and inspiring landscapes, as well as some shots promoting their products. The non-product shots aren’t taken by them – they curate other people’s photos.
Best for
Inspirational mountain switchbacks.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/bandofclimbers/
Roadbikeholidays
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What to expect
The captions are in German, but it doesn’t really matter – the photos are gorgeous and will have you wanting to pack your bike up and get riding!
Best for
Cyclists with wanderlust.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/roadbike.holidays/
3. Pro cycling on Instagram
The mystery and magic of the pro peloton has long inspired many of us to challenge ourselves up the mountain roads ridden in the Classics and Grand Tours. We also find pro cyclists’ accounts a rich source of inspiration for the best spring and winter training destinations… The photography on their accounts is often also excellent.
Peter Sagan
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What to expect
Peter Sagan’s instagram account gives unique insights on the races he rides and is full of race photos together with insights into the humour, style and views of the man behind the cycling legend.
Best for
Peter Sagan and Team Bora Hansgrohe.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/petosagan/?hl=en
Chris Froome
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What to expect
Chris Froome’s instagram account has recently been dominated by training photos (since his massive crash at the Criterium du Dauphine left him in a very bad way). Usually expect a mix of race, training, behind the cycling scene and “at home” photos.
Best for
Chris Froome and Team Ineos.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/chrisfroome/?hl=en
Mark Cavendish
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What to expect
Mark Cavendish’s instagram account is funny, personal and feels quite “heart on sleeve” compared to many pro cycling Insta accounts. Expect photos of his kids, family and friends mixed with the more usual pro peloton shots.
Best for
Mark Cavendish and Team Bahrain McLaren.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/markcavendish/
Lizzie Deignan
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What to expect
Racing, training and home life of Lizzie Deignan. She shares the behind the scenes of what it’s like to be one of the most famous road and track cyclists today.
Best for
Lizzie Deignan and Trek Segafredo.
Take a look…
https://www.instagram.com/l_deignan/
Part 2: Best road cycling hashtags
Tips for finding the best cycling hashtags to follow on Instagram
As well as following people on Instagram, another way of finding fantastic cycling content is to follow hashtags.
For the Insta novices out there, people put hashtags on their posts. You can click on a hashtag (or search for the hashtag) and you’ll then see all the posts that mention that hashtag.
A few pointers:
When deciding what hashtags to look at, our tip is to avoid the normal, generic hashtags. These are the hashtags used by people who aren’t thinking too much about what they’re doing. For example #cycling had 26 million+ posts the last time we looked. It’s a right old mishmash of different kinds of cycling and hugely varied quality of photography.
Hashtags that tend to feature “bike” seem to have more motorcycle than bicycle. So avoid those.
Avoid the hashtags that aren’t specifically cycling related. For example, while us cyclists can associate with “#outside is free” and “#WYMTM” (What You Missed This Morning), what you’ll find there is predominantly non-cycling related photos.
Our favourite road cycling hashtags on Instagram
General road cycling and travel inspiration
Best cycling-travel hashtag
#epicroadrides – as well as finding all of our posts, it’s fantastic to see that the hashtag is starting to catch on and there are around a thousand posts tagged with #epicroadrides. Even better, they’re pretty much all on the topic of road cyclists enjoying impressively beautiful roads in destinations around the world.
Best hashtag for switchbacks
#switchbacksaturday is full of glorious, windy mountain roads. Or, if you want a smaller, more exclusive hashtag to follow, we also like #switchbackdoping.
Best hashtag for cycling in the mountains
#colcollector – you’ll find a fair few switchbacks here too, but they’re interspersed with mountain summits, landscapes and lakes. A ripe source of inspiration for your next cycling adventure.
Best cycling destination hashtags
#mallorcacycling – tons of gorgeous photos from Mallorca. Lots of ideas for places to stay and rides to climb all in a non salesy kind of a way. Perfection!
#cyclinginflanders – get your dose of Belgian cycling passion, with photos of cobbles, narrow lanes and lots of lots of bicycles.
#coloradocycling – Colorado is known for its incredible landscapes and for being a cyclists’ playground. Following this hashtag will add a nice variety to your photo feed – wide open American roads, red rock scenery and lots of cycling passion.
Non-travel hashtags
Best kit hashtag
#stolengoat – their kit is awesome and the bright and bold jersey designs can’t fail but bring a smile to your face. Instagram is stolen goat’s main social media platform and this is where they run regular competitions and raffles. The fact that so many of the photos on this hashtag are from people who love stolen goat’s kit shows they’re doing something very right.
Best women specific hashtag
#Velovixen is the home of women’s cycling in the UK and their hashtag is full of women cyclists doing their thing. Since Velovixen sell loads of different cycling brands, it’s also a pretty good place to hangout for some new kit inspiration. There’s also a vibrant Facebook group community.
Best UK cycling hashtag
#ukcyclechat if you’re after a thread of UK centric photos, there’s a great community around this hashtag. Expect all sorts of different kinds of cyclists and a strong flow of photos.
What are your favourite cycling accounts and hashtags on Instagram?
Share your favourites below!
Want to check out the Epic Road Rides Instagram feed? Click here!
Want more inspiration for lockdown? Don’t miss our round-up of the best cycling books, films and documentaries.
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Clare Dewey is a road cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com to help make it easy for road cyclists to explore new places by bike.
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