“Yellow jersey holder Serhiy Honchar of Germany and T Mobile prepares for the start of stage 8 of the 93rd Tour de France from St-Meen Le-Grand to Lorient”

Thanks for everyone’s comments and questions, keep them coming. I thought I’d answer them here:

Marco - How many photographers at the finishing line at the end of each stage?

There are approximately 40 photographers at the finishing line of each stage, although this does vary. Each photographer is given either a green, blue, orange or white bib (green being priority positioning at the front and white bibs positioned furthest from the line).

Herman – Do you use auto-focus or pre-focus?

I tend to use auto-focus for most of my shots, including the finishing line. Occasionally, I’ll use pre-focus for a wide-angle lens, but it’s quite tricky to alter the camera once I’m on the back of a bike, with a helmet on (and with a flash gun attached to it!).

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

“The Italian players celebrate as Fabio Cannavaro of Italy lifts the World Cup trophy aloft following victory in a penalty shootout at the end of the final match between Italy and France at the Olympic Stadium”

It was a mixed final. I think a lot of fans (me included) didn’t have a clue why Zidane had been sent off until after the match. So, every time Italy had possession of the ball, the French fans booed like crazy!

This picture really sums up what the past five weeks have been gearing up for. After the penalties, there was a mad dash with all the other photographers to where Italy received their medals and picked up the World Cup. I like this shot because it’s as if Cannavaro is looking straight into my camera only – even though I was surrounded by an abundance of lenses!

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

It is often thought in sport that nobody remembers who comes second, yet alone third place! Well, tonight the German nation will certainly remember. The German pride was what the team was playing for with a couple of side issues thrown in for good measure too.

The atmosphere in the stadium was just that of a final - not only full of expectation but also celebration. Fans from both sides joined together for one last show.

Unfortunately the first half was so insipid that it left me wanting something that matched the colour and passion of the pre-match build up. I didn’t have to wait too long - the second half was a completely different game. Both teams seemed to remember why they had started to play today, and so, we were treated to 45 minutes of good football attacking that even yielded a few goals. It was good for fans and photographers alike.

The World Cup 2006 was a success for Germany both as a team and as a nation. The last month truly has been a time to make friends and a time to celebrate this great sport. As I left the stadium I couldn’t help feeling (even after all the hard work) I will miss this World Cup - I crave more of this type of football. Fortunately I only have to wait five short weeks until the start of the Bundesliga season!

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

“Oscar Freire of Spain and Rabobank cross the line to win stage five of the 93rd Tour de France from Beauvais to Caen”

It’s all change for the hot favourites – Alejandro Valverde of Spain is out of the race after coming off his bike earlier in the week and breaking his collar bone. As well as a few missing teeth from other riders, it’s been an exciting week so far!

I shot this image as the winners crossed the finishing line. As a Getty Images photographer, I had a very good position (about 150 metres from the line) and used a 400mm lens to capture the final sprint. The riders are traveling about 40-45mph at this point, so it’s imperative the photographers don’t get in their way!

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

In response to Dave the blogger:

In sport photography it’s often possible to adapt ideas from one sport to another and achieve different and striking results. It’s all about being open to different ideas in different situations and not just thinking about the standard picture. There are enough people shooting the standard pictures, so to make yours standout and memorable you have to think: ‘What can I do that is different?’

I am often asked questions about what sort of equipment I need to capture particular shots at matches and how I approach each game. The answer is always simple – any equipment and bring an open mind!

A lot of football pictures are taken with telephoto lenses of either 400mm or 500mm. I believe it’s possible to capture different shots with almost every type of lens though. Whilst the World Cup is not the ideal example (we are assigned seats instead of being able to choose where to work around the pitch), there are pictures taken from every position, on lenses ranging from 16-35mm to 500mm plus a converter. I think it’s a common mistake to only think that you must shoot close- up action all the time - events are so much more than that. A telephoto lens is good to capture an incident, but it doesn’t show any of the atmosphere or colour surrounding what is actually happening. You may well have to wait a long time for a picture to happen on a shorter lens but when it does, you have a shot that also shows some of the surrounding stadium and some of the colourful fans.

For some matches at the World Cup, I had to shoot from a high position - you can shoot most of what happens on the pitch without the problem of a colleagues lens or a player getting in the way. It’s a safe position and the pictures are often published but for me, personally, it’s an angle that doesn’t make it easy to convey the emotions of the players (except of course when they’re lying on the ground!).