The event was the St. Petersburg Triathlon hosting over three thousand contestants from across the country and around the world.  Prize money totaled $65,000 with the top prizes in the $10,000 range.  I concentrated on cycling, ignoring the swimming and running events due to the logistics of getting to the right spots, fighting crowds and setting up, etc. I ended  with about a dozen shots worth showing with the one submitted almostly black and white so all colors except skin tones and red highlights desaturated.  Other adjustments included cropping and white balance for skin tones.  The concentration shown on the face was the main focus for the shot.
 
The challange was to get a sharp image of the head and shoulder with the overall feeling of motion and speed. This ment producing a blurred background,  sharp face on the rider, with tires/spokes giving the illusion of speed.  All shots were taken at 6 frames per second , panning the rider as they moved by at 25 to 30 mph, the min distance to the rider at 20' .    There is a balance between shutter speed,  focal length and f stop.
 
The attached photo gives a sharp face, some blurring of the background as it had very few details and the wheels and spokes being some what blurred.  1/320 sec shutter speed was to high  for good blurring on the wheels but gave a good face shot.  A shutter speed of 1/125 would have been better but that will have to wait for the next race.

Camera settings
 
ISO  320
Focal Lenght        92mm
lens                    18-250 mm Tameron 3.5-6.3 (IF)
Exp                    1/250  @  f/11.0

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