That second image is simply stunning!!
A small DOF is pleasing to the eye but might place the subject out of context, the reflection of the Erasmus bridge in his helmet puts him right back into his arena however 
Friend of mine competed in the senior class but got his shoulder dislocated early on while swimming, one year of intense training and sacrifice down the drain in the first 250 meters.
I am sorry to hear that Jan Anne. That must have been tough for him. I hope he is doing better now.
Thank you for your kind words.
Peter, as much as I like the "Rotterdam" serie for its dynamics, color, composition, I don't like at all the first serie: some are unsharp, underexposed, not so good post-processing. In other words, the first one lacks everything what the makes the the latter one so good; one could think it isn't the same photographer.
With regard to Daniel's serie: a little bit to clean; movement is missing. Was a flash used ?
I appreciate your observations. Thank you. But yes, it's the same photographer. Circumstances were qauite different during the first series, it had rained heavily and the sun was now shining, so I thought to do something with that. I am also trying to deviate from the standard panning shots by using other settings or technique. I'd like to play rather to find the perfect sharp panning photo. Sometimes I like an impressionist result. However, I do realize that it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Another difference is that I used the m43 basee PEN-F for the first series ans the D750 and D810 for the second,
BTW: there is no or hardly any PP involved. I usually limit PP to highlights, shadows, and tone curve (and sometimes clarity/vibrance). Shots made at the Erasmus bridge (second series) are an exception because of the backlight. I overexposed and tweaked afterwards to get the effect I wanted. I admit it was an experiment.
