Your proximity to the rider really makes him jump out at the viewer, . It's good and the only thing that kind of hurts it is too much flash and those poles on the left.
I think if you draw a verticle line in front of the fender in your first shot and just tone down the brightness of the rider a tad then you would have a much more compelling shot. You have the "field" showing even if you eliminate the distracting light poles. Just my opinion though. It would be nice to hear what some others think. The reason I'm replying again is I llike the shot and I'm just thinking out load about some minor tweaks.
I agree with mark, the light poles are a bit distracting to me. If you block off the front half you don't get drawn away from the rider. As for the flash, I think it works. Although I think I like it because I am a 2-wheel fan and it gives it a "this is a sports shot" more so than a "this is an artistic shot." (not to say that its not artistic, thats just the feeling I get from it).
. It's good and the only thing that kind of hurts it is too much flash and those poles on the left.