The Art of Cycling

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Tour '26, Stage 16 ITT: A Fan Favorite

Perhaps I should have titled this one, "The Fan Favorite." Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) is the young French rider who has all of France hoping that they are seeing the next Frenchman to win their home three-week Tour. It has been forty-one years since a Frenchman has finished the Tour in the Maillot Jaune. That is a long time to wait. I imagine that Seixas' grandfather was a young man the last time the French won their race. It was expected that he would struggle with the individual time trial but that was not the case today. He finished the race of truth gaining time on everyone except the guys in first and second places in the general classification. He also gained back five seconds on Isaac Del Toro in the race for the Maillot Blanc of the best young rider in the Tour de France. He is definitely the youngest and he is showing that he is also one of the best regardless of age. How many of the young boys on the side of the road will one day race in the Tour themselves?

This is a small 4x6 inch original watercolor painting that is available through my website at greigleach.com or you can simply follow the direct link at the end of the post to purchase the painting above. Since it is an original work of art, it is a first come first served reality. The work sells for $99 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

Purchase this painting here: "A Fan Favorite TdF26-119" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 16 ITT: First Goes Last

With an individual time trial the best placed rider in the general classification starts last, with the lowest placed rider going first. Naturally, the order continues up through the classification. It gives Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) the extra advantage of knowing the times of all of his competitors as he races the twenty-six kilometers down to the coast of Lake Geneva. While he may have known the times he needed to best his legs weren't able to deliver the speed required. For the second stage in a row he took second place to the same person (I'll reveal who later). Before any of his fans panic, he does have a five-minute buffer between himself and the next best rider in the general classification.

Purchase this painting here: "First Goes Last TdF26-118" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 16 ITT: Can He Regain White?

The short answer is, "No." Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) was on a good ride, good enough to stay in third place in the race for the Maillot Blanc of best young rider. He has worn the jersey on two different occasions this Tour four a total of five stages thus far. He finished fifteenth on the day dropping a minute or more to the two guys ahead of him in the race to be named the "Best Young Rider" of the 113th Tour de France.

Purchase this painting here: "Can He Regain White? TdF26-117" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 16 ITT: Settling In

Having just started his twenty-six-kilometer individual time trial, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) settles into his aero-tuck and gets down to business. I was wondering if Jorgenson was going to go full gas for the stage victory or would he just get around the course to hold his position in the GC? His fourteenth place at the end of the day seems to indicate that he and his teammates were saving themselves to race for stage victories in the closing week of the Tour. It was a treat to watch his sister Nicole interview his at the end of the stage. He seemed truly relaxed and enjoying having family around. It does seem to be a close family. I have had online conversations with his mother.

Purchase this painting here: "Settling In TdF26-116" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 16 ITT: Flipping Visma's Luck

By wearing his number 13 bib number upside down Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) is hoping to ward off bad luck. So far it hasn't really work very well. He had a rough start of the Tour with two crashes, but clearly, has been able to continue unlike his team leader. As I painted in Stage 15, his team leader Jonas Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour suffering a broken collarbone. The team is a bit at a loss now that their main objective disappeared in the blink of an eye. As the team gets a handle on their new role look for attempts at breakaways and stage victories. Everyone is too far back in the general classification to have any realistic hope of making the podium or even the top ten because of all of the work they have been doing for Vingegaard. It may make for some more exciting racing in this final week of the Tour. Armirail was the best time by six seconds when he finished his race, but dropped to eight by the time the Maillot Jaune finished.

Purchase this painting here: "Flipping Visma's Luck TdF26-115" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

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Monday, July 20, 2026

Tour '26, Stage 15: Outsprinting Yellow!

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) had the un-enviable position of having to take on two very strong guys from the same team at the finale of Stage 15. He had climbed pedal stroke for pedal stroke with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and his teammate Isaac Del Toro. Tadej was riding as a super-domestique for Isaac in hopes of helping the Mexican Champion to both the stage win and reclaiming the Maillot Blanc of best young rider. After Del Toro had attack twice and been caught by Evenepoel, it was Evenepoel's turn to go. To pretty much everyone's surprise, Pogacar couldn't get around the former World Champion, perhaps a first this season. Some seemed to think that the Maillot Jaune let the stage go, but that would be out of character for the Maillot Jaune - unless of course it was a teammate that was going to win the stage. Evenepoel now moves into second place, with Del Toro moving into third and the Maillot Blanc. Quinn Simmons still managed a tenth place. With his teammates finishing sixth and eighth, Lidl-Trek holds onto its lead in the team classification for at least one more stage.

Now onto the rest day, that will be followed by and individual time trial. Should be interesting...

Purchase this painting here: "Outsprinting Yellow! TdF26-114" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 15: Fighting to Stay in White

In can be argued that Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) is the best young rider in the Tour, he is certainly the youngest rider in a very long time. Yesterday he claimed the Maillot Blanc that is awarded to the best placed rider under the age of 25 at the start of the Tour. On the climb of the Plateau de Solaison, he was in danger of losing that white jersey. On his wheel was the winner of that honor from 2025, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Lipowitz wasn't about to help the teenager. His teammate was up the road, so Lipowitz was going to sit on the wheel and try to out sprint him for fourth on the stage. He couldn't quite manage it, finishing just behind Seixas, much as they are now. Seixas came in 52 seconds behind Isaac Del Toro who got a six second time bonus for finishing third. The Maillot Blanc will go back to Del Toro, with Seixas in second trailing by twenty-five seconds. He does move into fourth in the general classification behind Del Toro, again, by obviously the same time gap.

Purchase this painting here: "Fighting to Stay in White TdF26-113" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 15: Grinding Up the Climb

This was the first time the Tour de France has ever scaled the Plateau de Solaison, I suspect it will be back. Once Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) hit the front with his teammate Isaac Del Toro, the only guy who could hold onto the two stars was Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The trio was distancing Evenepoel's teammate/team rival Florian Lipowitz and the rest of any of the general classification hopefuls. It seemed like Pogacar was being a super-domestique to Del Toro. Was he planning on gifting the Mexican Champion another stage, or was he riding to get him back into the Maillot Blanc of the best young rider in the Tour? Of course, they still had to catch Quinn Simmons who was a little over a minute up the climb. Unfortunately for the American Champion, there was just under seven kilometers to go and the chasers had pulled back a half a minute in only a single kilometer. I don't think this will be the stage victory that Simmons is still seeking.

Purchase this painting here: "Grinding Up the Climb TdF26-112" (Original art by Greig Leach)

This painting has sold, but digital prints are available at the link above.

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Sunday, July 19, 2026

Tour '26, Stage 15: With Conviction

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) was on fire today. He jumped from the very small breakaway on the final climb of the day, the Plateau de Solaison. He chased down Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) the former Swiss champion as they raced near the border with Switzerland. I thought he would sit on Schmid's wheel for a bit on the HC (outside category) climb, but no, he went straight on by. He was racing with the conviction that the peloton would worry too much about each other to bother chasing him. With nine more kilometers to climb to the summit and the end of the stage he still had a minute and forty-five seconds on the group containing the yellow jersey. That would be plenty of time if it was a flat stage, but this is a climb with an average of a 9% gradient.

Purchase this painting here: "With Conviction TdF26-111" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

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Tour '26, Stage 15: In the Blink of an Eye

Whatever the plan was for Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma=Lease a Bike team was, this surely wasn't it! I don't normally paint the crashes, but this one set the 113th Tour de France on its ear. As the peloton came into a right-hand bend littered with traffic furniture Vingegaard lost his front wheel and went down hard into the curbing on the side of the road. Several others went down with him including Fellix Grosschartner and Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) who piled on top of each other and a couple fans who got a little closer to the racers than anyone wanted. Vingegaard's teammate Sepp Kuss went down as well, but he was back up almost instantly. Not so for Vingegaard. The longer he sat on the roadside, the worse we all knew it was. When I saw the medical team bring over an arm sling, I knew his Tour was over. He has never finished worse than second (and has one twice) but this is the first time he has ever crashed out of the Tour. The peloton slowed and waited to see if he would remount. Once Del Toro caught back up to Pogacar (who had just barely avoided going down as well) he let the Maillot Jaune know that Vingegaard wasn't coming back. Once everyone knew, it was back to racing.

Purchase this painting here: "In the Blink of an Eye TdF26-110" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

Learn More About the Artist →