Tour Stage 18: Parting the Sea

The climbs of the Tour de France are always lined with enthusiastic fans of the sport, many whom have camped for days to see these titans of the sport ride by.  Some have had a bit to drink and will be a little too eager to shout for (or against) the riders as they attempt to part the sea of fans, flags and banners.  Each group of riders will be accompanied by one of the Gendarmes that support and secure the race, using their motorcycles as a rather effective battering ram.  The officer has to stay far enough ahead of the riders so as not to offer a slipstream to shelter the riders, but not so far ahead that the crowd will simply close in back around his motorcycle to get in the face of the struggling riders.  Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale), Yury Trofimov (Katusha) and Bartosz Huzarski (NetApp-Endura) are the third group to squeeze through the throngs of fans as they approach the summit of one of the monster of the Tour.  This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  This painting along with all of my artwork of the 101st Tour de France will be included in my soon to be self published tome, "Book de Tour."  To learn more about the book project, to pre order your copy or to discover how you can be a part of bringing this beautiful race to print, please visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour.  Be sure to check out the generous Backer Rewards for those who choose to pledge their support to the "Book de Tour" project.  If you would like to purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  But don't you want a copy of the book as well?

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202014/2407958---199992/Painting.html#.U9HYg8_D_IU