Tour Stage 2: Using His Team

Many who are new to the sport of bike racing don't realize that it is a team sport.  Each member of the team is there for a particular reason, all to further the cause of the team that has pinned its hopes on the team leader.  When the team leader has a problem, either from a crash, a flat, or even from stopping along the side of the road to take a pee, several members of the team will drop back to help pace their man back into the peloton.  To understand the speed of the pace line, one needs to have a grasp of aerodynamics, the guy in front breaks the wind so that the guy behind uses about 30% less energy to travel at the same speed.  Here it is Tejay van Garderen is brought back up through the following caravan after he had a flat.  He was escorted back into the fold by 3 of his teammates, Peter Velits, Marcus Burghardt and Michael Schar in hopes that Tejay would be at the business end of the race at the line in Sheffield.  This is an original small watercolor and ink painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com and will appear in my soon to be self published "Book de Tour" (learn more about this at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202014/2397100---199992/Painting.html#.U7nD1M_D_IU