Tour Stage 8: Driving the Pace

Tinkoff-Saxo put the whole team on the front of the peloton and drove the pace hard, trying to shuck the group of as many riders as possible.  The team believed that the stage was suited for their man, Alberto Contador, and they hoped to put Astana and Vincenzo Nibali on a back foot.  Other riders with hopes of a high finish in Paris simply got into the slip streamed including the Rainbow Jersey of the World Road Racing Champion on the back of Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Andrew Talansky (Garmin Sharp) and Richie Porte (Team Sky).  For the peloton, the stage win was of less importance than getting a gap on their rivals so the speed they were putting in may catch the remnants of the early break, but that was not the sole objective.  This is a small original watercolor painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  This painting will be amongst the artwork of the 101st Tour de France that will be included in my soon to be self published book, "Book de Tour".  To learn more about the project, to pre-order your copy, and to discover how you can become part of bringing the 2014 Tour de France to print please visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour  There are some great incentives for various levels of backer support starting at just $5 USD, with $25 USD getting you an artist/author signed copy of the book.  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%202014/2401742---199992/Painting.html#.U8I82svD_IU