Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: On His Own, Now

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) use the last time up the Oude Kwaremont to rid himself of all of his competitors.  While he has gone from much further out to win a race, he still found himself racing to victory in another Monument with fourteen kilometers to go.  With a twenty-six second gap (and growing) to the four behind, it was clear this race was going to be his.  In fact, the strength of this painting and the lack of a really good image at the finish, I let this symbolize his victory today.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"On His Own, Now RVV25-6" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: Visma Chases

Having missed being able to go with the attack on the Oude Kwaremont, Visma-Lease a Bike was forced to chase.  They had the numbers to bring back the leading trio, so it was Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, and Tiesj Benoot riding hard together.  They were joined in the effort by two of the former attackers, Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek).  Despite their collective best efforts, only van Aert was able to rejoin the front of the race, with the others remaing the second group on the road.

Another spoiler, while he did rejoin the leaders, van Aert finished fourth on the day, just off of the podium.  I should point out that his teammates Benoot and Jorgenson finished sixth and 47th respectively.  Kung ended up seventh and Stuyven was fifth.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"Visma Chases RVV25-5" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: I See You

As the favorites went over the top of cobbled climb of the Oude Kwaremont they hit the cement slab roads of Flanders.  Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had chased down the attacking Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) who was quick to get back on terms.  Van der Poel looks back into the eyes of Pogacar perhaps trying to assess the Slovenians condition.  I am quite sure he wanted to make sure that he saw that van der Poel was right back in the race.  At this point Pedersen was just happy to be on the wheels.

Spoiler, Pedersen was able to win the sprint for second place - I'll tell you more about who won later.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"I See You RVV25-4" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: Off He Goes!

As I am sure everyone expected, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) went on the attack just as the cobbles began on the Oude Kwaremont.   Both Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) watched him launch the attack but didn't have the acceleration to go with the move.  Planckaert's teammate Mathieu van der Poel found himself out of position, but was able to weave through to get back to the World Champion's wheel.  The crowds on both sides of the road were loving their front row 'seats' to the Slovenian's display of power.  With another 56 kilometers to race, there was plenty of time to set things right.  Conversely, there were plenty of more climbs for Pogacar to go again.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"Off He Goes! RVV25-3" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: Swapping Back

The first half of the Ronde van Vlaanderen wasn't the best for the defending champion, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).  After a bike crash, and mechanical, and now a swap back to his preferred race bike, he was spending a lot of time chasing.  At least this bike change was planned and done a good ten kilometers before the next cobbled climb.  We quickly saw him rejoined the peloton and dive through the riders to get back on the front of the race.

It is always nice to get a bit of a push from your mechanic and the team.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"Swapping Back RVV25-2" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Ronde van Vlaanderen '25: Counter Move

With the early breakaway still up the road, these four decided it was time for a counter move.  I believe it was Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) who set things off.  He was joined by Vito Braet (Intermache-Wanty), Davide Ballerini (XDS-Astana) and the ever watchful Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike).  Benoot knew that if this group could join the leaders, it would put his team at an advantage when it came to the closing kilometers of the race.  With 101 kilometers yet to race, they were a little over a minute behind the lead group and they had about three quarters of a minute on the rather large peloton behind.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"Counter Move RVV25-1" (Original art by Greig Leach)