Tour Stage 1: Getting the Point

With just a single King of the Mountain point on offer at the top of Craig Hill, it was a aggressive sprint to the summit.  Unfortunately for Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) the two young Frenchmen proved to quick for the senior campaigner.  Ultimately it was Benoit Jarrier (Bretagne-Seche) getting the first virtual lead in the Polka Dot Jersey competition over his countryman, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis).  The Tour has four races within the race, the Maillot Jaune , or Yellow Jersey, is for the least overall time, the Green Jersey is for the points leader, the Polka Dot Jersey for the rider who gains the most King of the Mountain points and the White Jersey for the best placed young rider under 25.  Of course there is always the race for the stage victory, too.  This is an original small watercolor and ink painting that is available for purchase at my artist website, www.greigleach.com   To buy this piece of the 101st Tour de France, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  This painting, and all of my painting of this Tour will be presented in a self published book, "Book de Tour" if you would like to be a part of bringing this book to life and to pre-order your own copy please visit my Kickstarter fundraising site at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202014/2396556---199992/Painting.html#.U7hVs8_D_IU

Tour Stage 1: From the Opening Kilometer

The 101st Tour de France got underway in Leeds after stopping in front of Harewwod House to be officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.  After chatting with the royals and the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon by Duchess Kate, the riders pulled on their helmets and shortly got to the business at hand.  From the very moment the start flag was dropped, Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) attacked the peloton, bringing Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Benoit Jarrier (Bretagne-Seche) along with him.  Voigt is the oldest man in the race, closing in on 43 years old.  He is an inspiration to us old guys and the rest of the cycling world.  This is an original small watercolor and ink painting (4"x6") that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com.  In addition, this painting is available for purchase through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this piece of the 101st Tour de France, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  This painting, and all of the works of the 2014 Tour will be presented in a soft cover 11"x8 1/2" book entitled "Book de Tour",  you currently have the opportunity to support the creation of the art at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour.  There are some fabulous incentive packages to help make this book a reality.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202014/2396554-1-0-199992/Painting/Sports.html#.U7hSEs_D_IU