Tour Femmes '22, Stage 4: Smoke Screen

This painting is sold.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM) used the final dusty section of gravel to split up the peloton.  With just eighteen kilometer left to go, it was a move that Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) had to take very seriously. Niewiadoma started the day in third over all just sixteen seconds off of the lead between here and the finale there is a possiblity of a total of thirteen bonus seconds between the bonus sprint and the finish line.  Liane Lippert (DSM) can barely be seen through the dust trying to stay with the two ahead of her.  The rest of the peloton can't be seen for all of the dust being kicked up by the race vechicles and the riders themselves.  I am thrilled that the motorcycles can be in front of the action to bring us all these scenes, but it does mean that they are kicking dust and grit into the riders' faces.  The top three places remain the same at the end of the day with the same time gaps.  With the exception of the Spanish Champion, Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) all of the GC contenders made it across the gravel with their positions and bodies intact.

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 painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $90 USD including shipping, and yes, international shipping is available. 

If you can't afford to purchase a piece you could always help keep me going by buying me a cup of coffee at buymeacoffee.com/greigsartc.  And check out my vlogs at my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGX-TnjXDSkkOidUE6pN1g 

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France--Tour-de-France-Femmes-2022/3896048-166-294403/Painting/smoke-screen-tdff22-25.html

Tour Femmes, Stage 4: Rough Roads

When the camera first found Maaike Boogaard (UAE Team ADQ) she was picking up what I (and the commentators) assumed was her bike.  Naturally, the guess was that she had wrecked on the loose gravel of the Chemin Blanc du Plateau de Blu.  Actually, she had just given her bike to her team leader Mavi Garcia.  Now I understand why the bike seemed way too tall to be hers.  She played her role of support rider sending her teammate off to stay in her high placing in the general classification.  Unfortunately, another teammate had to give her a bike, and the team car eventually give her two bike in the course of the stage.  Worse yet, she swung in to a line in front of her team car and clipped the vehicle with her rear wheel.  It was miracle that the drive didn't run her over as she slid across the road.  She did well to only finish three minutes and nineteen seconds behind the stage winner.  Sadly that meant she dropped from sixth place to eleventh on the GC.

I am thrilled to see Boogaard in this race.  I met her when she was racing as a Junior in the World Championships in Richmond, VA in 2015.  I have a paternal feeling watching her career grow to this level.  She was just so excited that I would paint her way back then.

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 painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $90 USD including shipping, and yes, international shipping is available. 

If you can't afford to purchase a piece you could always help keep me going by buying me a cup of coffee at buymeacoffee.com/greigsartc.  And check out my vlogs at my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGX-TnjXDSkkOidUE6pN1g 

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France--Tour-de-France-Femmes-2022/3896044-165-294403/Painting/rough-roads-tdff22-24.html

Tour Femmes '22, Stage 4: Solving It Together

I learned today that the women only have one team car (instead of two like the men) following the race.  This means their race mechanics can be a long, long way back.  Yesterday's stage winner Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope) was fortunate to have her teammate, Vittoria Guazzini, with her when she got a f;rat rear tire. The FDJ duo quickly swapped wheels and Ludwing got back into the race.  Apparently, the mechanics had the foresight to supply each rider with the necessary allen wrench to pull the through axle to allow the wheel change to happen.  Guazzine was helped shortly after getting her team leader back in the race by the Shimano neutral service moto.  It was a bit frustrating for the duo to watch the Shimano car go past them.  It has been a very chaotic stage with so much going on, the driver can be excused for not seeing Guazzini trying to wave them down.  Ludwig just kept working on her bike.  Time was of the essence.

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 painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $90 USD including shipping, and yes, international shipping is available. 

If you can't afford to purchase a piece you could always help keep me going by buying me a cup of coffee at buymeacoffee.com/greigsartc.  And check out my vlogs at my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGX-TnjXDSkkOidUE6pN1g 

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France--Tour-de-France-Femmes-2022/3896032-164-294403/Painting/solving-it-together-tdff22-23.html

Tour Femmes '22, Stage 4: Chemin Blanc

The men's Tour had the cobbles used in Paris Roubaix.  Today the women got to race on the white gravel vineyard roads used in Paris Tours.  Both are difficult, dirty and can really change the complexion of the race for the Maillot Jaune at the end of the race.  As the peloton hit Sector 3, Chemin Blanc des Hautes Forets, it was the European Champion Ellen Van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) pushing the pace for her teammates.  On her wheel are three of the women from Team SD Worx including Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Demi Vollering.  Not sure who the Movistar rider is who is moving up on her right.  It was a bit of a challenge to capture the visual sense of the clouds of dust, but nothing compared to what it must be to ride in it.

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 painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $90 USD including shipping, and yes, international shipping is available. 

If you can't afford to purchase a piece you could always help keep me going by buying me a cup of coffee at buymeacoffee.com/greigsartc.  And check out my vlogs at my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGX-TnjXDSkkOidUE6pN1g 

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France--Tour-de-France-Femmes-2022/3896026-163-294403/Painting/chemin-blanc-tdff22-22.html