Tour, Stage 5: Three Names

Frustrated with the pace and cooperation going on in the early nine man break, these three, Andriy Grivko (Astana), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) jumped away from their erstwhile fellow escapees.  This trio quickly opened up a gap on their former compatriots, but more importantly they quickly added another three minutes to their lead over the peloton.  It was a little odd that the race favorites let these strong riders build such a big lead. The gap grew to over fifteen minutes before those behind decided that enough was enough.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson & Company.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

Be sure to check out my second cycling art book, Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships, available online or through your local book seller.

To buy this painting, follow this link:  http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2819854-27-224974/PaintingThree%20Names%20TdF27-Greig-Leach.html#.V32Bx7grLIU

Tour, Stage 2: Quick Change

Each team has two team cars trailing the peloton (or the break if they have a man up there) ready to aid their riders in whatever way necessary.  Geraint Thomas (Sky) had been driving the pace at the front of the peloton until he had a front wheel puncture (flat tire).  As he dropped back through the peloton, he radio his car letting them know what he needed.  Once the pair joined up on the road, the mechanic was able to jump out of the car with the correct wheel, quickly sending Thomas on his way back through the convoy of team cars.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson & Company.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2817832-9-224974/PaintingQuick%20Change%20TdF9-Greig-Leach.html#.V3lSfLgrLIU

Tour, Stage 1: Changing Shoes

I am sure that half of Spain's hearts were in their throats when Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) over cooked a corner and wiped out over a traffic median.  The three time winner of the Tour took quite a bit of skin off of his shoulder and apparently messed up his cleats in the bargain.  As he replaced his cleats with a back up pair from the team car, I was reminded of the 101st Tour when he road another 15 kilometers after a crash (he changed cleats then as well) only to pull out of the race with a broken tibia.  Contrador was steadied by his teammate, Matteo Tosatto, has he replaced his damaged cleats at 30 kilometers per hour.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson & Company.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

This is one of the paintings that you can see being created on my live videos at www.facebook.com/greigleach.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2817376-4-224974/PaintingChanging%20Shoes%20TdF4-Greig-Leach.html#.V3f0i7grLIU

My new book is now in hand! Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships

My newest book of the Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships was just delivered from the printers (based in the USA).  I went out to the deep West End of Richmond to pick up my share of the shipment and I am very excited to hold this labor of love in my hands for the very first time.  I feel a little odd meeting a truck in the back of a parking lot to pick up 470 books, but my publisher was there getting his share too.

This is a hard bound 158 page book of my paintings and writings on all of the races of the 2015 Road World Championships.  This book captures all of the speed, color and beauty of the races along with images of the city I now call home.  You can order your copy by going to www.artofcycling.bike, international shipping is available.  The book retails for $29.95 USD plus shipping.  The book also has a brilliant foreword by Kathryn Bertine and notes from the CEO of Richmond 2015, Wilson Flohr and Mayor Dwight Jones.

You can see all of the paintings that are in the book by going to my artist website at www.greigleach.com and go to the Richmond 2015 Gallery, some of the originals are still available for purchase.  Here is the link to the thumb nails of all of the paintings in the gallery, http://www.greigleach.com/thumbnail_list.php?mgd_id=213398#.VruvlPkrLIU

Tour Down Under: How Am I Doing?

Danilo Wyss (BMC) who is wearing the National Champion's Jersey of Switzerland, peeks back over his shoulder to see just how much damage he is doing on the climb up out of Port Elliot.  Tucked onto his wheel is his new teammate, Richie Porte, followed by the rest of the diminishing peloton.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting created using watercolors from www.richesonart.com and is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  In addition, be sure to check out my new book, "Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships" available now at www.artofcycling.bike.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20Down%20Under/2679696-84-194179/Painting.html#.VqKPFfkrLIU

A Nice Article from my Alma Mater

http://www.news.vcu.edu/article/The_cycling_artist_Alumnus_illustrates_major_cycling_competitions

Although, it must be said that I never claimed nor have I ever ridden the Tour de France nor the Giro d'Italia.  I was never a strong enough rider to ever have hoped to achieve such a accomplishment.  But one can dream, can't one?

The cycling artist: Alumnus illustrates major cycling competitions

The cycling artist: Alumnus illustrates major cycling competitions

By Ahmed Asraf

University Public Affairs

804-828-1231

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015

Greig Leach is an enthusiastic cyclist and painter, and the Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus has found a way to combine his two passions. His postcard drawings depicting compelling moments in major cycling competitions have earned him fans around the world, including among the elite riders sometimes rendered in Leach’s works.
One of Leach’s next big projects will be a book on the 2015 UCI Road World Championships bike race, which will take place in Richmond Sept. 19-27, and on the races leading up to the UCI event. He presented the book idea for the event to Wilson Flohr, CEO of Richmond 2015 and an amateur painter. Flohr liked it and Leach is now the official artist for the competition.
The project is to create a book about the championships, and Leach will also have a hand in other memorabilia, including T-shirts, coffee mugs and socks, that will feature his artistic creations. Richeson Art, a company Leach has used since 1977 for art supplies, is sponsoring the project.
Leach raced bicycles on an amateur level back in the 1970s, when the sport was little known outside of Europe and the idea of an American professional cyclist seemed farfetched. He participated in bike races in major competitions such as the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia – just not as a rider, but as a painter.

Alumnus Greig Leach captures moments from major cycling competitions around the world through his paintings.
Photos by Ahmed Asraf

He attended the VCU School of the Arts in 1977, starting in commercial art but later switching to painting. By his senior year, he was married, had a son, worked full time and had seen his work featured in three solo exhibitions. In 1982, he turned his attention to working full time to support his family.
Leach remembers an illustration professor pulling him aside and urging him to pursue his interest in painting.
The professor said, “‘Look: you’re a painter, go be a painter,’” Leach said. “‘Someday your paintings will be used as illustrations.’ Almost 40 years later that’s exactly what happened.”
He likes to paint dancers, musicians, bar scenes and everyday life. He draws to relax, but also to earn a living. He draws all the time.
“I amuse myself by drawing,” Leach said. “Today, I was explaining something and found it just easier to draw it.”

“I amuse myself by drawing.”

Throughout his career, Leach has worked in restaurants and traveled to Europe. He recalls his first trip to Europe with his family, when he realized that after booking his tickets and arranging accommodations, he didn’t have enough left for daily expenses, such as food. His wife suggested buying blank postcards to draw places he visited and selling them to locals, tourists and online. He was able to support his family with the earnings from the postcards, marking the beginning of finding his artistic niche.
Locals or people who had special moments in the area requested postcard drawings of locations with special meaning to them – for instance, a street where a man proposed to his wife in Paris, or where a couple bought shoes in Rome. His clients directed him to draw places he wouldn’t have discovered on a normal visit.
“A local collector said that they preserved a bombed-out cathedral in Berlin,” Leach said. “I would have never known it existed.”
The cycling drawings started one day when he was watching the Tour de France on television and was inspired to paint scenes from the competition. Initially, he did the artwork just for himself. Then he began to sell them successfully through Facebook.
Then, in 2013, he approached the work in a more organized fashion, starting with the Giro d’Italia race. He watched the races live as an avid fan, paused the scenes he viewed as significant, painted them and posted them on his blog and Twitter to sell.
In 2014, he did the same for the Tour de France. He also established a KickStarter campaign at the outset of that race to fund a book collecting his work. The campaign was successful and at the end of the race he compiled his drawings for his “Book de Tour.”
The idea was simple. Tell the story of the tournament by combining his drawings of the tour in a book and adding blog-style annotations after each photo to explain what happened. The campaign ended at 104 percent of its goal. Three orders of the book signed by Leach and the winner of the competition sold at $500 each.
The book received a great response from cyclists, cycling fans and the media. Leach recalls when Alberto Contador crashed and broke his tibia, then got back onto the bike and rode 10 more kilometers up the mountain. Just before dropping out of the race, Contador had an interaction with a teammate and bid farewell. Leach captured the moment.
“This is significant, so I painted it,” Leach said. “When [Contador] tweeted his thanks to his fans, he used that painting as the image to go with the tweet.”
“Book de Tour” has seen different uses from multiple audiences. A copy of the book will be signed by as many featured racers as possible, and auctioned at the gallery of the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit organization that coordinates organ transplants. All proceeds will go to the organization.

Alumnus Greig Leach captures moments from major cycling competitions around the world through his paintings.
Photos by Ahmed Asraf

In addition, Leach has a Dutch friend whose nephew wants to learn fluent English and is reading the book to improve his skills.
The wife of American cyclist Tejay van Garderen bought four pieces depicting her husband. While exchanging emails, she told Leach she and her husband use the images to tell bedtime stories to their daughter.
Leach has immense passion for painting. He believes drawing is a great way to meet people, see new places, and observe a subject in greater detail than when photographing it.
“It slows you down and makes you savor the experience,” Leach said.

Featured image up top : VCU alumnus Greig Leach holds a selection of his cycling paintings. Photo by Ahmed Asraf.

Tour de France, Stage 15, Chasing Through Town

With the peloton closing in on the early break of the day, first Matteo Trentin (Etixx Quickstep) took off in search of a stage victory.  Shortly afterwards a former winner of the Giro d'Italia, Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale Garmin) took off in search of the Italian.  More likely than not, the effort by the two men was a fool's errand, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.  And it is true that two men together will be able to sustain a longer effort than either one going it alone.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quller brushes from the family run art supply company, Jack Richeson & Company, www.richesonart.com.  In addition, this painting and all of my Tour de France cycling art is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting for only $60 USD, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Don't delay however, since this is an original one of a kind work of art, when it has been sold, there won't be another one to be had.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2582202---210122/Painting.html#.Vav6b_lViko

Tour de France, Stage 12: Saluting the Fans

Roaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) cross the line all on his own having dropped, Jakob Fulgsang (Astana), the last man to attempt to hold the Spaniard's wheel.  With Spain just a few kilometers down the road, he blew kisses and gestured to the crowds surely filled with many of his fellow countrymen.  Rodriguez has now claimed to stage victories in the 102nd Tour de France and today marked his first long hoped for big mountain stage victory.  He was rewarded for his hard work by taking over the lead in the King of the Mountains competition.  Behind, while Nairo Quintana nor Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) were able to dislodge Chris Froome (Team Sky) from the lead, they were able to move their Movistar team into the lead in the team competition.  Finally, after all of his efforts to solo to a stage victory that came to naught, Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-Quickstep) will be wearing the red bib number of the day's Most Combative rider tomorrow.

This is an original small watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes that came from Jack Richeson & Company (www.richesonart.com), a small mid western family run art supply company with excellent art supplies.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this painting for only $60 USD, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  International shipping is available.  Don't delay, it is a one of a kind original painting, so when it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2581416---210122/Painting.html#.VahuEvlViko 

Tour de France Stage 9: I've Done What I Could

Michael Schar (BMC) has been one of the main guys riding on the front of the peloton day in and day out in service of his team leader, Tejay van Garderen.  Today's intense effort in the Team Time Trial seemed to be just two much for him.  After he had done a long, fast, hard pull on the front for his teammates, he swung off the front and waved the team car around him.  Since five men are all that is needed at the finishing line, he knew that his sacrifice would help the team, whereas if he had stayed in the pace line, he would have slowed everyone down.  His efforts were not in vain, the team was ultimately able to claim the stage, not surprising since the BMC is the current World Champion Team Time Trial Gold Medalist.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson and Company, www.richesonart.com.  In addition this painting is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting for only $60 USD, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Don't delay, this is an original work of art, so when it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2579678---210122/Painting.html#.VaLWTvlViko

Tour de France Stage 8: 100% of the Work

For the first time in this year's Tour, Cannondale Garmin came to the front of the peloton to chase down the new group of escapees.  The final ramp up the Mur de Bretagne to the line was tailor made for the Irishman on the team, Dan Martin.  As an artist who loves cycling, I have to say that the new kit for the team is far superior to their colors from last year.  Nice to see the blue from Garmin Sharp back onto the sleeves of the jersey.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com.  This painting, in fact all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this painting for only $60 USD, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Don't delay, since this is a one of a kind original, once it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2579330---210122/Painting.html#.VaGDIflViko

Tour de France Stage 8: Informing the Peloton

With the sprinters' and their teams having identified this stage as one of the last for them until the Champs Elysees, it was important to keep close tabs on the break away.  While race radio, and the direct communication via radios between the team cars and their men can monitor the gabs, LCL still sponsors a time keeper that shuttles between groups with a chalkboard informing the competitors of the amount of time between each group on the road.  Ahead of the time keeper and the peloton is one of the television motorcycles.  The camera man sits astride the back of the bike with his camera patched into the antenna you can clearly see on the back of the bike.  The signal is beamed up to an airplane and then back down to the television production mobile studio.  Pretty cool, huh?

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com.  This painting, in fact all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this painting for only $60 USD, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Don't delay, since this is a one of a kind original, once it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2579262---210122/Painting.html#.VaF5r_lViko

Getting Ready for the Tour de France!

I am so excited about the start of the 2015 edition of the Tour de France!  The field looks like it will provide for some very competitive racing with several past winners of the Tour and even more former winners of other Grand Tours taking to the line for the Prologue in Utrecht.  Here is a chance to get a copy of my book about the 101st Tour, with a personal signature from the artist and author of "Book de Tour - Art of the 101st Tour de France.  Just follow this link on the listing on ebay at http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/252010360269?



Be sure to check back here starting on July 5th to see my paintings and writings on every stage of what should prove to be a very engaging 102nd Tour de France.

Good luck and happy bidding! 

A Cut and Paste from DeFeet International. I just had to share!

I am so very proud of this blog by Shane Cooper of DeFeet Socks.  I simply had to cut and paste the blog so you could read it too.

 

Here is the link to watch the video/interview referred to at the end of his blog post.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/129885113

The Art of Cycling

June 9, 2015  by Shane Cooper

DeFeet Founder and Chief Sockologist Shane Cooper (l) and Greig Leach head out for a ride from the DeFeet factory.

I am a connoisseur of art. Especially the art of cycling. There is a lot of art in cycling. Handmade bicycles are probably the most obvious. Product design is an artform. As the Chief Sockologist (self Proclaimed), I feel it is my duty to open my mind and heart to the arts. I could also be called a wannabe artist, but lacking all the talent. I find artists fascinating, whether they are musicians, authors or painters. Whatever their discipline, I am a fan. I try to absorb everything I can from the artists who come into my life. My hope is to be able to understand and utilize this in some way during my short time on Mother Earth.

The Greig Leach studio is in Richmond, VA, which is also home to the 2015 World Cycling Championship later this year.

Today was one of those days.  I was blessed to meet Greig Leach, an Artist born in Washington, DC now residing in Richmond, VA. His talent came to my attention via social media. Twitter to be exact. Check out Greig’s web page here. Greig launched a book after last years Tour de France called Book de Tour.

Greig Leach holds Book du Tour. The book is a collection of his paintings. Launched with a successful Kickstarter campaign, it was inspired by his love of cycling.

Greig and I had a few meetings and voila, he agreed to join DeFeet in a joint venture. Our plan is to show a few of his original works of art on socks and create a joint venture for the 2015 Tour De France. DeFeet has already offered two special Greig Leach socks. We started with Paris Roubaix and then the Giro. He sends us paintings from the races, and we turn them into sock art. Together we built up a little chatter to launch our master plan. The Tour de France is our crescendo, this year. Grieg painted the green, polkadot and yellow jerseys from the Tour. We transcribed these into sock art. Our plan is to offer his Tour de France book with a free sock of choice to go with it.

From this simple palate and dreams of cycling come paintings desired everywhere they are seen.

Greig paints from his home in Richmond while watching the live feed the races. He paints the race as he feels it. Each move, each attack, he is there as if he is right amongst the peloton.

DeFeet socks are a durable and worthy canvas for the art of Greig Leach. We are proud to be able to offer it to our customers.

His work is phenomenal and his audience is worldwide. Many of the best athletes in the world call him after a win to ask if he could commemorate their monumental achievement in water color or oil paint. Mr. Leach is star struck, but he obliges these requests whenever possible to create a family memoire that immortalizes the achievement. These paintings are quickly becoming family heirlooms.

Paintings like this are inspiring racers, cycling and art enthusiasts all over the world to get their own works of art by Greig Leach.

Greig was an amateur cyclist in the mid 70s. Today he rides with the passion of a 10 year old. To see this really effects in a positive way. Greig is immersed in something he loves, and his talent is literally and figuratively stopping the world. We did a quick spin today, chatting and enjoying our conjoined passions. Wow. Another incredible day spent with an amazingly talented person and  a true soul cyclist.
The 2015 World Cycling Championship are in Richmond VA in September. Mr. Leach is the “official artist” for this quest for the Rainbow Jersey (and Rainbow Socks if the athlete is lucky enough to be on a DeFeet team).  What a huge honor! Go watch the race, go watch Grieg paint his way into history.
Greig’s art is created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from the small family run art supply company called Jack Richeson and Company.  Their website is www.richesonart.com.
Take 2 mins to watch the interview, let Greig tell you in his own words.

Giro Stage 15: Visiting the Doctor

Amongst the members of the following caravan is the all important Medical Assistance car.  Those that are suffering from both new wrecks and old ones alike can drop back to visit the doctor while tooling along at 40 kilometers an hour.  The descent off of the Passo Daone was fast, twisting and narrow.  One of the especially tight turns was further constricted by a rather foolish reporter and motorcycle driver who stopped on the road surface in order to broadcast a mid race report.  Several riders went down trying to avoid the fools, most notably Damiano Caruso (BMC) who dived head first into the soft dirt.  While I didn't see Igor Anton (Movistar) go down, I assume he was one of those who had difficulty negotiating the narrow descent.  One of the common methods of treatment is the 'magical spray' that is both disinfectant and numbing agent that will tend to the immediate symptoms of the crash and help prevent infection.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson & Company.  They are a small family run art supply company that have incredible quality art supplies.  You can find them on the web at www.richesonart.com.  This painting is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To buy this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  All of my small cycling watercolors are $50 USD plus shipping (including international shipping), including this one.  While you are at the website, why not take the time to look at all of the artwork on offer?

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Giro%20d%20Italia/2559468---184157/Painting.html#.VWKCSflViko

Giro Stage 5: Checking the Map

Every team is provided with a race "Bible" that will describe each stage in detail.  For Silvan Dillier, the most important detail is the elevation map of the final climb up to Abetone.  While each rider has a small index card version of the map, Dillier took the opportunity to go over the map with his Director Sportif in the following team car.  After I painting this, I saw him checking his small map several times.  I think he was hoping he could make the climb disappear.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson and Company, www.richesonart.com.  They are a lovely family run business that has incredible art supplies for professionals and hobbyist alike.  In addition, this painting (and all of my cycling art) is available for purchase through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  And, yes, international shipping is available.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Giro%20d%20Italia/2553584---184157/Painting.html#.VVPTQiHBzGc

Giro Stage 4: Dishing Out the Pain

Astana had a plan, perhaps taking a page from Tinkoff Saxo's play book.  They put six of the team's nine riders on the front (two more were up the road in the early break).  The boys in turquoise raised the pace to a near lethal level, shedding hopefuls and pretenders alike.  By this point, many of the other contenders were down to one or two teammates (if any) for support.  The move was so strong that Richie Porte (Team Sky), called up his team car in hopes of any ideas on how to respond to the show of strength.  It was a little ironic, considering that setting a vicious pace is modus operundi for Team Sky.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from Jack Richeson and Company, www.richesonart.com.  They are a lovely family run business that has incredible art supplies for professionals and hobbyist alike.  In addition, this painting (and all of my cycling art) is available for purchase through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  And, yes, international shipping is available.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Giro%20d%20Italia/2553576---184157/Painting.html#.VVPL8iHBzGc

Giro Stage 3: Bridging Across

As the peloton drew close to the remnants of the break away, Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani CSF) jumped out of the crowd and went in search of the smaller group up the road.  The Italian managed to catch on to the tail of the break escorted by one of the many enthusiastic fans, or tifosi, who run beside the riders yelling encouragement (all sometimes the yells can turn ugly).  Fans will line almost every kilometer of the entire race, often drinking for hours as they wait for their heroes to speed by.

This is an original small watercolor and ink painting that is available for purchase through my artists website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 98th Giro d'Italia.  International shipping is available.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Giro%20d%20Italia/2553044---184157/Painting.html#.VVGEviHBzGc

Paris Roubaix: Finding the Last One

The speed of the peloton would increase with each attack that came out of its ranks.  That speed and the length that the breakaway had been out in front ensured that they would be caught, eventually.  The very last one to succumb to the charging peloton was the Frenchman, Alexis Gougeard (AG2R).  Leading the chase when the catch was made was Borut Bozic (Astana) doing the work for his team's hopeful, Lars Boom.  It was Boom who took the stage last year that included many of these same pave sections, and like Paris Roubaix, finished in the Roubaix Velodrome.  The final catch was made with just 21 kilometers left to race, a valiant effort by Gougeard.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular watercolor just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  International shipping is available.

If you are enjoying reading about Paris Roubaix with the accompanying artwork, be sure to search out my recently published, "Book de Tour - Art of the 101st Tour de France".  It can be found through most every online bookseller around the world.  Google the title to discover where you can get a copy and avoid international shipping charges.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%20/2541140---195767/Painting.html#.VSsAqvnF-xU

Paris Roubaix: The Next to Go

Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) made no secret of his desire to win his final race for his long term team.  Wiggins will move away from road cycling after today and concentrate on returning to the track and the 2016 Summer Olympics.  He will also be working with a new development team that he has created.  Bearing that in mind, it was no surprise to see the former winner of the Tour de France and current World Time Trial Champion strike off in search of the leaders on the road through the blowing dust of the north of France.

This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  To purchase this particular watercolor just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  International shipping is available.

If you are enjoying reading about Paris Roubaix with the accompanying artwork, be sure to search out my recently published, "Book de Tour - Art of the 101st Tour de France".  It can be found through most every online bookseller around the world.  Google the title to discover where you can get a copy and avoid international shipping charges.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%20/2541134---195767/Painting.html#.VSr-gfnF-xU

And then this happened... Paris Roubaix Socks by DeFeet

And then this happened... These are the newest release of Aireator Socks by DeFeet adorned with a knitted interpretation of one of my paintings. The image comes from my painting of Niki Terpstra's (Etixx-Quickstep) powerful win of the 2014 Hell of the North.  To get your own pair of these fun socks just follow this link http://defeet.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=32B4FE0497204EA898E5B2FBEBC93129.  They retail for $12.99 USD.

Yeah, every once and awhile, I just have to geek out about how this marriage of my twin passions is going.  I have always enjoyed the freedom that comes from being out on the open road on my bike, going back to my pre-teen days so very many years ago.  I still get that same thrill every time I clip into my pedals and strap on my helmet.  The only other thing (that I will mention here) that brings me that kind of joy is making art, and now I have found how to knit these twin passions together (pun intended). 

So follow the link above to get your pair of the first of five pairs of socks that DeFeet Socks and I will be creating together over the coming season.  And then follow this blog as I paint my way through the Spring Classics, the Grand Tours and finish up when the world rolls into my adoptive home town, Richmond, Virginia.  All of the paintings will appear here, and are offered for sale through my artist website at www.greigleach.com