Tour '25, Stage 9: I Got You

Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) looks under his arm to check on his teammate Mathieu Van Der Poel.  The pair have been out in front of the entire peloton for 160 kilometers thus far.  The pair have held a lead as high as five-and-a-half minutes, but with just eleven kilometers left to Chateauroux they still had a minute and six seconds on the closing teams of the sprinters.  The rule of thumb is that the peloton can pull back a minute over every ten kilometers.  That translate to it being really touch-and-go  that this pair will be able to stay away to the line.  All along the course today, the sunflowers have been turning their faces to watch the Tour go by (as long as the riders were on the sunny side of the fields).

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 $99 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"I Got You TdF25-56" (Original art by Greig Leach)

This painting has sold!

Tour '25, Stage 9: Pro Forma

Today did not start out as expected.  From the very first meters of the start Jonas Richaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) went off the front alone.  He was quickly joined by his teammate Mathieu Van Der Poel.  Van Der Poel has already won a stage of this Tour and has worn the Maillot Jaune for three of the nine stages (including today) thus far.  I was quite surprised that the peloton was letting these two go.  I wasn't alone in that surprise.  By the time they reached the intermediate sprint point in La Bell Indienne twenty-four kilometers into the stage the duo of teammates had built up almost four minutes on the peloton.  Giving Van Der Poel this much of an advantage seems unwise despite the 150 kilometers left to race to Chateauroux.  As they rolled through the pro forma sprint - for it wasn't really a sprint - it was Van Der Poel grabbing the maximum points, naturally.

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 $99 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra.

"Pro Forma TdF25-53" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour '24, Stage 3: Adding to His other Jersey

The hierarchy of the leader's jerseys in the Tour meant that Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) started today wearing the Maillot Vert, the sprinter's jersey, and loaned out his Maillot a Pois to the guy in second place in that competition.  However, Green is not his goal (or his strong suit for that matter), it was just the by-product of going in the break yesterday and finishing second on stage 2.  His goal remains the King of the Mountains competition.  As he sprinted to the top of the first climb of the day the Category 4, the Cote de Tortone-Fusto Coppi, he was sort of challenged by Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck).  I do believe that Richaert was just playing around, and wasn't actually challenging for the one point available at the summit.  That came later, from someone else.  Despite it being a day for the sprinters, he will remain in the lead on points and therefor remain in green for the Tour's entrance into France.

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.

"Adding to His other Jersey TdF24-11" (Original art by Greig Leach)