Tour '25, Stage 18: Sepp Ups the Pace

Once all of his teammates had done what they could, it was Sepp Kuss' (Visma-Lease a Bike) turn to work of his team leader Jonas Vingegaard.  As they climbed towards the top of the Col du Madeleine, they got a small (and short-lived) gap on Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).  The gap back to Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was bigger and lasted for the rest of the climb.  While Pogacar was able to hold onto the wheel of his primary rival, his teammates who you can just make out in the distance, where dropped completely.  Remember, Visma-Lease a Bike has another guy up the road who will be able to work for Jonas as well.

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. 

"Sepp Ups the Pace TdF25-120" (Original art by Greig Leach) 

Tour de France Femmes '24, Final Stage: The Sprint of Her Life!

Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM) had to sprint hard to the line atop the Alpe d'Huez if she wanted to save her Maillot Jaune.  She was coming to the line with some time to spare, but not much, not much at all.  To make matters a little finer, she was beaten to the line by Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) who grabbed the last bonus four bonus seconds on offer by taking third place in the stage.  In the end, it was just enough for Niewiadoma to finally win the Maillot Jaune in the Tour de France Femmes.  She has finished third in the first two editions of this incarnation of the women's Tour and had she been eleven seconds slower she would have been third for the third time.  Muzic managed to finish fourth on the general classification, but since fifth was just shy of a minute behind her, she really didn't need to try and out sprint Niewiadoma.  But then to paraphrase the use of an old saying goes, "no harm no foul."

This TdFF has had many things I have never seen before, but a four second differential on an eight day stage race is a first for me!

This does mark the end of my painting the 2024 Cycling Season, as far as I know...   I might be back for the UCI World Road Championships in September, or not... 

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.

"The Sprint of Her Life! TdFF24-46" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour Stage 10: Fighting for His Jersey

Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Belisol) fought valiantly to hold on to the Maillot Juane that he had only one the day before.  The teams bike sponsor had rushed him a new bright yellow bike down from Belgium and I am sure he wanted to get more than one day's use out of his new steed.  Gallopin found himself losing time to a couple of rivals, but the one with the best chance would be Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) taking back the Jersey that he had surrendered the day before.  I admit it, I am baffled by the Italian National Champion going back into Yellow.  I guess with Contador out of the Tour earlier in the stage, he must have felt that he and his team would be able to control any of the other contenders and their teams.  This is a small original watercolor and ink painting that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  It will be the next page in my soon to be self published, "Book de Tour", a complete collection of my paintings and writings on the 101st Tour de France.  To learn more about the book project, to pre-order your own copy, or to discover how you can be part of bring this wide open Tour to print, please visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335072134/book-de-tour.  There are some excellent rewards for those who choose to back the project at a wide variety of levels of participation.  Most include an artist signed copy of the book, some with original artwork starting for as little as $5 USD.  International shipping is available at all levels of support.  If you would rather simply purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202014/2402542-76-72-199992/Painting/Sports.html#.U8SmWM_D_IU