Tour '26, Stage 9: Tete de la Course

The translation of the title is "head of the race."  At sixty-nine kilometers to go, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) was in a small breakaway with a twenty-four second gap to the peloton.  Alaphilippe is not having the best of Tours, so it was nice to see him at the right end of the race today.  He and his teammate, Marco Haller, are on one of two teams that are wearing a black kit, not the best color for the hottest day of the Tour's history.  Three of the other hottest days in history are also from this, the 113th, Tour de France.  That may be why Alaphilippe is pouring his water bottle onto his teammates back.  At this point they are joined by Michel Hessman (Movistar), Dorian Godon (Netcompany-Ineos) and Xabier Mikel Zaparren (Pinarello-Q36.5).  I should point out that shortly after I painted this, the group was chased down and absorbed by the peloton.  It was the last time I saw the idol of the French cycling fans today.

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.

Purchase this painting here: "Tete de la Course TdF26-59" (Original art by Greig Leach)

 Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

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Tour '25, Stage 11: Amongst the French

Obviously, the Tour de France is spent amongst the French both in the race and lining nearly every kilometer of the Grande Boucle.  Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling) was the lone Austrian amongst this five-man group that has gone off in search of the breakaway.  He was attacking with two Frenchmen on one French team, Alexandre Delettre and Matteo Vercher of TotalEnergies and an additional two Frenchmen on another French team, Clement Berthet and Bastien Tronchon of Decathlon-Ag2r-La Mondiale.  Unfortunately for the quintet, they were caught by the peloton not long after I painted this with another 102 kilometers that will bring them back to where they started in Toulouse. 

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. 

"Amongst the French TdF25-67" (Original art by Greig Leach)

This painting has sold!

Tour '25, Stage 7: Still Here

It was a bit different to see a former winner of the Tour de France off the front in a five-man breakaway.  But here is Geraint Thomas (Ineos-Grenadier) stocking up on gels as he rides along the Emerald Coast.  He joined Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling), Ewan Costiou (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) in another valiant effort to take stage honors away from the GC men.  With the quick final double climb of the Mur de Bretagne, it wasn't likely that any of the sprinters were going to be around for the finale, so it was a reasonably good chance for a break to succeed again today.  However, at 97 kilometers to race, the UAE led peloton has kept the break to only a minute and forty second advantage.

This is Geraint's final Tour de France, so I did want to take the opportunity to paint him one last time. He won back in 2018, the second year the time-lapse videos of my artwork were shared during the NBC Sports broadcasts of the Tour.  

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. 

"Still Here TdF25-41" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Gent-Wevelgem '25: Losing Ground

Despite their best efforts, the trio of Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike), Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Arjen Livyns (Lotto) kept losing time to the flying Mads Pedersen.  Haller was the sole survivor of the early breakaway.  Both Campenaerts and Livyns had bridge up to Haller in the last twenty kilometers or so.  With thirty-two kilometers to race, they were now a minute and a half behind the lone leader and roughly a minute ahead of the reduced chasing peloton.  It did want to do this piece since I so enjoyed the inflatable of the sun created by Eneco.

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.

"Losing Ground GW25-4" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Gent-Wevelgem '25: With a Slight Advantage

As with most of the Classics, the day started with a group eight guys getting of the front together.  Today was no different. Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis), Jasha Suttelin (Jayco-Alula), Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), Samuel Leroux and Alex Coleman (TotalEnergies), and Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling) build up a four-minute lead over the peloton at one point.  By the time Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) joined the escapees, they had just under a minute's advantage with seventy-four kilometers yet to go.  It wasn't looking like it would be a day for the breakaway.  But then, it rarely is.

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.  

"With a Slight Advantage GW25-2" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Paris Olympics 2024, Men's Road Race: Who Do We Have Now?

Valentin Madouas (France) looks over his shoulder to see who is in this chase group with him.  He finds a dangerous Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) along with Stefan Kung (Suisse), Marco Haller (Austria), and Fred Wright (Great Britain).  The group has built a bit of an advantage over what is left of the main peloton with another 34 kilometers to race through the streets of Paris.  They are still chasing on man, Ben Healy (Ireland) who is still holding them off by about thirty seconds.  

Since there won't be another painting of Madouas today, I should tell you that he was able to take the Silver Medal for France, making that the third Silver in this event in the history of these Games.  They have yet to win a Gold Medal.

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. 

"Who Do We Have Now? PO240-55" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour '24, Stage 12: Bringing Roglic Home

It was hard seeing a big pile up of riders due to a ridiculous high curb in the middle of the roadway inside of the last ten kilometers.  An Astana-Qazaqstan rider got caught and went down in the middle of the peloton.  He took out a number of riders and delayed many others.  The first guy to go down over the Astana bike was Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).  Unlike his much softer crash yesterday, this crash was well outside of the three kilometer (or four or five) so he won't be getting the same time as who he was with when he went down.  Most of his team came back to help pace him back to the peloton.  He was led home by Bob Jungels, Marco Haller, Nico Denz and Danny Van Poppel.  They weren't able to go full gas and get him in quick enough for him to keep his fourth place in the general classification.  I think he wasn't able to ride hard and was most likely injured more than his bloody shoulder might indicate.  He dropped to sixth place.  But more importantly is he okay and will he be able to take to the start line tomorrow?

Update: Roglic didn't start Stage 13 and is therefore out of the Tour.

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.

"Bringing Roglic Home TdF24-70" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Paris Nice 23, Stage 3: Leading Them Home

Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) drove hard all of the way through the finish line keeping as many seconds to the team’s advantage as possible.  Behind the big German, his countryman and team leader, Maximilian Schachmann was pulling faces just to stay on his wheel. The duo gapped Marco Haller and another teammate in the final meters of the team time trial course.  They finished 29 seconds off of the best time, leaving Schachmann 28 seconds out of first place going into the mountain top finish stage tomorrow.

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, but yes international shipping is both available and extra.

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Paris-Nice/3938701-90-272742/Painting/leading-them-home.-pn23-8.html

Dauphine, Stage 7: Job Done

For some team members it is the goal to win the stage, or perhaps the stage race, but for most it is to help others achieve those goals.  For the guys who work tirelessly to achieve the wins for others, the title of domestique is theirs.  The Costa Rican, Andrey Amado (Ineos-Grenadiers) had done all he could do for the team on the climb of La Plagne.  With 15 kilometers left to race, he dropped of the front and rode to the line as best he could.  Ahead of him was the neutral support vehicle provided by Shimano with Marco Haller (Bahrain-Victorious) joining others that were sliding off the back of the ever shrinking peloton.

This is a small 4x6 inch original watercolor painting that is available through my website at www.greigleach.com, or you can simply follow the direct link at the end of the post to purchase the painting above.  Since ti is an original work of art, it is a first come first seved reality. The painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburth watercolors from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $75 USD plus shipping, and yes international shipping is available.

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Criterium-du-Dauphine/3815690-119-185083/Painting/job-done-cd21-35.html

Bergen 2017, Elite Men's Road Race: Is this the Move?

A number of riders bridged up to the attack by Marco Haller (Austria) and worked hard to make it stick.  For Lars Boom (Netherlands), Jack Haig (Australia), David de la Cruz (Spain), Odd Christian Eiking (Norway) and Time Wellens (Belgium), they were hoping that this was going to be the winning move.  The group quickly opened a gap on the peloton.  With representatives from the most aggressive teams of the race thus far, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Australia, the peloton was being a bit slow to react.  On the other hand, the French, Poles, and Italians had missed the move and would soon be obliged to chase.

This is a small watercolors and ink painting measuring just 4"x6" and was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com.  This painting and all of my Olympics artwork will be 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.  It is only $75 USD and international shipping is available.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Bergen-2017-UCI-Road-World-Championships/3038065-52-239826/PaintingIs-this-the-Move?--Bergen-52.html

Bergen 2017, Elite Men's Road Race, Enthusiastic

With the peloton "gruppo compacto" it was now the time when riders were attacking one after the other.  Marco Haller (Austria) chose his spot well.  On the fan packed climb of Salmon Hill, amongst hundreds of Norwegian flags and thunderous cheers of "Heia, heia!" he opened up a gap on an inattentive peloton.  All Worlds long I have been hearing the heia cheer, and it sounds like a good Southern greeting as in "Hi, ya' (short for Hi, y'all)."  Many riders have tweeted about just how exciting it was to ride up this hill with all of the support along the roadside.  It must have been truly inspiring for any of the Norwegian riders.

This is a small watercolors and ink painting measuring just 4"x6" and was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com.  This painting and all of my Olympics artwork will be 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.  It is only $75 USD and international shipping is available.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Bergen-2017-UCI-Road-World-Championships/3038037-51-239826/PaintingEnthusiastic--Bergen-51.html

Tour de France, Stage 16: Given a Head Start

Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) and then Marco Haller (Katusha) sporting his new Champion of Austria kit, managed to use their power to escape the rest of the climber oriented breakaway across the valley floor between the Col de Cabre and the Col de Manse.  The duo slid under the 20 kilometers to go banner at the base of the final climb of the day with fifty seconds over the chasing group containing Peter Sagan (Tinkoff Saxo) amid other strong climbers.  With only less than a minute, it was unlikely that the two could stay away against the mountain goats of the Tour, but they had to give it a go.

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, www.richesnonart.com.  They are a small family run art supply company located in the North Central United States.  In addition this painting, along with all of my 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.  Remember it is an original painting, so when it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202015/2582760-102-210122/Painting.html#.Va2uMvlViko