Clearly the heat, and perhaps other problems were giving Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) a rough start of the Tour. As the peloton hit the first of seven climbs in the opening stage, Cav quickly dropped off the back losing huge chunks of time very quickly. His teammates, Michael Morkov, Cees Pol, Michele Gazzoli, and Davide Ballerini dropped back to help their team leader stay as close to the main group as possible. Shortly after I painted this, Cav went over the top of the climb, and then empty his stomach violently. That seemed to do the trick for him, but not for Gazzoli who dropped out of his first attempt at the Tour as they started the next climb. With another 155 kilometers to race, Cav and his teammates will be racing to get home before the time limit elimination.
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.
