Doha 2016, Elite Men's Road Race: I'm Still Here!

In all of the drama of the peloton splitting apart in the crosswinds out on the desert.  Along with trying to figure out who was in what group, plus trying to decide if an of those not in the first group would ever see the front of the race again, it seems everyone forgot about the original break away.  The foursome of Anas Ait El Abdia (Morocco), Ryan Roth (Canada), Natnael Berhane (Eritrea) and Nick Dougall (South Africa) from the original break managed to hang onto the wheels of the very elite group being driven by the Belgium team. Ait El Abdia looked over to his team car seemingly saying, "Can you believe I am still here!?"  Not to cast doubts on the entire Moroccan cycling community, but for him and the others to be able to hold the wheels of this group was a huge accomplishment.  Behind him, some very respected racers were continuing to lose more and more time as they did the five laps of The Pearl circuit.

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/Doha%202016%20UCI%20Road%20World%20Championships/2866436-62-227958/Painting#.WAUGT-ArLIU

Doha 2016: Elite Men's Road Race: Getting Established

Yes, I realize now that I didn't write the title correctly.  Believe me I am far more interested in making the image work than I am about grammar and spelling.  In my defense, it was already late when I got started watching and painting the men's race, so I hope you can forgive me.

The peloton was facing over 257 kilometers, many of which would be raced in the open desert, so they didn't exactly fly off of the line today.  At roughly ten kilometers into the day, a group of seven guys managed to pry a bit of a gap off the front of the peloton.  The South African, Nick Dougall, takes a quick peek over his shoulder to see what their advantage has become.  Behind him, Ryan Roth (Canada), Natnael Berhane (Eritrea), Sergiy Lagkuti (Ukraine) Brayan Stiven Ramirez (Colombia) and Anas Ait El Abdia (Morocco) tuck in and work to grow their advantage.

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/Doha%202016%20UCI%20Road%20World%20Championships/2866397-57-227958/PaintingGetting%20Established%20Doha57-Greig-Leach.html#.WATxSeArLIU