Tour of Britain Stage 7: One Last Ditch

The break away faced the fate of a break on a sprinter's day so with the peloton just 15 seconds behind, Kristian House dug deep in one last effort to stay away for the stage win.  Moments later he saw the wheels of Omega Pharma Quickstep and sat up to join the back of the group, his compatriots tried for another couple of seconds but met the same fate all the same.  It is incredibly difficult to stay away from the sprinter's lead out trains when they have the red kite within sight.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 2013 Tour of Britain.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20of%20Britain/2214827---189075/Painting.html#.Uj_IWs_D_IU

Tour of Britain Stage 7: One More Bottle

Each team has a couple of team cars that follow the race, one out front with their man in the break and another in the caravan behind the peloton.  If one of their riders drops off, they are left to be assisted by a neutral service vehicle.  This is Laborie who rides for the French team, Sojasun, one of the four men in the break of the day.  With no real mountain points on offer today, it is the first road stage that did not feature Angel Madrazo.  Instead Laborie was accompanied by House, Willians and Euser in a group bid to surprise the sprinter's teams and sneak out a stage win.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that was created using cake watercolors, brushes and paper from www.richesonart.com  In addition, this work is available at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 2013 Tour of Britain.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20of%20Britain/2214823---189075/Painting.html#.Uj_E9c_D_IU

Tour of Britain Stage 5: Full On

Even with a double climb of Caerphilly Mountain, it was a rather large group that came to the line together in the center of town.  However the climbs at shucked all of the marquee sprinters leaving the climbers and GC men to fight it out to the line.  Ultimately it was another rider from the UK, Sam Bennett of AN Post-Chainreaction that had the power to get past all of the others charging to the line.  The Moviestar rider on the right is none other than the Colombian climber, Nairo Quintana.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available through my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 2013 Tour of Britain.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20of%20Britain/2213457---189075/Painting.html#.UjyNnMvD_IU

Tour Stage Sixteen: The First to Go

With a break away of 26 riders, everyone knew that they would not all be going to the line together, so it was Marino of Sojasun and Kadri of AG2R that jumped in the valley before the final climb.  The peloton contained 7 French riders all hoping to be the one (une) to bring a stage victory to the hosts of the 100th Tour de France.  These two were the first to go out in search of the honor and gratitude of a nation.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that can be yours by visiting my artist website where you can purchase this painting.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2183155---186227/Painting.html#.Ue9CkM_D_IU

Tour Stage Sixteen: Musettes for All

A Musette is basically a feed bag, you know, like oats for a horse, that are passed out to the riders as they zoom past a designated area on the course.  The challenge is to find your team helper and then grab the back without snagging them, the other riders or yourself.  Then still at speed you need to pick out what you want, load it into your jersey pockets (or mouth) and then toss the bag to some souvenirseeking cycling fan along the side of the road.   Then it is back to racing full on.  Cyclist will consume upwards of 6,000 calories during the race, so staying fed is a very important challenge.   This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available for purchase at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of art of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2183149---186227/Painting.html#.Ue8-VM_D_IU

Tour Stage Fourteen: Whatever They Have Left

They break finally caught up with Julien Simon (he is the fourth rider in this painting) under the shadow of the red kite, they were digging deep into whatever energy they had left.  Bakelants has his head down trying to repeat the feat that placed him in the Malliot Jaune in the early stages of the 100th Tour de France.  Everyone here is on the rivot trying to pull out a stage win for all of their efforts in the long, long breakaway.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available for purchase at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your very own artistic piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2182585---186227/Painting.html#.Ue3dkM_D_IU

Tour Stage Fourteen: Allez, Allez, Allez

The cry of the thousands of fans along the last climb of the day, "Allez!  Allez! Allez!'  was all the louder when it was a Frenchman that came up the road with a gap on the rest of the break.  As he road through the wall of noise from the French throngs, many took up the tradition of running along side the Sojason rider, Julien Simon, to yell their words of encouragement and joy.  The French have yet to win a stage in the 100th Tour de France, and Simon certainly looks like he will put that right with just 15 kilometers to go.   This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that can be yours by visiting my artist website to purchase this painting.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2182553---186227/Painting.html#.Ue3JAc_D_IU

Tour Stage Twelve: Going Straight Through

A break away forms in every stage, well almost, and today was no exception.  This group of five got away at the drop of the starting flag and set about building up their advantage to eight minutes, before the peloton decided that that was far enough.  Juan Antonio Flecha managed to get himself into yet another break, riding off in hopes of repeating is only other stage win in 2003.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available for purchase at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link to get your piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2182377---186227/Painting.html#.Ue2fZ8_D_IU

Tour Stage Ten: They're Going to Catch Us

After hours out ahead of the peloton and the loss of Westra who through in the towel a couple of kilometers earlier, these four discussed the merits of pressing on versus sitting up and waiting to be put back into the fold.  They don't seem to be asking Simon, knowing full well that he is hoping to win the stage that is covering the training roads that he grew up on.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available through my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2179525---186227/Painting.html#.UeS9DMvD_IU

Tour Stage Ten: Slipping Through Town

Five guys got away almost at the very start of the stage today, slipping through towns, fields and past crowds of cheering fans and held the peloton off until just about 15 kilometers to go.  The break include the local boy,  J. Simon of Sojasun and four others under the watchful eye of the motorcycle mounted photographer and the fans lining the sides of the roads of Brittany.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard and like all of the other works in this project, it was created using cake watercolors, brushes and paper from www.richesonart.com   In addition, the work is available at my artist website.  Just follow the direct link at the end of this post to get your artistic piece of the 100th Tour de France.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2179509---186227/Painting.html#.UeS2ysvD_IU

Tour Stage Eight: First to the Base

The first mountain stage of the 100th Tour de France had a long flat approach to the tallest pass that the Tour will cross in this edition of the Gande Boucle. This was the break that went early hoping that they could have a big head start on the big contenders of the GC.  The group contains Johnny Hoogerland in the colors of the Champion of the Netherlands, Jean-Marc Marino, Christophe Riblon (who is hoping to repeat his win on the same climb 3 years ago) and Rudy Melard all thinking they will be the ones to overturn the machine of Team Sky.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that was created using cake watercolors, brushes and paper from www.richesonart.com, a great company that makes excellent art supplies.  The work is also available at my artist website,  just follow the direct link at the end of this post. 

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Tour%20de%20France%202013/2179361---186227/Painting.html#.UeSaFsvD_IU