Ironically, I was congratulating myself this morning on not having duplicated a title for the first 95 paintings of this Tour. And then I called this one "Rolling Along" and blew that stat. This is a group of five that the peloton wasn't interested in letting go. While Niki Terpstra (Quick Step) was pushing hard on the front, the peloton never gave them more than two minutes. Joining the former Dutch national champion were two riders from Mitchelton-Scott, Matthew Heyman and Luke Durbridge, along with the French sprinter, Thomas Boudet (Direct Energie) and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert). With today and Paris the last chances for the sprinters to get a stage, neither I nor more importantly the peloton were giving any chance of this break succeeding.
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) had gotten into the early break and over the first catagory 4 climb, just to add to his point total at the intermediate sprint in Besseges. It looked like no one in the break was going to challenge him at the break, why would they? Sagan has such a commanding lead in the sprint competition aided by the original second and third place sprinters not making time cuts in previous stages, that challenging him for points is "pointless." Never the less, the young Frenchman, Thomas Boudat (Direct Energie) couldn't resist the chance to test his legs against one of the great sprinters in the sport. After being beat by Sagan, he put his arm on his back in an apologetic gesture. Sagan didn't really seem to mind. Besides, there was still the finale to fight for. Spoiler alert... he took fourth on a stage that had a very steep climb just before the sprint. He should beat his own point total record by the time we reach Paris. And possibly, his own total number of stage wins by then as well.
You can watch this painting come to life here and on my YouTube channel, where I hope you will become a subscriber. And you can see one painting from every stage being painted as I talk about watercolor painting, the Tour and whatever else pops into my head about art and bike racing.
This is a small 4x6 inch original watercolor painting that is available though my website at www.greigleach.com, or you can simply follow the direct link at the end of this post. Since it is an original it is first come first served. The painting was created using Yarka St Petersburg watercolors from Richesonart.com. The work sells for $75 plus shipping. And yes, international shipping is available.
