Tour of Britain, Stage 3: With Some Help

As the peloton approached the summit of the Cat and Fiddle climb, Wout Poels (Sky) jumped out of the peloton with his teammate Nicolas Roche on his wheel.  The duo had hoped to surprise the King of the Mountians Jersey of Xandro Meurisse (Wanty Group Gobert) was attentive and quickly covered the Irish Champion's wheel.  Try as the Sky duo might, it was still Meurisse who went over the rise in fifth place, moving him into the outright lead in the King of the Mountains competition.

Lining the summit of the climb were hundreds of cycling fans, many of whom had ridden up to the top on their bikes.  I am sure having ridden the climb, they had a much better appreciation for what the pros were able to achieve and the speeds at which they did it.

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.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20of%20Britain/2848539-45-189075/PaintingAfter%20More%20Points%20ToB19-Greig-Leach.html#.V8-z1pgrLIU

Tour, Final Stage: Curtain Call

As an artist I have worked in quite a few different creative disciplines, one of which was theatre.  I have worked as both a scenic artist and a set designer.  So, this photo op is a familiar activity to me.  I call it the 'curtain call' when all of the actors come out on stage, lock arms and take a bow to the audience.  This is exactly what Chris Froome (Sky) and his supporting cast of riders was doing for the camera and for us.  Well done, Froomie and all of the Sky boys.  This is the fifth Tour that Team Sky has one, they now have it down.  The team changes their team cars, team kit, an apparently their cell phones, replacing all of the usually blue accents with bright yellow ones.

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.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

Be sure to check out my second cycling art book, Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships, available online or through your local book seller.

To buy this painting, follow this link:

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2828426-155-224974/PaintingCurtain%20Call%20TdF156-Greig-Leach.html#.V5Uwt7grLIU

Tour, Stage 19: Suffering

This title sums up the nineteenth stage of this Tour.  Many had crashed once the rains came down.  Amongst those to leave some lycra and skin on the alpine roads was the Maillot Jaune of Chris Froome (Sky).  Due to Team Sky's planning for every scenario, Froome was surrounded by his teammates.  One of whom, Geraint Thomas, happens to have a bike that fits Froome rather well.  Certainly much better than the one he got from neutral service on the climb of Mont Ventoux.  With Bardet up the road, everyone was racing hard leaving Froome no chance to trade back to his own steed.  Like sharks, the rest of the peloton was sensing blood in the water, almost literally given how wet the roads were.  For the first time since he pulled on the Maillot Jaune, Froome was losing time to his rivals.  But never one to panic, he reeled his biggest fear, Richie Porte (BMC) back in, but most of the others were able to pull back some time.  Froome was tended to by his faithful teammate, Wouter Poels the whole way up the climb.  As the pair crossed the line, Froome first act was to reach out, pat Poels on the back in thanks for all of his work.  Riding away from the Yellow Jersey are Fabio Aru (Astana), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and several others.  One the day, the big loser was Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), and losing time to his rival for the Maillot Blanc was Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange).  Although neither Froome nor Yates lost their jersey in the end.

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.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

Be sure to check out my second cycling art book, Art of Cycling: Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships, available online or through your local book seller.

To buy this painting, follow this link:

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2827782-143-224974/PaintingSuffering%20TdF144-Greig-Leach.html#.V5LNHrgrLIU

Tour, Stage 17: Hoping to Stay Away

After Astana had played its cards on both the Col de la Forclaz and the earlier slopes of the climb up Finhaut-Emosson to no avail, it was Dan Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) who was the next to attack the Sky train.  As the Irishman looked over his shoulder to check the gab, he could see Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) sliding back down through the back.  Team Sky has learned not to react to these attacks particularly if the rider is as far down the GC as Martin.  The man on the front for Sky, Wout Poels, will just push a little harder on the down stroke and slowly reel the escapee back in.  As they reel on in another will lose contact with the back of the group, and on and on it goes.  Dan Martin may not have actually been attacking the Maillot Jaune, but rather going on the offensive to move himself up from his tenth place overall.  With others already off the back, any timed gained could move him closer to the podium in Paris.  Closer.

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.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

To buy this painting, follow this link:

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour%20de%20France%202016/2826275-124-224974/PaintingHoping%20to%20Stay%20Away%20TdF125-Greig-Leach.html#.V5AGj7iAOko

Dauphine, Stage 6: A Veteran's Advice

The first to attack on the Col de la Madeleine was the young rider from Astana, Fabio Aru.  You may remember that he went late on Stage 3 and managed to hold off the whole of the peloton.  However, today he just seemed to have nothing in his legs.  He had the loyal super domestique, Luis Leon Sanchez, who stayed with him through both the waxing and waning on the stage thus far.  As the peloton closed on the duo, Sanchez took the time to explain why Aru may not have eaten enough.  It almost look as Aru dutifully dug into his jersey pocket for a energy bar.  Behind the duo, Tony Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) was closing fast in the super aero-tuck with all of the major players tight on his wheel.

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.  This painting, along with all of my cycling art, is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  While you are on the site, be sure to check out my other works of art and my two cycling books.  To purchase this particular painting, just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  Bear in mind that this is a one of a kind original and once it is gone, it is gone.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Criterium%20du%20Dauphine/2807206-73-185083/Painting.html#.V1zoN_krLIU