Tour '25, Stage 11: Out Thrown

Both Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X-Mobility) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) had managed to drop the other three members of the breakaway.  They were chased by Mathieu Van Der Poel.  He had lost a stage on a breakaway effort in the final meters of a stage.  Today, he was unable to catch the break and was about at the same point when he was caught then as he was now when these two sprinted for stage victory.  Schmid had the misfortune of being on the front for the final kilometer but came oh so close to outsprinting the Norwegian on the Norwegian team.  It came down to the quality of each man's bike throw.  Abrahamsen had the better lunge for the line claiming his first Tour de France stage victory of his career.  You may remember he spend days in the Maillot a Pois and a day or two in the Maillot Vert last year, but this is the first time he has taken a Tour stage.

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 $99 USD including shipping, but, yes, international shipping is both available and extra. 

"Out Thrown TdF25-72" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour '24, Stage 13: Checking Before Celebrating

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wisely looked to his left to make sure he had gotten to the line ahead of Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) before raising his arms in celebration.  He infamously celebrated a stage win two years ago without knowing that someone had already won the stage in a lone breakaway.  Needless to say, he has been teased about that for years now.  He is also aware that many have started their celebrations prior to actually crossing the line and gotten beaten by a well-timed bike throw.  Speaking of bike throws, Van Aert's was a bit pointless since he was outsprinted by over a half a bike length.  Many of the other marquee sprinters were caught up in the mayhem that was caused by the crash, but that does not negate the quality of Philipsen's second stage victory in this Tour.  Biniam Girmay (Intermache-Wanty) finished fourth today and conceded thirty-two points to Philipsen in the race for the Maillot Vert.  He still holds the jersey by twice that amount, but it is getting to look a little less like a sure thing.

There is only one more flat stage left for the sprinters to ply their trade, but it is on the other side of two days in the high mountains of the Pyrenees.  How many will stay in the Tour with no sprint on the Champs Elysees to hang tough for.  I have been betting that this is the last day in this Tour for Cavendish.  But without getting to try to break his own record today, he may struggle to the final sprint stage after the final rest day next Monday.

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.

"Checking Before Celebrating TdF24-76" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour '24, Stage 11: A GC Sprint

Everyone, myself included, assume that if it came to a sprint, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) would have the better of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).  Even as they came into the final meters, Pogacar had managed to put Vingegaard on the front (a disadvantage when it comes to a sprint finish).  But once Vingegaard wound up his sprint the Maillot Jaune just wasn't able to get around the defending champion of the Tour.  It came down to a perfect bike throw which netted Vingegaard an extra four bonus seconds at the line.  That gave him two seconds back of his deficit in the race for victory in Nice.  Behind Evenepoel got close enough to these two to stay in second overall, but his gap is now just eight seconds over Vingegaard.  So, despite all of the excitement the top four places in this Tour remained unchanged.  But the confidence of Vingegaard got a huge boost.  Did the catch and the sprint eat into the psyche of Pogacar?

This is the tenth different team to win a stage of this Tour, and naturally, the tenth different guy to win a stage too.

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.

"A GC Sprint TdF24-64" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Strade Bianche Donne 23: Between Teammates

We were all curious if the SD Worx teammates would decide who was going to win the day between themselves, by team order, or if they would race each other as all cycling buddies do.  It was close and perhaps it could have been Lotte Kopecky’s second victory in a row had she timed her bike through a bit better.  As I watched the over head shot, I could see that Demi Vollering had one or two pedal strokes more than her teammate once she had thrown her bike at the line.  After the finish they didn’t seem to want to speak to each other, but by the time they got to the podium, they were all smiles and hugs.  

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 painting was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $90 USD including shipping, but yes international shipping is both available and extra.

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Professional-Womens-Cycling/3938130-60-207546/Painting/between-teammates.-sb23-7.html