Tour '26, Stage 15: In the Blink of an Eye

Whatever the plan was for Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma=Lease a Bike team was, this surely wasn't it!  I don't normally paint the crashes, but this one set the 113th Tour de France on its ear.  As the peloton came into a right-hand bend littered with traffic furniture Vingegaard lost his front wheel and went down hard into the curbing on the side of the road.  Several others went down with him including Fellix Grosschartner and Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) who piled on top of each other and a couple fans who got a little closer to the racers than anyone wanted.  Vingegaard's teammate Sepp Kuss went down as well, but he was back up almost instantly.  Not so for Vingegaard.  The longer he sat on the roadside, the worse we all knew it was.  When I saw the medical team bring over an arm sling, I knew his Tour was over.  He has never finished worse than second (and has one twice) but this is the first time he has ever crashed out of the Tour.  The peloton slowed and waited to see if he would remount.  Once Del Toro caught back up to Pogacar (who had just barely avoided going down as well) he let the Maillot Jaune know that Vingegaard wasn't coming back.  Once everyone knew, it was back to racing.

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.

Purchase this painting here: "In the Blink of an Eye TdF26-110" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Learn more about Greig Leach at The Art of Cycling: About the Artist: Greig Leach

And learn about Leach's published books at The Art of Cycling: Cycling Books by Greig Leach

Learn More About the Artist →   

Tour '25, Stage 3: Heartbreak Is the End of His Tour

Under normal circumstances, I never paint the crashes the plaque the Tour de France (and bike racing in general).  But this one will affect the rest of this race.  As the peloton ramped up to sprint of sprint points at the intermediate sprint in Isbergues, another sprinter bounced off of a lead out main on a third team.  His loss of control took out the front wheel of Jasper Philipsen (Alepcin-Deceuninck) has he prepared to add to his lead in the race for the Maillot Vert while wearing the green skin suit.  He went down hard onto his back.  Since it was at high speed, he scraped off not only his kit but quite a bit of skin too.  His teammate Gianni Veermeersch held his bike as he tried to help his sprinter.  Another of his teammates, Silvan Dillier came back to be ready to help pace Philipsen back into the peloton.  Alas, there was no remounting for the Belgium sprinter.  It was clear that he had broken or dislocated his shoulder.  I learned later that he also broke two ribs as well.  So, in just the blink of an eye, his Tour was over.

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.

"Heartbreak Is the End of His Tour TdF25-15" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour de France 23, Stage 8: No! No! No!

It is my custom to not paint crashes from any bike race, nor the consequences on the riders on the race.  Today, I made an exception.  While I had my doubts that Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) would be able to get his 35th all time Tour stage win, I didn't want this to be the reason.  After coming so very, very close yesterday in Bordeaux, he got tangled up in a crash with about 60 kilometers left in today's stage.  It was obvious to me as soon as I saw him reach to the front of his right shoulder I knew his Tour was over.  Cav has claimed this was his final Tour appearance.  While he change his mind?

As he got into the ambulance to head to hospital, the camera got a very lost stared seemingly not seeing what lay in his future.  He then did give us all a wry smile before the door slid shut.

A sad day for the Tour, Astana, Cav, racers, and all of us cycling fans.

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 $95 USD including shipping, but yes international shipping is both available and extra.

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France--Tour-de-France-Femmes-2023/3964390-44-297438/Painting/no-no-no-tdf23-44.html

TDF, Stage 13: Hurting

After yet another crash in the Tour de France that left guys tumbling down the embankment.  While Simon Yates (BikeExchange) didn't go over the edge, he did spend sometime in pain laying on the side of the road.  He did get up and back on the bike.  A little further up the road, he stopped and stretched out his back clearly in pain.  His soigneur came up with another bottle and some kind words before Yates got back up and started chasing the peloton.  Not long after I painted this, it was announced that he was leaving the Tour.  I hope he isn't too bad off and will recover quickly.  It is said that he is planning on competing in the Olympics in just over two weeks, hopefully this doesn't derail the plan.

This is a small 4x6 inch original watercolor painting that is available through my website at www.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 from www.Richesonart.com. The work sells for $75 USD plus shipping, and yes international shipping is available.

https://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/2021-Tour-de-France/3822865-80-291436/Painting/hurting-tdf21-79.html

Tour, Stage 9: Shades of 2014

For those who don't get the title of this painting, it is two fold.  First like Richie Porte (BMC) crashed out of this Tour de France with out every putting a wheel on a single pave, just as Chris Froome (Sky) did back in 2014 (the last time the Tour raced on some of the Paris Roubaix paves).  Secondly, it was stage 9 when Porte crashed out in spectacular fashion last year.  Fortunately for BMC and Porte, his injuries were not anywhere near as severe as 2017.  Porte wasn't the only one who hit the deck here, nor all over the roads and pave of today's stage.  There is a reason the classic, Paris Roubaix, is called "The Hell of the North"  Today it was a hellish ride for many in the peloton.  Others may have suffered physically, but at least their GC hopes are still entacted.

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.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-multi-view/Tour-de-France-2018/3187624-41-251072/PaintingShades-of-2014--T18-41.html