Tour '25, Stage 20: No Need to Sprint!

Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had plenty of time to celebrate on his way to winning his first Tour de France stage.  He has won several stages in both of the other grand tours, but not here in France.  Groves was brought as an insurance policy should what happened to their main sprinter Jasper Philipsen happened.  Then the stage winning shifted to his other famous teammateMathieu Van Der Poel, who had to leave the Tour with pneumonia.  I'm sure the team thought that was it for stage wins... until today!  Groves is seen as a sprinter, but he decided to not leave it to a risky sprint in the rain.  So off he went on his own, and that is how he won the third stage for his team, and he was the third one on the team to win a stage as well.

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. 

"No Need to Sprint! TdF25-138" (Original art by Greig Leach) 

Tour '25, Stage 15: Plenty of Time to Celebrate

Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) had over a minute-and-a-half over the lone chasers and another few seconds over the group from the early breakaway.  That gave him more than enough time to celebrate with the fans along the final kilometer of the stage.  After exchanging high fives, he gave the two-armed salute for the cameras as he won his first Tour de France stage of his career.  He now joins a relatively small group of Pro Tour riders who have won a stage in all three Grand Tours.  It is the fifth stage win for his team as well.  Much talk was made about just how strong of a team Visma-Lease a Bike brought to the Tour, but judging by stage wins the advantage goes to UAE Team Emirates.  It is true that Visma is leading the team competition by sixteen minutes.  That is determined by the combined times of any teams three best place members.

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.

"Plenty of Time to Celebrate TdF25-101" (Original art by Greig Leach)

Tour '25, Stage 14: It Took Everything

I admit that I get a bit tired of the arms spread wide as the solo stage winner performs for the hundreds of press photographers snapping away across the finishing line.  After Thymen Arensman (Ineos-Grenadiers) had done the required pose, he dropped his head down, tucked in his elbows and shortly here after collapsed to the roadway.  The Dutchman went away on the previous climb and held off the best climbers in the world to claim his first Tour de France stage victory!  He also gave his team (that use to dominate the Tour de France) its first stage win in two years.  Chapeau!

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.

"It Took Everything TdF24-94" (Original art by Greig Leach)

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 '25, Stage 8: The One that Matters

When the sprint opened up in Laval Espace Mayenne the only guy who could even come close to holding onto the Italian sprinter's wheel was Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).  But not even the former Belgium champion could spoil Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) from winning his first Tour de France stage.  While he is wearing the sprinter's Maillot Vert, he didn't lead the sprint composition until he crossed the finish line.  To explain, if someone holds more than one jersey they will wear the highest ranking one like the Maillot Jaune over the Maillot Vert.  If that is the case, the guy sitting in second place will wear the lesser jersey instead.  So, while he started the day wearing green on loan, with this victory he now is leading the sprint competition and owns the jersey outright.

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.

"The One that Matters TdF25-52" (Original art by Greig Leach)