Paris Roubaix: Into the Forest

With the 28 cobbles to be conquered probably the most famous (and most difficult) is the stretch that goes straight through the famed Forest of Arenberg.  Like most of the cobbled sections of Paris Roubaix the stretch of road is only open to traffic once a year, and that one time is for this, the Hell of the North.  This is the eight riders of the early break mainly representing the Wild Card Teams of Bretagne-Seche Environnment, Net App-Endura, Topsport, and United Healthcare, although Lotto-Belisol and Tinkoff Saxo did make the break as well.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com or you could just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2345155---195767/Painting.html#.U0rTvc_D_IU

Paris Roubaix: Gaining Position

The roads of Paris Roubaix include 28 sections of cobblestones, but most are also very narrow, making it hard to move up towards the front of the peloton.  This makes gaining and holding your position very important.  Team Sky has shown itself to be very adapt at controlling things at the front of a race and at times were up to the task at hand.  Here it is Christian Knees, Simon Geraints and Sir Bradley Wiggins holding the position in the strong cross winds of northern France.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that could be yours by being the first to visit my artist website at www.greigleach.com or you could just follow the direct link at the end of this post.  These original works are only $50 USD including shipping.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2345149---195767/Painting.html#.U0rQas_D_IU

Paris Roubaix: A Quick Adjustment

Paris Roubaix is a hard race on everyone including the mechanics.  I think this is the winner of the "how far out of the car can you reach before you bounce off of the road" prize.  Jimmy Engoulvent (Europcar) had trouble with his derailleur, with the chain jumping off of the rear cog, it fell to the mechanic to make the adjustments and lube the chain all at 45 kph.  The dust of the cobbles of the Hell of the North, play havoc on these fine tuned racing machines not to mention the damage the pounding of the rough roads do to rider and bike alike.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com  Also, this painting and all of my cycling art is available for purchase through my artist website for only $50.00 (USD).  You can follow the direct link at the end of this post for this particular piece.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2345139-84-78-195767/Painting/Sports.html#.U0rN1c_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Getting His Third

And the winner of the game of cat and mouse... Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) claimed his third victory, and the second in a row, of the Tour of Flanders, nipping Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) at the line, with Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin Pro Cycling) punching the air in frustration as he takes third ahead of Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma Quickstep).  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that can be yours by visiting my artist website at www.greigleach.com, or you could follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342033---195767/Painting.html#.U0IXys_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Playing Cat and Mouse

With everyone else too far back to catch these four leaders as they slid under the one kilometer to go banner, it was time to figure out how to beat each other to the line.  So they started feigning attacks, swinging to the opposite sides of the road, and watching each other for the tell tale signs of the start of a sprint for the finish.  No one wanted to be the first to go and they all wanted to be the last bike in the group (the easy place to start a surprise attack from).  At this point it is Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) on the front, looking over his shoulder in fear of the surprise turn of a pedal in anger.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that could be yours by being the first to visited my artist website at www.greigleach.com  Or you could just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342029---195767/Painting.html#.U0IVdM_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Riding Away

Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) has targeted the cobbled and fabled Spring Classics on his race calendar with the intention of claim victory in them all.  He has started in great form and was ready to race today as he attacked the other favorites on the penultimate climb of the day.  He simply increased his cadence riding everyone except Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin Pro Cycling) off of his wheel on the steepest section of the climb as he went off in search of the two riders up the road.  This is an  original watercolor and ink postcard that could be yours by being the first to visit my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  Or you could just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342025---195767/Painting.html#.U0IS6M_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Following the Sprinter

Once Van Avermaet and a couple of others had gone up the road, it was up to the favorites to chase them down.  However no one was willing to carry Peter Sagan (Team Cannondale) along with them to the line, none feeling they were strong enough to outsprint the winner of the Sprinter's Green Jersey of last year's Tour de France.  So while Omega Pharma Quickstep had four teammates in the group, they along with Belkin and Trek Factory Racing left it to Sagan to pull the attackers back.  Tuck in to the slip stream of the Slovak are Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin Pro Cycling) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing - and last year's winner).  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that is available for purchase at my artist website, www.greigleach.com.  You can just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342023---195767/Painting.html#.U0IQvc_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Getting a Gap

With the big named favorites all looking at each other, it was an opportunity for the opportunists and the un-marked men to take a storm up the road.  Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) was the first to use one of the steep cobbled climbs to wage an attack against the whittled down peloton.  He had Sebastien Minard (AG2R) did his best to go with the attacking German, but just couldn't hold his wheel on the ascent.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that could be yours by being the first to visit my artist website at www.greigleach.com or you could just follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342021---195767/Painting.html#.U0IOLM_D_IU

Tour of Flanders: Taking Stock

The Tour of Flanders is another of the big hard cobbled races that make up the Spring Classics calendar where the big men of Belguim, the Dutch and the Norwegians come out to play, although this painting includes the Swiss Spartacus (Fabian Cancellara - Trek Factory Racing) and the Slovak sprinter, Peter Sagan (Team Cannondale).  After the early breakaway was caught by the peloton, the favorites for the day's race went on the attack on the first short steep climb of the Patenberg, as they began to play their cards for the victory.  This is an original watercolor and ink postcard that was created using Yarka St. Petersburg watercolors and Steve Quiller brushes from www.richesonart.com  Also, this painting and all of my cycling works, are available through my artist website at www.greigleach.com.  For this particular piece you can follow the direct link at the end of this post.

http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Spring%20Classics%202014/2342017-78-72-195767/Painting/Sports.html#.U0IMUM_D_IU

Using the watercolors to create a full scale Shiva Paintstik painting

Up until I started working on the watercolor and ink postcards my almost exclusive medium had been Shiva Paintstiks, an drawing form of oil painting.  All of the colors you are seeing are mixed right on the surface of the painting, working right into the surface, in this case working over an unfinished painting.  Working over an existing failed attempt, I had more surface and color to react against.  The watercolors are all about speed and transparency, the challenge in this piece is to bring that freedom to the much thicker and opaque media.  The source for this was one of my watercolors from the final stage of Paris Nice, as Arthur Vichot claimed the final stage while wearing the Tricolore of French National Road Racing Champion.  Visited my artist website to get more information about purchasing this work of art and to see all of my cycling work as well as a wide variety of subject matters.  To learn more about Shiva Paintstiks, visit the manufacturer's website at www.richesonart.com  

The easiest way to find this painting,,, http://www.greigleach.com/large-view/Figurative%20Works/2340551-1-0-7216/Painting/Sports.html#.Uz4DzM_D_IU

This painting has sold. But on-demand prints are available through the website at the link above.