Greig Leach

While two of their erstwhile break away companions had already surrendered to the near inevitablity of being caught by the peloton, Jan Tratnik (Bahrain McLaren) and Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) persisted with their effort. I enjoyed the pairing of these two paintings and their titles. It looked like Gougeard was struggling to hold the wheel of Tratnik as I painted this image. Sure enough, he lost the wheel of the Slovenian moments later. Tratnik fought valiantly to win the stage. However, he was caught with just 75 meters left to the line by the sprinters dash for what will most likely be their last chance to claim a stage in the 2020 Paris Nice.