Greig Leach

The title of this painting is a bit of a mixed sports metaphor, the phrase is usually evoked in Baseball. It describes a fielder trying to throw the ball into home plate before the runner can scored. However in this case, it describes the sprinter throwing his bike forward (while he is still astride his machine) by thrusting his arms and legs forward and his body backwards. This will give a very short quick burst of speed. The victory in a stage is determined by whomever's front wheel breaks the plane of the finishing line first. It is akin to a track sprinter thrusting his chest forward in hopes of a win, in both cases the move must be timed to perfection. Marcel Kittel (Giant Shimano) continued his charmed Tour by making the perfect move and the perfect lunge, just nipping Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) at the line ahead of the French National Champion, Arnaud Demare (FDJ), Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar). That makes Kittel's tally three out of four stages in this year's Tour.