Greig Leach

As soon as the flag was dropped to start the stage the break away attempts started. It was eight guys that got away, but since some were part of sprinter's teams, it was not a cohesive whole. That prompted Greg Van Avermaet (Ag2r-Citroen) to try to drop the others. His move was quickly covered by Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal). The duo was later joined by Georg Zimmermann (Intermache-Wanty Gobert) and Nils Politt. Admittedly, Politt too was a member of one of the sprinters hoping for victory when the peloton reached Chateauroux. A side note, the last time I did a painting that included Thomas De Gendt, it was the same day I had had surgery to donate one of my kidneys. It was done as a paired exchange to help my wife get a much needed kidney transplant much quicker. We are now both doing very well. And De Gendt is still trying to escape the clutches of the peloton in the Tour de France. Unlike our surgeries, De Gendt wasn't successful then, nor was he today.