Greig Leach

For many years I had a rather silly rule about not using the helicopter shots to create my paintings of the Tour (or any other cycling event). Last year I threw out the rule and created one of my most popular images. Today, I felt this was both a great way to catch the lavender fields of Provence, and to show how, for some, just how small the Tour is against the backdrop of France. You can just make out the peloton emerging from a small town and heading back out into the open fields. Today, us fans hoped for crosswinds through these fields, and the peloton dreaded them. Ultimately, while some blew, they did effect the race in any significant way. This is for those of you who watch the Tour for the scenery and don't really care about the racing. I'm not sure how that is possible, but each to their own.