Greig Leach

The other way I enjoy titling my work, is to play about with puns. It was too tempting to go with "Surging Forward" since the rider to the right of the painting is Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data). Pauwels is surging forward in this foursome trying to reach the summit of the Col de la Rochette ahead of the others. Pauwels is getting the jump on Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ), who is followed by Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) and the French fan favorite, Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie). Majka had taken two out of the first three climbs for maximum points and the new leader in the King of the Mountains competition. The only climb he didn't win thus far went to Voeckler. A bit of a dick move, since he has very few points in the competition and at that point, Majka needed the maximim. That kind of a move is one of the reasons he may be a fan favorite, but that opinion is not shared in the peloton. Missing the successful break of the day was the man in the Maillot a Pois, Thomas De Gendt, so he will be missing his polka dot jersey tomorrow.