Greig Leach

I am somewhat at the mercey of the video broadcast of the Tour, so I wasn't able to paint the peloton hitting the first section of pave today. Instead, this is section 14, d'Eswars a Paillencourt, (counting backwards to Roubaix). Just before the day's break away riders hit the cobble stones they wisely grab a drink. No one should try to take a hand off of the handle bars once on the incredible rough pave sections. At the back of the nine man group are Chad Haga (Sunweb), Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) and Omar Fraile (Astana). Every kilometer of today's stage will be lined by fans, many of home have been waiting (and drinking) for days just to see the Tour fight it out on these iconic roads of northern France.