For this very exciting Team Time Trial stage, I was going to paint the winning team, Garmin-Cervelo, racing through the beautiful village of Les Essarts, with "Etape 2" (Stage 2) rising out of the background. But after painting the riders so stark against the white paper, I looked at it for a moment and thought: "you know, that's pretty nice just as it is."
Because the mechanics of a team time trial are a beautiful thing alone. An even line of riders, speeding ahead at rates of over 40 mph, rotating leaders at the front like a graceful machine ... it's a thrilling site.
Keen observers will notice that I did not include Thor Hushovd's Polka Dot King-of-the-Mountains jersey in this painting. That's because it just didn't look right on Thor! We're used to him in green, sprinting toward the finish ... not laboring up a mountain in polka dots (besides, it really belonged to Philippe Gilbert, who was in the Yellow Jersey). So I took a little creative license and gave Thor a matching Garmin-Cervelo outfit. After winning yellow at the end of this stage, I'm sure Thor was happy to be out of those polka-dots too.
I may go back and finish this painting at some point. But for now, it's all about Garmin-Cervelo. Congrats our great American team!
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