Tour de France: Stage 20

Bravo et Merci!

That's the message Claire Pedrono wrote on her chalkboard on this final day of the Tour de France.

For nearly a month Pedrono rode on the back of a bright yellow motorbike, writing the time gaps between the breakaways and the peloton on her board, displaying them to the riders. But today was different. On the first half of Stage 20 there were no breakaways, no chases, and no battles to be fought. Instead of the high mountains and deep forests that were the backdrops for the greatest dramas of the Tour, we saw apartment houses, stores, and parks.

It was, quite simply, a friendly neighborhood bike ride. A time to celebrate and say thanks.

So as the riders patted each other on the back and sipped champagne, our friend Claire Pedrono captured the moment perfectly. "Bravo et merci!" she wrote, and seeing her chalkboard on t.v. I thought to myself: yes, I couldn't agree more.

But if all those good feelings were what defined the first half of Stage 20, the second half was on a different plane entirely. Quietly, as if entering the room through a side door, the riders arrived in Paris, and everything changed.

I say "quietly" because this wasn't a little Pyrenean village they were riding into, with the peloton barreling through narrow streets, larger than life. Here, the great city simply unfolded for its guests -- gracefully, one panel at a time.

The riders passed by the beautiful bridges of the Seine. We television viewers marveled at the pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Way off in the distance we could make out the Louvre and Notre Dame. As the helicopter cameras panned out across the metropolis, each new kilometer revealed so many familiar sights and wonders. And the best part was ... it all came into view at the smooth and fluid pace of a bike ride.

It's the same magical pace that took us through the modern streets of Rotterdam, across the cobbles of Belgium and northeastern France, up the treeless peaks of the Alps, past the sunflower fields of Revel, and over the mightiest passes of the Pyrenees. What a wonderful way to experience this magnificent corner of the world.

And now, as the Tour carried us down the banks of the Seine, deeper and deeper into the most beautiful city in Europe, this smooth cycling motion felt as graceful and stylish as the city itself. Not only had the Tour de France riders earned the right to be here in Paris, they belonged.

With a sweeping turn onto the Place de la Concorde, the final battle began -- this time on the greatest stage of all: the Champs Elysees. Eight laps up and back, all under the proud view of the Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by cheering fans ... the subject of my final Tour de France 2010 painting...


What a thrilling battle it was! There on that long flat avenue, we could see the architecture of the Tour play itself out one last time. The rebellious little breakaway, the Empire that is the peloton, the lead out trains, the breathless announcers, and the breakneck sprint to the finish ... it was as if it was all being etched into our memories, this time for good. And then when Mark Cavendish crossed the finish line, that was it! The Tour de France 2010 -- one of the most exciting Tours in memory -- had come to an end.

So now here I sit a few days later in a Boston coffee shop, writing the end of this post, and I find myself at a loss for words. Twenty stages and countless stories have passed since the Tour began -- what can I possibly write to sum it all up? All I can think of are images: foggy mountain passes, dusty cobbles, exuberant fans, huge windmills, cozy villages, horrific crashes, colorful jerseys, and green forests.

But then I stop trying so hard. I look out the coffee shop window for a moment, reflect back on this extraordinary month-long event ... and slowly a few words drift into my mind.

I realize they're perfect.

So to everyone at the Versus channel who brought us those beautiful pictures...

To Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll, and Chris Hummer who told us the Tour's stories with such eloquence and humor...

To all the wonderful riders who created those stories on the road...

To the thousands of people lining the streets of France, Belgium, and Holland...

And to all the folks like Claire Pedrono, who worked so hard behind-the-scenes to make the magic of the Tour come alive...

Bravo et Merci!

It was a wonderful ride.

Tour de France: Stage 19

As I sat down to begin my Tour de France painting of the day, I had a problem. I knew I wanted to show a rider racing through the green vineyards of Bordeaux -- but which rider? Contador, Schleck, or Armstrong?

Following the tradition of the Tour de France where great stories constantly overlap, I chose all three. In the following painting, you'll see traces of Alberto Contador's yellow jersey, Andy Schleck's white jersey, and the red Radio Shack jersey of Lance Armstrong:


Contador and Schleck both gave the time-trials of their lives -- a thrilling ending to one of the greatest GC battles in Tour de France history. And Lance Armstrong? It was as if he constantly found new things in this Tour de France to motivate him, no matter how small. He fought through one crash after another in the early days of the Tour; but when it became clear there was no possibility of victory, he didn't give up. He supported his team, gave a stage win a shot, and when all else failed, simply rode his bike -- kilometer after kilometer, always finishing. What a wonderful ride.

Tour de France: Stage 18

The sprinters are back! Cavendish, Hushovd, Petacchi, and Dean ... it was like seeing old friends from college again. So guys, what have you been up to? "Oh, don't ask," they reply, shaking their heads. "Everything was going great, until we hit these mountains...."

Well, there was no need to worry on this stage. The switchbacks, fog, and Pyrenean sheep herds were all behind us. With nothing but flat roads all the way to Bordeaux, we were once again treated to the magnificent colors of a full-out sprint to the finish, the subject of my painting for the night...

Tour de France: Stage 17

It was as if we'd stepped into a dream. The white jersey of Andy Schleck and the yellow jersey of Alberto Contador, emerging from the murky mists of the Tourmalet, climbing higher and higher -- into the clouds. After three weeks of racing it had come down to this.

Side by side, they climbed ... Schleck in front, Contador just behind. Equal competitors, their attacks were barely noticeable on the road. It was in their faces that the story of Stage 17 was written. Surrounded by wild fans, fog, and flags waving in their faces, Schleck and Contador's eyes were focused solely on each other -- testing, daring, concentrating, and wondering.

It was in those great cyclists' eyes that you saw they got it. They got that here on this most historic of Tour de France climbs they were creating something extraordinary. When they patted each other on the back at the finish line, I think for a moment they had stepped outside of themselves, realizing what an incredible mountaintop adventure story they had written together. They were each simply saying: well done, my friend.

It's Schleck, Contador, the fans, and the mists of the Tourmalet that are the subject for my Stage 17 painting:


What an incredible stage it was.

Tour de France: Stage 16

The miles of campers parked alongside the road, the insane fans, the restaurant at the top of the pass, and the treeless landscape ... it can only be one place: the Tourmalet! Along with Alpe D'Huez, the Tourmalet is one of the greatest climbs of the tour to watch. And the best thing about it this year is that we get to see it twice. After the rest day tomorrow, the riders head back up the opposite side. Can't wait.

With all the amazing climbs in Stage 16 though, what I ended up remembering the most were those long, treacherous, and thrilling descents. Everything must seem like a blur to the riders as they barrel down the mountains at 60+ mph, the subject of my abstract painting for the evening...


As for the race itself -- yet again we saw some dramatic stories etched into Tour history, both on the road and off.

On the road ... What a thrill it was to see Lance Armstrong in the breakaway! That fast-pedaling cadence of his brought back many memories. Even though the day didn't end as he had hoped, seeing Lance battle it out one last time was a real treat to watch.

And off the road ... I just read the translation of Alberto Contador's YouTube apology/explanation, which I thought was very nice. I'm sure it won't change things on the course. Schleck will still be out for revenge, as he should -- that's what makes a great bike race! But Contador's video was a very human moment, and it really showed the difficult split-second decision he had to make. Nicely done.

Tour de France: Stage 15

Stage 15 was really only about one climb ... the majestic Port de Bales. Near-perfect it is, in the unique geometry of a Tour de France climb. It begins modestly in a small Pyrenean village with a little uptick in the road. Then it winds its way through a dark tunnel of trees ... higher and higher, steeper and steeper ... until finally the road bursts above the treeline, fanning out in a multi-colored ribbon of wild fans over an endless ripple of ridges -- the subject of my painting for the night:


It was here on this great mountain pass that the Tour de France 2010 handed us our moral question of the race: Should Contador have attacked when Schleck was having mechanical problems, eventually taking the yellow jersey?

In a perfect world, sure -- it's very easy for me to say yes, I would have preferred it had Contador waited for Schleck to fix his chain. Contador could have thought: who cares if Menchov and Sanchez keep racing to the end! This is a battle between me and my great rival Andy Schleck. I'm going to wait for him to fix that rotten chain of his ... and then I'll attack him!

That's all well and good, but there are two things that keep me from simply saying Contador was wrong:

1. That's a lot to think about in the heat of the moment. He's still young.

...and more importantly...

2. A Tour rider should only wait for a contender with a mechanical problem if he truly believes it's the right thing to do -- not because it's simply the custom.

Lance Armstrong and arch-rival Jan Ulrich both waited for each other after falls in the 2001 and 2003 Tours de France. They waited because you could see in their faces that they considered the situation and made thoughtful choices. Those were wonderful moments.

But if every rider waited each time a contender had a crash simply because they were following some unwritten code of conduct, that would make for one very boring bike race. Remember, no one waited for Lance Armstrong when he crashed on the cobbles of this year's Stage 3.

So O.K., Contador didn't wait. That was his choice. It was a heated moment, and there's no rule saying he can't. But now Andy Schleck will be out for revenge tomorrow, and everyone loves to root for the guy who falls behind in life through no fault of his own. If anything, Cantodor may have given Schleck the greatest gift of all ... there will be millions of people cheering for Andy on Stage 16.

Tour de France: Stage 14

The Pyrenees! These are the stages we've all been waiting for. Four amazing days in the high mountains, with the #1 podium spot still in hot contention. What could be better than that?

Today's stage first took us through the dark gorges of the Pyrenean foothills -- the subject of my Tour painting for the evening...


...and then we moved onto the day's two massive climbs: the above-the-tree-line Port de Pailheres, and the final climb up the Ax Trois Domaines. In a way, Stage 14 was all about twos: there were two mountains to climb, two Yellow Jersey contenders battling it out, and two dramatic stories created on those high roads.

Story #1: The Strange Dual Between Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador

Contador looked to be in good form on the steep slopes of today's mountains, which normally means he's virtually unbeatable. Bad news for Andy Schleck. So what did Schleck do? He just rattled Contador's nerves. Rather than attacking, Schleck kept his eyes glued on Contador and mirrored his every move. When Contador attacked, vroom! -- there was Andy Schleck instantly on his rear wheel, every single time ... following, never attacking.

But I think Contador wanted Schleck to attack; he wanted this battle to begin. So Contador literally dared Schleck to pull ahead of him, riding slower, slower, and even slower, to the point of a near standstill. Schleck just seemed to say fine, if you want to go slow, just watch how slow I can go too. And so we were treated to the rare sight of two of the top riders in the Tour de France nearly falling off their bicycles, trying as hard as they could not to attack!

Had Schleck attacked though, Contador could have latched onto Schleck's rear wheel, waited for him to wear out, and then pulled away. So it was brilliant riding by Andy Schleck. He can't afford to do this again -- Schleck still desperately needs to add minutes to his lead. But for today, the strategy worked beautifully.

Story #2: The Magnificent Ride of Christophe Riblon

French rider Christophe Riblon had no time for the mind games of Schleck and Contaodor. He had a stage to win! And wow, win it he did, leading the race for an astounding 160 kilometers.

There were no gifts helping Riblon along to victory. This was earned. Team Astana drove the peloton forward at a blistering pace. No matter, Riblon stayed away. 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre launched an attack, trying to bridge the gap to the lead. Again, Riblon stayed away. Even Dennis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez pulled up close to the lone leader toward the end ... but it had no effect on the determined Riblon. He made it all the way to the finish line, punching his hand into the air in celebration during the final kilometer.

So congratulations, Christophe! You did it! All of us were cheering right along with you.