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My name is Jeff Barge. I’m a 36-year-old guy who grew up in Blue Springs collecting baseball cards and watching Monday Night Football. I’m an American sports fan; football, in all of its forms, is the essence of sport to me.
In 2000, I watched some guy named Lance Armstrong bicycle up a steep mountain road in France, completely swallowed by a sea of screaming, flag-waving Europeans. By 2005, the month of July is synonymous with cycling in my mind, and I religiously watch every minute of the Tour de France. I now admit I watch more cycling than football in a year’s time. So when I tell you I love football, please realize I’m also telling you I’m a cycling nut.
There is something about cycling that absolutely captivates me. Once you understand the culture of cycling, it becomes a soap opera, full of tragedy and triumph, but it boils down to one athlete exerting his will over everyone else.
I’m a graphic artist who especially enjoys working on sports-related artwork. I decided to work on a couple of pieces of my favorite cyclists in an attempt to get some signatures – a couple of portraits turned into 50-plus by the time I packed up the car to drive to the start in St. Louis.
While I’ve worked with most mediums, my medium of choice for this project is digital artwork. Working from a photograph, using a handful of different graphic art programs, I can produce an image that resembles a variety of artistic styles. The portraits are printed on canvas and watercolor paper and range from 12x16 to 16x20. The ink is archival – it will last 200 years, or more.
Here is my diary of that week.
Sunday, Sept. 6
It’s the day before the start of Tour of Missouri and the Italian Team Liquigas is having a special signing event on the Italian Hill in St. Louis. Liquigas is bringing Franco Pellizotti, “King of the Mountains,” who won this year’s Polka Dot jersey in the Tour de France.
Rory, Team Liquigas’s American Liaison, asks me where I got the artwork.
“I’m a graphic artist,” I said.
“Do you have a card?”
Yes, I have a card. Disbelief sets in – I just handed my business card to Team Liquigas staff. I have a feeling that my week won’t get any better than this moment.
My name is Jeff Barge. I’m a 36-year-old guy who grew up in Blue Springs collecting baseball cards and watching Monday Night Football. I’m an American sports fan; football, in all of its forms, is the essence of sport to me.
In 2000, I watched some guy named Lance Armstrong bicycle up a steep mountain road in France, completely swallowed by a sea of screaming, flag-waving Europeans. By 2005, the month of July is synonymous with cycling in my mind, and I religiously watch every minute of the Tour de France. I now admit I watch more cycling than football in a year’s time. So when I tell you I love football, please realize I’m also telling you I’m a cycling nut.
There is something about cycling that absolutely captivates me. Once you understand the culture of cycling, it becomes a soap opera, full of tragedy and triumph, but it boils down to one athlete exerting his will over everyone else.
I’m a graphic artist who especially enjoys working on sports-related artwork. I decided to work on a couple of pieces of my favorite cyclists in an attempt to get some signatures – a couple of portraits turned into 50-plus by the time I packed up the car to drive to the start in St. Louis.
While I’ve worked with most mediums, my medium of choice for this project is digital artwork. Working from a photograph, using a handful of different graphic art programs, I can produce an image that resembles a variety of artistic styles. The portraits are printed on canvas and watercolor paper and range from 12x16 to 16x20. The ink is archival – it will last 200 years, or more.
Here is my diary of that week.
Sunday, Sept. 6
It’s the day before the start of Tour of Missouri and the Italian Team Liquigas is having a special signing event on the Italian Hill in St. Louis. Liquigas is bringing Franco Pellizotti, “King of the Mountains,” who won this year’s Polka Dot jersey in the Tour de France.
Rory, Team Liquigas’s American Liaison, asks me where I got the artwork.
“I’m a graphic artist,” I said.
“Do you have a card?”
Yes, I have a card. Disbelief sets in – I just handed my business card to Team Liquigas staff. I have a feeling that my week won’t get any better than this moment.
After checking into my hotel in downtown St. Louis, I went for a stroll to see the circuit course. I walk by the Start/Finish area, bustling with workers putting together fencing and the stages. Walking by Busch Stadium, I see Christian Vande Velde’s image on the Garmin buses. Behind me, there is a three-story banner of Christian hanging from the Hilton.
Vande Velde is my favorite guy on two wheels. He’s a hardworking Midwesterner from Chicago who has paid his dues in the peloton, working for Lance and other team leaders for his whole career. He got his shot last year (at age 33) at the TdF and ended up in 4th place, shocking the cycling world. Christian came to the ToM last year and won it. During an Autograph Alley signing, Christian flipped one of my canvases over and wrote down his personal e-mail address.
“Can you send me one?” Christian asked.
“How big do you want it?” I replied.
Yes, Christian is my favorite, the coolest guy on two wheels. It’s fitting to see his image splattered on a bus, towering on a hotel wall, the face of the Tour of Missouri this year. He deserves it.
Monday, Sept. 8
Circuit Race around St. Louis
I walk up to the Sign-In Stage, “Autograph Alley,” the best place to get signatures. I’m two hours early, but there is already a crowd forming. I see Frankie Andreu (TV commentator and former pro cyclist who rode with Lance) crossing the Start/Finish line. I weave my way across the crowd to a spot where he is taking pictures with fans.
“Frankie, I’ve got something to show you.”
I flip open my portfolio, revealing Frankie in a graceful turn wearing his 7-Eleven uniform in the late 80s. Above it, is a portrait of Paul Sherwen, his broadcast partner; voice of the Tour de France and 1987 British Road Race Champion.
“Stay right here, I have to find Paul, he’s going to want to see this,” Frankie says.
If there is anyone that I associate with cycling, it’s Paul Sherwen. He is the Keith Jackson and John Madden of cycling broadcasters. His smooth English delivery, hilarious commentary and catch phrases really define cycling for millions of English-speaking fans. The cyclists may change, but in my mind, he is the glue that holds cycling together.
Paul’s first two words when he saw the portrait cannot be printed in a newspaper. It was the greatest reaction I have ever gotten from anyone I have ever done artwork for – and it was my hero, the voice of cycling, Paul Sherwen. Paul is laughing and there is a crowd starting to form around us. I offer to send both of them portraits and Frankie hands me his business card. I hand one of my cards to Paul.
“Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, Paul, you’re the best in the business,” I say.
I headed back to Autograph Alley with a huge smile on my face. My hands were trembling.
Jens Voigt got a huge cheer when he walked to the sign-in table. He is the hardest working man in the peloton, and had survived a life- threatening crash speeding downhill in the Alps this year. This was his first race back from the nastiest crash I have ever seen. Jens was signing for everyone and as he came up to me, and I had his portrait out.
“That is very awesome,” he said in his thick German accent. “Where did you get it?”
“I’m a graphic artist,” I said. “I’d love to give you one, Jens.”
“I’d like one,” he shouted over his shoulder as he walked up the stairs to sign in. I don’t think he believed me.
Tuesday, Sept. 8
Road Race from St. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau
After a successful morning of signed artwork in St. Genevieve, I was on the road to Cape Girardeau.
I had gotten Floyd Landis, Mark Cavendish, George Hincapie, Yaroslav Popovych, Danny Pate, Steven Cozza, and even Vande Velde. Vande Velde had crashed in the sprint finish of Stage 1 – after hopping on his bike for the start of Stage 2, he abandoned the race with what turned out to be a broken wrist. VDV, as he is called, had signed my artwork with a broken wrist.
In Cape, I was following the ToM shuttle parking signs to what seemed to be the wrong direction – the signs were leading me away from the larger roads and into a residential area.
My cell phone rang; it was a number that I didn’t recognize and an unfamiliar area code. I decided to answer it for some reason, although usually I would let a call like that go through to voicemail.
“This is Jeff.”
“Jeff, this is Paul Sherwen.”
There seemed to be a long moment of silence where my brain tried to understand if my ears where telling it the truth.
“Paul, hold on – I’ve got to tell you – I can’t believe you are calling me on my cell phone. I’m driving and to be honest, I think I’m lost. I’m going to pull over.”
Paul laughs. “Jeff, here is what you are going to want to do – head east.”
Paul is funny.
He lives in Uganda where he operates a gold mine when he isn’t calling cycling events. Yes, you read that correctly, a gold mine. He knows that Cape is on the west side of the Mississippi and that if I head east, I’m going to find the riverfront Finish Line. A Ugandan, 1987 British Road Race Champion and voice of cycling, was giving me directions in my home state. I find that hysterical.
Paul wants to know what his portrait options are.
He spells out his e-mail address. He says e-mail is the best way to get in touch with him, he’ll be in Uganda until later on this year. Wow, that is the coolest phone call I have ever gotten in my life.
As fate would have it, the place I pulled over to was the shuttle parking lot.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
Road Race from Farmington to Rolla
Another productive morning of signatures in Farmington. Nicki Sorenson, Mic Rogers, Marco Pinnotti and a few others.
Thursday, Sept. 10
Road Race from St. James to Jeff City
Instead of hanging out at Autograph Alley in St. James, I decided to hit the Team Buses. I had already gotten almost everybody I had wanted to sign, so I decided to search for the ones I that I had left.
Viatcheslav Ekimov is the Cal Ripken of cycling. An Olympic gold medalist in both 1988 and 2000 and silver medalist in 2004, he is an Iron Man, completing all 15 of the Tours de France that he participated in. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I might have the chance to meet him, but fortunately he was named Director Sportif of the Astana Team for the ToM. Ekimov rode with Lance on many of his TdF wins. There is a lot of respect for “Eki” in the cycling world.
I walked up to the Astana bus and waited in front for a few minutes. There was a huge crowd already surrounding the bus, by my count probably around 50 spectators. A member of the support staff walked by me.
“Excuse me sir, would Mr. Ekimov be available to sign some artwork?”
If there is anyone in cycling that should be referred to as “Mr.” it’s Viatcheslav Ekimov.
He took a look at the portrait.
“I’ll make it happen,” he said with a slight accent that I couldn’t quite place, maybe Slavic.
Thirty seconds later, the staffer and Mr. Ekimov step off the bus. “Eki” was smiling when he saw it and he uncorked a great signature. I had my moment with “Eki.”
The staffer with the accent said, “who is that underneath of Eki?”
“It’s Levi (Leipheimer),” I said. “I haven’t been able to get him all week.”
“Do you want me to get it signed for you?” he asked. “Or would you rather get it signed personally?”
I can’t really remember what I said as the doors to the Astana bus opened up and I walked on. All I really remember about that moment was hearing a slight “gasp” from the crowd and the reverent feeling of walking on sacred, holy ground. The whole Astana team was there, staring at me.
Levi sat to the left of the door in a recliner. We chatted about artwork and cycling, my favorite memories of watching him ride and his proudest moments on a bike. We talked about where he’d hang my artwork in his home, something that absolutely puts chills up and down my back.
I’d rather not share any more detail, but trust me, I remember almost everything we said. Levi asked someone what time it was. It was time to get ready to race. After 20 minutes on the Astana Team Bus, I walked off knowing I was going to do artwork for Ekimov and Levi, personally. The crowd around the bus had gotten bigger in my magical 20 minutes. I heard a few laughs, a few gasps, and a few claps. One guy yelled,“That’s the luckiest guy in the world.”
That’s exactly how I felt.
“You don’t even know. I have to find someplace to sit down,” I said. Some people in the crowd laughed.
Yes, a magical 20 minutes.
At the finish in Jeff City, I struck up a conversation with a nice Australian couple.
“Do you have any Australians in your portfolio,” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got Mic Rogers and Heinrich Haussler,” I replied.
“No, Matty Rice?” I’ll always remember how he said it, “Mah-tee Roy-ice.“ His Australian accent elongated a simple name into a beautiful work of linguistic art.
Matty Rice is an Australian cyclist for the Jelly Belly Team. His proud parents were following him all the way across Missouri. I told them they’d have an original Matty Rice portrait in their hands before they flew back home.
Friday, Sept. 11
Time Trial, Sedalia.
1:45 p.m. I walked over to the Cervelo Team Bus to see if Thor Hushovd was around. I asked Geert, a Cervelo Test Team staffer I had met in St. Louis, if Thor would be available to sign a large portrait on watercolor paper. The portrait was of his amazing sprint win in Barcelona during this year’s TdF. Geert told me to come back at 3 p.m., sharp, and that Thor would be available.
I was there at 2:45. Thor came off the bus at 3:05 and I spent about five minutes with him, talking about his most memorable wins and what win he’d like artwork of.
“Paris-Roubaix and Barcelona – I won those in a Cervelo jersey,” Thor said in a low Norwegian growl. He even sounds like a Viking. Thor’s signature on the watercolor was about a foot long, and six inches tall. Massive, just like his persona.
At the Awards Stage, 2008 Olympic silver medalist Gustav Larsson had taken second place to Garmin’s David Zabriskie. I was standing outside of the barricade where the cyclists are prepped before going to the stage. Gustav had hopped on his bike about 20 feet away from me and started to ride off. I yelled “Gustav!” and flipped open my portfolio to his portrait.
He smiled, hopped off his bike, walked it back to where he had hopped on and came over to the barricade. I’m always amazed that world-class athletes like him go out of their way to interact with fans like me.
In perfect English, he asked me where I had gotten it. I told him my story and told him I’d have one for him before he left. Again, just like Jens Voigt, I don’t think he believed me.
Saturday, Sept. 12
Road Race, Chillicothe to St. Joseph
Since I was always the first one around the sign-in stage, I got to know Tour Security really well. Since I was on my adventure by myself, the security team really got to be my best friends out on the road. I’d meet up with them after they were done with the day and listen to stories about what had happened. They really are an amazing group of guys, from all walks of life, from all over – Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and Colorado to name a few. They would ask me what I had done each day and who I’d met – who I’d gotten signatures from and who I was still looking for.
In Chillicothe, John from the Security Team walked up with another a gentleman and said “you should talk to this man and show him your artwork.”
The man asked if I had any artwork of Tom Zirbel. I told him I had just got done with two last night. I told him I was looking forward to meeting Tom and giving him a portrait. He said “I’d like you to meet Tom, too, I’m his Dad.” Serendipity strikes again.
Later that morning, I walked over to the Team Saxo Bank bus to deliver some artwork to Jens Voigt and Gustav Larsson. One team staffer opened up the door and said “Jens, there’s a guy with a pretty cool portrait of you.”
Jens replied, “I know, I’ve already signed it.” I find it amazing that Jens actually remembered signing for me in St. Louis five days earlier.
Jens came out, and I said “No, Jens, this one is for you.”
“For me?” in an inquisitive German accent.
“Yes, for you. And I’d like to send you anything else you’d like.”
“I like this a lot. But what if I sent you pictures of my children?”
I think this is why everybody loves Jens. He is always looking out for the other cyclist on his team, working hard for them, not himself. He would rather have portraits of his kids rather than a cycling portrait of himself. That’s an easy man to like. I was able to give Gustav a portrait also, just like I had promised.
I got my last signature of the week in Chillicothe. Heinrich Haussler had eluded me also far, and there he was on his bike right in front of me. I opened up the portfolio and he stopped.
As he signed the portrait, he pointed at it and said “That was the best day of my life,” referring to his breakaway win at the TdF this year.
The portrait was based on the image of him approaching the finish line, all by himself, sobbing and holding up both hands displaying the “Number One” sign. It was a nasty, miserable, rainy day in the mountains of France and I asked him if he felt the cold rain.
“No, I knew it was cold, but I didn’t feel it.” Apparently cold and wet isn’t all that miserable on the best day of your life.
When I got to Jefferson City, I went to the hospitality tent to grab some food. Emily, Corporate Partnerships Manager for Medalist Sports, greeted me at the sign-in desk like she had the previous five days. Other than the security guys, she was the person I had the great fortune to get to know this week – she is genuine, kind, and great with people. She asked me if I would be interested in going to the Tour Wrap Party and that she would put my name on the will call list. The week kept getting better.
As the day wrapped up, I saw Paul Sherwen in the hospitality tent. At the table sat Paul, the Security Team and me. Some of us had beers, some didn’t. Somewhere out there a random guy named Larry has a picture of me and Paul. I hope to frame it some day if I ever get a hold of him.
Sunday, Sept. 13
Circuit Race Kansas City
After hand-delivering the artwork to Matty Rice and his parents, I walked down to the hospitality tent. Mark Cavendish had just walked in and was signing a few autographs. Mark is commonly referred to as the “fastest man in the world on two wheels” – and rightfully so. He’s won over 20 sprints to date this year alone, which is an amazing feat in itself. If he is lead out in a sprint, he rarely loses.
I walked up to him and introduced myself – I told him I had some artwork and that I’d love to give it to him. At this point, Mark is getting mobbed by autograph seekers. He looks over at me and says, “I’d love to see what you have.”
I stepped back and he signed away for the gathering crowd. I figure I had lost my chance, so I back off. Mark gets swooped away.
I look across the hospitality tent and I see Christian Vande Velde. During the Cavendish commotion, Vande Velde was able to slip right by the crowds – he had this wry smile on his face. I walked up to Vande Velde and had a nice five-minute conversation with him and showed him some more artwork. I told him the stories of all the amazing things that had happened this week – he smiled and told me that he was happy I was having such a great week.
I went to the front desk of the hospitality tent and talked to Emily from Medalist Sports for a few minutes. Mark Cavendish had just got done with a live interview on the main stage, earshot from the tent. Mark was still getting mobbed by autograph seekers, so we just stood there and watched the circus.
As I look in Mark’s direction, he seemed to be looking right at me. It was surreal because there were so many people surrounding him – he didn’t look like he was signing autographs. He waved. He seemed to be waving right at me, but that didn’t make sense – Mark Cavendish does not wave at you, Jeff. Then he pointed at me and made a motion “to come here.” I looked to either side of me thinking that he must be trying to get somebody’s attention. I pointed at myself and he nodded. Holy crap, Mark Cavendish really is waving you down, Jeff.
I started walking toward him and I swear the adoring crowd parted like the Red Sea.
Mark and I got to talk like ordinary people would talk on a sidewalk, but with 200 ears eagerly listening in.
He introduced me to his girlfriend (whom rumor had it was Miss Paraguay) and I pulled out all four portraits I had done of him. One was a win at last year’s TdF where he had beaten the greatest sprinters of his generation – he was alone and in front with his arms extended outward – it reminded me of the Last Supper, so I had put a faint halo around his head. I showed Mark the halo and he laughed. His publicist said “You should have put two horns on his head.” The whole crowd laughed at that one. He asked how he could get in touch with me, and I said “My email address in on back.”
That was my five minutes with “the Fastest Man In The World On Two Wheels.”
As the race was getting ready for the sprint finish, Emily asked me if I’d like to watch the finish from the stage. Of course I would. “Come on,” she said. We walked across the start finish line with about five minutes to go. During the award ceremony, I stood to the side of the stage – I was close enough to taste the celebratory champagne in the air. Garmin’s David Zabriskie had won the whole thing. Walking away from the award stage, I ran into Floyd Landis’s manager. Scott wants to know if I’d like to do a portrait of Floyd for a charity event in November.
“Anything for Floyd,” I say. “He’s a pretty special guy.”
After I cleaned up at the Hyatt, I walked over to the Westin.
In the foyer, I run into Eric, from the Garmin staff. He and I were sitting on a couch, chatting about my week and his duties with the Garmin Team. Dave Zabriskie walks up with a big smile and plops down in the chair next to us. Dave Z, as he is known, is one of the greatest time-trialist in the world; he is also known for his fairly shy, introverted personality. “Dave Z just walked up and sat down next to me,” I think. Things like this make my brain do a little somersault.
I lean over and say, “Congrats, Dave. If VDV can’t win, you’re the next best thing.”
Dave Z laughs and says, “I’m better than VDV!”
He laughs again. I had rarely seen him smile before on TV, let alone laugh. Apparently, shy introverts laugh with complete strangers immediately after winning their first Tour. Later that night, I walked from the Hyatt Regency to the Tour Wrap Party. There was a cool wind blowing down Grand – I started thinking about how amazing my week was and how lucky I was to experience it. All the incredible people I had met, how well Medalist Sports had pulled off what seemed to me a logistical nightmare. I couldn’t believe how fortunate it was for me that my home state of Missouri hosted world class athletes from around the world and I had a chance to meet them. I hope that Missouri will have that honor again for many years to come.
Monday, Sept. 14.
The best week of my life is over. I am back home and just checked my e-mail. I read e-mails from Paul Sherwen and Christian Vande Velde. Paul is flying to Europe and then on to Africa.
Christian wanted to let me know how happy he was that I got to meet Eki and Levi and Dave Z.
If I can keep working on artwork and enjoy weeks like this every once in a while, I really would be “The Luckiest Guy in The World.”
I think of how lucky I was to meet all the amazing people on the Tour of Missouri; the cyclist, the fans, and the people that make it happen – many thanks to them – and especially many thanks to Lt. Governor Kinder for spearheading an amazing week in Missouri.
Jeff Barge is a Blue Springs resident and cycling fan who
followed the Tour of
Missouri in hopes of meeting his favorite cyclists. This is his story as told to
Examiner reporter Bill Althaus.
