Original: Oil on canvas This is one of the most complex paintings Ive ever made. The title referres to a group of cyclists and the painting represents the circus and cacaphony of the sport seen from an outsiders point of view. The 15 and a half cyclists featured in the painting is a reference to the top 15 cyclists who get points when finishing a heat in Tour de france. I knew next to nothing about the sport before starting this painting, which meant I had to spend a lot of time doing research and preliminary sketches. While planning the painting I also learnt about copyright laws and read some articles about the Tour de France photographers being particularly pedantic about artists using their photos for reference. Subsequently I took a different approach to the painting process and manually changed every suit in the painting to a different one than was in the reference picture of each cyclist. It took a lot of time, but im happy with the result. The painting also features an uncanny digtial aesthetic. Notice for intance how there are no casted shadows from the cyclists, neither onto the ground or onto each other. Some of the cyclists dont even have bikes, one is going through the ground and another is in the air. The background is also not very fitting as a setting. By doing this I wanted to reflect on how we as humans accept visual stimuli and information without really questioning it.