Published on : Modified :
The Canadian won his first victory on a grand tour by winning Tuesday in Foix during the 16th stage of the Tour de France. Frenchman Valentin Madouas took second place. In the fight for the general classification, Tadej Pogacar attacked but Jonas Vingegaard resisted.
This is his first major victory. Canadian Hugo Houle, 31, won the 16th stage of the Tour de France between Carcassonne and Foix on Tuesday July 19. Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo) kept the leader’s yellow jersey after this Ariège start, at the start of the Pyrenean stages.
“This victory is for my brother”
Hugo Houle is only the second Canadian to win a stage in Tour de France history. The first, Steve Bauer, had won his in 1988 and he attended this new victory as sports director of Hugo Houle.
“This win is for my brother,” Houle said as he crossed the line, pointing to the small cross he wears around his neck in memory of his accidentally deceased brother. A brother to whom he was very close and with whom he shared a passion for cycling and the Tour de France.
To win the stage, Houle beat Frenchman Valentin Madouas, Canadian Michael Woods and American Matteo Jorgenson by more than a minute. He was all four part of the morning break which counted 29 riders at the exit of Carcassonne but which disintegrated in the port of Lers
The Quebecer emerged about forty kilometers from the finish, before Péguère. Behind him, Jorgenson, in pursuit, crashed on the descent and lost any chance of coming back.
On the side of the general classification, Vingegaard did not yield anything to his Slovenian rival, the outgoing winner Tadej Pogacar, who attacked him in vain three times. The Slovenian attacked the Dane in the port of Lers about fifty kilometers from Foix, twice in the climb, once in the descent. Without managing to distance the yellow jersey, which kept intact its lead of 2 min 22 sec in the standings.
The main loser of the day is the Frenchman Romain Bardet, who started to let go in the port of Lers, one of the two first category passes on the program. He was definitively distanced in the wall of Péguère, conceded more than three minutes to his rivals and lost his fourth place in the general classification.
With AFP