Brother helped me, says Canadian
CANADIAN rider Hugo Houle broke down in tears after winning stage 16 of the Tour de France, dedicating his first professional triumph to his late brother.
Jonas Vingegaard, of Jumbo, retained the overall lead from defending champion Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas, of Ineos, as the Tour entered the Pyrenees.
But the stage belonged to Houle, 31, riding for the IsraelPremier Tech team, as he triumphed in the sweltering heat that has swept France.
“It sounds incredible, but I know my brother helped me,” an emotional Houle of his sibling Pierrik, who was killed by a hit-andrun driver a decade ago.
“He went to run in the snow and was hit and left dead by the roadside. It took me three hours to find him.
“It was my dream to win a stage of the Tour de France since he left us.”
Houle slipped his rivals on the 25km swoop downhill to a baking finish line at Foix on the banks of the Ariege river.
As he had promised, Slovenian Pogacar, 23, attacked relentlessly.
Dane Vingegaard skipped up and rode in his tailwind every time, while Ineos never tried to get either Thomas or Adam Yates out ahead.
It was a great day for Colombian Nairo Quintana who climbed to fourth.
Vingegaard was his usual picture of cool.
“I’m taking it one day at a time. I expect Tadej to keep attacking me and I have to be ready to jump and not allow him a gap,” he said.
“We’ll take it one day at a time and see where things stand when we get to Paris.”
Houle becomes the first Canadian since Steve Bauer in 1988 to win a stage on the race.
“I was supposed to open the way for Michael Woods,” he said of his teammate and compatriot.
The Tour now spends two days in the upper Pyrenees where the 2022 yellow jersey winner is likely to be decided.