Antoine Duchesne and Hugo Houle: The odd couple of Canadian cycling

Soon, in Canadian Cycling Magazine, I have a feature coming out that tells the inside story of Hugo Houle’s historic Tour de France stage win this past summer. For that article, I spoke with Houle’s teammates, directors and friends. They all had great stories and insights into the rider. But one cyclist, Antoine Duchesne, who announced his retirement from the pro peloton this past September, has a unique relationship with Houle. In light of Duchesne’s retirement, I think it’s worth highlighting the pair I’ve dubbed the odd couple of Canadian cycling.

In 2014, Duchesne and Houle got a duplex in Saint-Restitut, France, about 150 km north of Marseille. Duchesne just made the move to the WorldTour, leaving Axel Merckx’s influential Bontrager Cycling Team (now Hagens Berman Axeon) for the Europcar squad. In 2014, Houle returned to Ag2r-La Mondiale for a second season. His first year on the team had been tough. Just after his first training camp with Ag2r, Hugo’s younger brother Pierrik was killed. It was before Christmas. Pierrik was out for a run in the brothers’ hometown of Sainte-Perpétue, Que. He was stuck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run. Throughout 2013, Hugo was working through the profound shock of his brother’s death while living in France and racing around the world. He was managing grief, a new team at the top level of the sport and the challenges that come with getting settled in a new country—all, largely on his own.

Houle and Duchesne knew one another through the Quebec racing scene, where they began competing in their early teens. Duchesne, now 31, is a year younger than Houle. Duchesne rode as a stagiaire on the influential Canadian outfit SpiderTech powered by C10 starting in August 2012. Even though Houle was on that team, too, they didn’t race together in SpiderTech colours.

When both of the riders found themselves riding for French teams, it made sense for them to share a place. “For us, it was obvious—being alone in Europe, being good friends, starting our careers—to move in together,” Duchesne says.

“It was a really good thing,” Houle says. “We helped each other to stay motivated. It was crucial for me. Alone, I don’t think I could have gone through all of this for so many years. I think it’s the same for Antoine. We had some good times training together and dreaming of being better professional riders.”