Cycling News

O Canada! Hugo Houle the first Canadian to win a Tour de France stage since 1988

O Canada! Hugo Houle the first Canadian to win a Tour de France stage since 1988

It took 34 years, but Hugo Houle became the first Canadian to win a stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday’s first day in the Pyrenees. He dedicated the win to his deceased brother. Houle joins Steve Bauer, his directeur sportif in the car, as the only Canadians to accomplish this. Tadej Pogačar took the race to yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard on the first of two Cat. 1 ascents, but there was little in the way of movement in the GC.

You can watch the 2022 Tour de France at FloBikes.

The Course

Although it didn’t have the summit finishes of Wednesday and Thursday’s stages, Tuesday’s Pyrenean fare wasn’t stingy. Two Cat. 1 climbs came in the final third of 178.5 km. The final ascent, Mur de Péguère, crested with 27 km from the finish in Foix, and its last 3.6 km was at 11.4 percent. Another broiling day for the peloton.

An immense breakaway dashed away early. It its 29-strong ranks were Hugo Houle and Michael Woods, seven Frenchmen, 11th place Alexandr Vlasov and Wout Van Aert. It held a 6:00 lead with 68 km raced.

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…