Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) once again demonstrated the extent of his talent during the 15e stage of the Tour de France by finishing the 202.5 kilometer event in 14e place in the leading group on Sunday.
Updated yesterday at 6:39 p.m.
It was the heat that caught the attention of the athlete from Sainte-Perpétue and the vast majority of cyclists who were in action, an average heat of 36.4 degrees Celsius with a peak of 40 degrees at one point. during the day. A temperature that Houle had never experienced before.
“There were a few attacks at the start, but with the heat, I decided to stay in the peloton in the end. The highlight is really that, the heat. I felt like I was in an oven, constantly having to fetch water. I have never cycled in such intense heat,” said Hugo Houle in an interview with Sportcom.
“There was a very steep climb in the final, I managed to hold on. I had fun sprinting at the very end! I knew there were some really big names ahead of me, I preferred to have fun and enjoy it. »
800m from the finish line, the peloton managed to catch Frenchman Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), who had escaped alone a little earlier. The fight was hot between the Belgian Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), the Dane Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and the Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deuceninck) for the stage victory.
It was finally Philipsen who won for the first victory of his career in the Tour de France.
PHOTO DANIEL COLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jasper Philipsen
Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ) finished 72e (+ 36 s) while Guillaume Boivin (Israel-Premier Tech) took the 127e step (+ 17 min 16 s).
Among the Quebec teammates, Frenchman David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) managed to finish the stage at 21e rank, in the leading group, and he remains eighth in the provisional general classification, still dominated by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
As for the Dane Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech), he fell heavily on Sunday and suffered a rib injury. He was still able to complete the stage, but his case will be reassessed daily.
The cyclists will enjoy a day off this Monday before undertaking the last block of the Tour de France on Tuesday with the 16e stage between Carcassonne and Foix.