Quebecer Hugo Houle was one of only two members of Israel-Premier Tech to complete the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, a Dutch classic that was marked by another triumph for Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
Big favorite at the start of the day, Pogacar put on a show on Sunday. His final attack occurred about thirty kilometers from the finish on the Briton Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who let the leader of the UAE Team Emirates team slip away to victory on the climb of Keutenberg.
Irishman Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) tried his luck at the end of the race, but Pogacar resisted, he who had also won Paris-Nice and the Tour of Flanders in recent weeks.
PHOTO MARCEL VAN HOORN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Tadej Pogacar
Healy finished second, 38 seconds off the lead, while Pidcock was third and 2 minutes and 14 seconds behind the two-time Tour de France champion.
Hugo Houle helped his Australian teammate Simon Clarke to finish 20e (+3 minutes and 40 seconds), while five teammates, including Guillaume Boivin, set foot on the 253.6 kilometer course.
“It was a complicated day for us, shared Houle, 68e of the day. Difficult for Woods, who had a puncture and who unfortunately did not have the chance to express himself. Clarke was also slowed by a puncture. He managed to come back afterwards, but he had come here to do better than that. »
Team goals weren’t met for the Israeli-Canadian roster. From a personal point of view, Hugo Houle said he was satisfied with the work he accomplished, as did his entire team.
My role was to protect Michael Woods and Simon Clarke. In a very demanding day with rain, small roads and several turns, my work was important. I did what was asked of me perfectly. Unfortunately, bad luck deprived us of the possibility of making a good result.
Hugo Houle
Houle will be on the start line of the Flèche wallonne on Wednesday, then will take part in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège monument on Sunday before taking a rest period.
For her part, Olivia Baril was the only Canadian to finish the women’s race on Sunday. She was the 80e cyclist to cross the finish line, among a group of around thirty riders who finished 7 minutes and 47 seconds behind the winner, the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering (SD Worx). Sherbrooke’s Magdeleine Vallières-Mill withdrew from the event, like 57 other competitors.
Vollering attacked from just under two kilometers and edged a group of 12 cyclists led by Belgian Lotte Kopecky, also a member of the SD Worx formation, by 8 seconds. Dutchman Shirin Van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo) placed third.