Hugo Houle knows with which team he will end his career. He just doesn’t know in which year.
The 33-year-old Quebec cyclist has signed a new two-year contract with Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), the team will announce on Wednesday.
“We’ve been anticipating this for a long time, I’m still trying to prepare for it, so it’s been a while since it was settled,” Houle began in an interview with The Press. It was clear that I was going to stay with the team. I didn’t talk to anyone else. It just happened naturally.”
The stage winner of the 2022 Tour de France could have obtained a three-year pact, like the current one, but out of respect for his bosses, he did not want to look beyond the 2026 season, which will culminate with the World Road Cycling Championships in Montreal.
“I have two years because that’s what I asked for,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll still have the motivation after 2026. I was ready to commit fully for two years, until the World Championships. We’ll see what shape I’m in by then and if I’m still having fun. We’ll take stock at that point to decide whether I continue or stop in Montreal.”
At his 12e season in the European peloton, the first nine with AG2R La Mondiale and Astana, Houle appreciates his chance to play at the highest level for a team with a strong Canadian flavor founded by businessman Sylvan Adams, a native of Quebec, and which was joined by Premier Tech, a multinational from Rivière-du-Loup directed by Jean Bélanger, who has become a close friend.
“It’s quite unique. When I started cycling, I was completely alone at AG2R. Premier Tech then arrived at Astana and we were able to experience my first Tour de France together. We also experienced great emotions when I won the Tour. Through sport, we develop a great chemistry. It makes it more fun for me too.”
Houle even draws additional motivation from wanting to reward Messrs. Bélanger and Adams, two cycling enthusiasts.
“They put a lot into the bike. For me, it’s an added pressure to try to give the best of myself to thank these guys who make it possible. There aren’t many Canadian riders who have had the chance to have a team that allowed them to race in the Tour de France before me. We mustn’t forget that it remains a unique privilege of my generation. I’m talking about Guillaume [Boivin]Mike [Woods]Derek [Gee]. We all benefit from this opportunity, if we want it.”
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Hugo Houle
Salary promotion
However, they are not there out of charity and their value is recognized. Thus, Houle maintains that he paid the bill after his historic success in Foix on July 19, 2022, the first year of his initial contract with IPT, which will end on December 31.
It doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure. We’re paid based on performance. A stage win brings a lot to a team. So it’s clear that it has value.
Hugo Houle
While salaries and contract terms in cycling don’t quite compare to those in North American professional sport, Houle is pleased to continue to improve his position in his field.
“It’s also been a motivation since I started cycling quite some time ago: I’ve progressed in terms of performance and salary every year. It’s a trajectory that continues, hoping that I can retire when I’m at my peak.”
On paper, the native of Sainte-Perpétue does not have an agent, but he entrusts this role to his friend Vincent Wathelet, a Belgian living in Monaco who has been immersed in cycling for several decades. The man who was a bit of a spiritual father to former rider Philippe Gilbert acts mainly as an “intermediary”, which removes Houle from “negotiations” that could prove uncomfortable with Adams and, above all, Bélanger and Premier Tech, a friend “above all”.
“I have blind faith in Vincent. I am not embarrassed to say that he is one of the best. I let him work and his figure always suits me.”
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Hugo Houle
Make a difference
If his stage victory at the Grande Boucle remains “an exceptional fact”, Houle is aware that his “greatest value is as a team-mate, we must not forget that”.
“When the team gives me a job to do, they know there’s a good percentage chance I’ll be able to deliver the goods in the critical moment of the race. That’s kind of what makes the difference. You do it once, twice… six times, and you build your reputation over the years.”
This is probably one of the main assets of someone who has completed the last six Tours de France and who would like to return to the Giro next year: knowing his strengths.
“There are definitely riders who are much more powerful than me. In all honesty, I’m far from being one of the strongest. From there, you have to make a difference with what you can bring in terms of positioning, ability to work for the leader, team atmosphere, all that.”
Houle will have another opportunity to show off his qualities at the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal on September 13 and 15, where he will start the 10e time…and not the last.
“I can imagine the suffering of the family.”
Currently training in Italy for personal reasons, Hugo Houle, like everyone else, saw the tragic news of the deaths of hockey players Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. The brothers were riding their bikes on a secondary road in their native New Jersey on Friday when they were struck from behind by a reckless driver. Houle was unaware, however, that the driver had been charged with involuntary manslaughter and consuming alcohol in a vehicle, among other charges.
On December 21, 2012, Houle experienced a similar tragedy when his younger brother Pierrik, 19, lost his life after being knocked down and left behind by a driver impaired by alcohol. Pierrik Houle had gone for a jog after reconnecting with his brother, who was returning from his first camp with AG2R in Europe.
“With what I’ve experienced, I can imagine the suffering of the family or people who are close to them,” commented Hugo Houle. “It’s another horrible story. It reminds us that it still happens too often. It’s just incredibly sad. It shows us how vulnerable we are, alcohol or not. It’s part of the risks of being on the road. So we have to be careful.”