German Pascal Ackerman, teammate of Quebecers Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin at Israel – Premier Tech, once again wanted to play for the win during the 13e stage of the Tour de France on Friday. Unfortunately for him, he was overtaken by two tough opponents at the finish line, finishing in third place for the third time since the start of the Grande Boucle.
At the sprint finish in Pau, in the southwest of the country, Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Apecin – deceuninck) won for the second time this year, just ahead of his compatriot Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike).
“Pascal lacked a bit of speed in the final, but in general, he is very consistent. We can be satisfied with this result. He was beaten by Philipsen who is a very high quality sprinter. We will have to get through the mountains this weekend, but we will try to do everything we can for him next Tuesday for the next sprint,” said Hugo Houle.
Houle also participated in the show at the start of the day by joining the first breakaway of the day with his Danish teammate Jakob Fuglsang. Four riders then broke away from this group and the Quebecer was once again active in trying to catch up with the leaders.
“It was a very demanding day and we didn’t want to have to chase today (Friday). We managed to take the right shot, it was the fun to be at the front. We were caught by the peloton, but I managed to stay in the yellow jersey group for the end of the stage. I’m very happy with my performance,” added Houle.
Houle and Guillaume Boivin finally found themselves working with Ackermann, Jake Stewart and Derek Gee in the final kilometers
Boivin took the 67e echelon while Hugo Houle ranked 107e.
In the general classification, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) retains his yellow jersey ahead of Belgian Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step (+1 minute 6 seconds).
With the withdrawals of the Spaniard Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates) and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Red Bull – BORA – Hansgrohe), the Ontarian Derek Gee (Israel – Premier Tech) climbs in the top 10 of the provisional general classification and is now in 9th placee rank (+7 minutes 54 seconds).
“When a cyclist finishes on the podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he can aspire to a top 10 “We’re going to be in the Tour de France. There are still some big stages to come, but Derek is in good shape and we’re going to continue to support him until the end,” Houle said.
The 14e stage will be held on Saturday, in the mountains, between Pau and Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet.
Clara Émond remains in blue at the Giro d’Italia
Clara Émond (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) retained her blue jersey as best climber during the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday. The Quebecer defied the heat to pick up valuable points on the first climb of the day.
She now has a 14-point lead over her closest pursuer, the Belgian Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance – Soudal). Inconvenienced by the heat, Émond finished the day quietly at 65e echelon.
“It was a very difficult stage. I wanted to keep my best climber’s jersey, so at the start of the day, I tried to follow all the breakaways and even attack at times. I managed to accumulate a few points, but afterwards, I completely overheated,” commented Clara Émond.
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill, also from the EF-Oatly-Cannondale team, also had a good day under the hot Italian sun. After guiding Émond at the start of the day, the Quebecer finished in 17e stage rank, 46 seconds behind the winner, the German Liane Lippert (Movistar).
“I tried to escape at 100e kilometer or so, but it wasn’t easy to work with the girls who were at the front and we were finally caught. It’s cool to see that I was able to find myself in the company of the good climbers,” said Vallières-Mill.
The action will resume on Saturday at the Giro d’Italia for a 120-kilometre stage between Lanciano and Blockhaus.
“We would like to go for another stage victory this weekend, it was such a good time on Wednesday with Clara! We will also work hard so that she keeps her best climber’s jersey,” concluded Magdeleine Vallières-Mill.