Hugo Houle had been right the day before by predicting to the letter what happened during the 5th stage.
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The Nostradamus of Sainte-Perpétue may have thought he was reading proven predictions.
Sensing the opportunity, Houle feared that a dangerous rider in the general classification would frustrate the attempt. At the start of the Tour, the gaps are still small.
AFP
Member of the breakaway of the day, Houle was indeed surrounded by high caliber riders. The Israel – Premier Tech team cyclist quickly identified Jai Hindley, who, just 22 seconds behind, was becoming too serious a candidate for Vingegaard’s Jumbo and Pogacar’s UAE to give up the hunt.
An other time
Houle and teammate Krists Neilands will have to try their luck at poker another time.
“That’s what happened. I was happy to be in the lead. With the quality of the riders, I quickly understood that it would be very complicated. All the teams for the general were there with two or three riders. It was an extremely demanding day,” explained the Quebecer.
Quickly, Houle decided that the opponents’ cards were too strong to win the bet. He lifted his foot in the Col du Soudet.
“With only 15 riders and only big names, I knew I had no chance of winning the stage. It calmed me down a bit. There are going to be days when the opportunity will be more interesting,” he summed up.
Jean Francois Racine
Despite encouraging signs, Houle preferred to be rational since the race is still young. The Olympian did not want to comment on the solo adventure of his teammate Neilands. The discussion may have taken place in the locker room with the door closed.
“It’s a good operation for Bora. It will be interesting! »
In the shot
Manager Steve Bauer didn’t seem too disappointed with the end result.
” No. We were present. It was a very aggressive race. Mike didn’t waste too much time overall. There are many good days ahead. Dylan Teuns is good too. We’re in on it,” the former yellow jersey said in 1988 and 1990. Bauer finally clarified what Houle may have wanted to avoid saying about Neilands. “He left alone a little early. »
Jean Francois Racine
As for his personal memories of the Pyrenees on the bike, Bauer brought up the conversation with a laugh. ” I hate ! “launched the 64-year-old Ontarian in French.
During the 6th stage, 144.9 kilometers long between Tarbes and Cauterets-Cambasque, the cyclists will notably climb the Col d’Aspin and the mythical Tourmalet. The final ascent to Cauterets is 16 kilometers at 5.4%.
In the notebook
-In a pizzeria in Laruns, in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, our little towers of coins on the table amused our neighbors. “You stole the collection from the church,” they said, referring to the offerings for the lanterns.
-Team Israel-Premier Tech big boss and owner Sylvan Adams doesn’t waste much time around the team bus. Passionate about cycling, he won two Canadian titles in Quebec last weekend. On Wednesday, the businessman pedaled at full speed with two partners on a winding regional road about 25 kilometers from the finish in Laruns
-Thursday in Tarbes, in Haute-Pyrénées, the city will host the Tour for the 15th time. The last arrival saw the victory of Pierrick Fédrigo in 2009. Ten years later, with Julian Alaphilippe in yellow, Thibaut Pinot launched from Tarbes to attack the Col du Tourmalet to sign his most resounding victory.
-Twelve years ago, Cadel Evans became the first Australian winner of the Tour de France. Since then, Simon Gerrans (2013) and Rohan Dennis (2015) have worn the yellow jersey.
-Statistics fascinate the younger generation who swear by Strava. Jonas Vingegaard was faster than all his rivals in the Tour de France 2023 in the climb of the Col de Marie Blanque. He also beat KOM Strava held by Tadej Pogacar since his first stage win at Laruns in 2020.
-Leaving Laruns for a 50 km journey towards Lourdes, the night passage in the Hautes-Pyrénées gave our team some cold sweats with terribly narrow one-lane roads in the rain. We used a line from the movie Slapshot in French version: “I have a better idea, we…”