Jonas Vingegaard maintained his 10-second lead in the general classification of the Tour de France on Sunday, while Dutch veteran Wout Poels won the 15e solo stage, at the end of a difficult journey in the Alps, with a summit finish.
Exactly a week after the stage victory of his compatriot and teammate Michael Woods, Quebecer Hugo Houle had his best performance of the 2023 edition of the Tour.
The 32-year-old cyclist from Sainte-Perpétue completed the race at 13e rank, five minutes 31 seconds behind Poels. Before this 13e place, Houle had offered his best performance by finishing 20e during the third stage, on July 3.
Woods finished in 67e place, 27:52 from the winner while Guillaume Boivin completed the stage at 135e rank, 34:32 from the top.
With his performance on Sunday, Houle climbed 14 places in the cumulative ranking, from 60e at the 46e position. His delay on Vingegaard is 2:12:40.
Woods has slipped six positions and now sits at 38e rank, at 1h48: 31 from the holder of the yellow jersey. Boivin remained at 126e step, with a delay of almost four hours.
Poels, who was part of an early Sunday breakaway, took advantage of a short but very steep climb just before the final seven-kilometre climb to the finish line to pull away from his rivals.
He covered the 179 km distance between Les Gets les Portes du Soleil and Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in 4:40:45. Wout van Aert finished second, more than two minutes away, and Mathieu Burgaudeau completed the podium in the stage, exactly three minutes from the winner.
“I appreciate this moment very much. I had always dreamed of winning a stage in the Tour de France, said Poels. I have a lot of fun with Team Sky. What a great experience! »
Engaged in a fierce fight for the yellow jersey since the start of the competition, Vingegaard and two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar have remained together throughout the day in the group of main contenders.
Pogacar attempted a sprint 900 meters from the finish line to distance his rival, but Vingegaard, the defending champion, immediately got into his wheel and wasted no time.
“I felt that Jonas felt very good and I knew that I would not be able to detach myself from him, said Pogacar. The climb was too easy. »
Their duel will resume during the time trial on Tuesday, a distance of 22.4 km between Passy and Combloux.
“I know this course well and I think it plays in favor of my skills,” said Pogacar.
On Monday, the cyclists will enjoy their second and last day off since the start of the Tour.