Tour de France | Hugo Houle ranks 9th in the second stage

Hugo Houle (Israel – Premier Tech) brought the show to life on Sunday during the second stage of the Tour de France by venturing into the breakaway early in the day. The 10 riders in this group stayed together until the first of two loops of the final circuit where two climbs of the imposing Côte de San Luca were on the program.

Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and France’s Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa – B & B Hotels) eventually broke away from the pack, until Vauquelin went solo with 14 km to go. The Frenchman took his first stage win in the Tour de France. It was also the first success for the Arkéa – B & B Hotels team on the Grande Boucle.

Abrahamsen, holder of the best climber’s jersey, crossed the finish line in second place (+36 s), while Frenchman Quentin Pacher (Groupama – FDJ) finished third (+49 s).

For his part, Houle once again demonstrated all his combativeness in the final climbs by returning to the leading group on a few occasions after having briefly dropped out. He finally placed ninth (+1 min 39 s) in this stage, the fourth best result of his Tour career.

“I had the mission to be in the breakaway and I’m happy to have taken the right one. We had a good group that was able to get a good lead on the peloton. I knew I had a good chance of going to the end. There were big percentages on the climb of San Luca and my legs weren’t responding, I managed to come back, but then three riders, including Vauquelin, got away for good,” explained Hugo Houle.

“Perhaps I would have liked to go to the top 5but I’m happy to have gone all the way with the breakaway from the second stage. I think my form will improve more and more in the coming days. I’m not a guy who gives up easily, I fight all the time, that’s what makes me strong and I want to keep that spirit,” he added.

The heat was once again there on Sunday on the Italian roads, which however never made Houle doubt.

“It was hot and, what’s more, we often had strong headwinds. It was a little better than yesterday [samedi]but it was once again very difficult. Nothing to stop me from fighting, however, once in the breakaway, I wanted to give it my all,” said the man who was able to collect a point in the best climbers ranking during the day.

Guillaume Boivin, also from the Israel – Premier Tech team, concluded this second stage at 93^e echelon.

Things are moving in the provisional general classification as Frenchman Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) cedes the yellow jersey of leader to Slovenian Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates), 14^e of the day. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education – EasyPost) all posted the same time as Pogačar.

The third stage of the Tour de France will be held this Monday, once again in Italy, between Piacenza and Turin, over 230.8 km.

“It will be a stage mainly on the flat, I will give a hand to my teammates who will aim for victory, but it will also be an opportunity to rest a little more, that’s for sure,” concluded the cyclist. of Sainte-Perpétue.