One after the other, Antoine Duchesne and Hugo Houle went on the offensive on the 19th stage of the Tour de France. The sequence was taped less than a kilometer away, but despite the tiredness, it made the two Quebecers involved smile.
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The day’s breakaway had just taken over when some cyclists decided to pick up the pace with around thirty kilometers to go. Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar was one of the first, then Antoine Duchesne’s turn.
“There were a few attacks and [mon coéquipier] David (Gaudu) told me to go there when I feel it,” said Duchesne, a member of the Groupama-FDJ formation. Other drivers reacted quickly to the manoeuvre, including his good friend Hugo Houle.
“Antoine attacked and I decided to go with him, I thought it would be more fun! When he saw me he thought it was funny and we had some fun,” Houle told Sportcom.
“I’m happy to see him in good shape,” continued the athlete from Sainte-Perpétue. He’s had tougher times with his surgery [à l’artère iliaque], but this year he had a good season and a good Tour de France. He’s in great shape, climbed well and worked a lot for Gaudu.”
The peloton fought for a sprint finish and the opportunity passed. Duchesne was blocked by Jasper Stuyven and Fred Wright and the Saguenayer native was unable to follow them. He ended up finishing 63rd (+1min 53secs) after a start to the race where crosswinds made the 188.3km route a bit more nervous.
“I had expected worse at the start, but put Hugo Houle, day 24, into perspective. (+1 second). In the end everyone was a bit tired and we took it easy. Nobody wanted to fight. I did my best to stay up front in the final, which was quite technical, and it went well.
“A very fast, very stressful day. The stage was tense, but we managed it well. We wanted to be at the front all day and not risk something like that on the “last” day,” explained Duchesne, happy about the light at the end of this Tour de France.
Guillaume Boivin (Israel – Premier Tech) crossed the finish line in 41st, 25 seconds off the winner. He now points to 120th place overall, still led by Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard. Hugo Houle is 22nd and Antoine Duchesne is 63rd.
“It was fun playing with him today but also having him [à mes côtés] throughout the tour,” Hugo Houle added of Antoine Duchesne.
The long-awaited French victory
French fans had to wait until stage 19 to see a French cyclist win this 109th Tour.
A loyal lieutenant to the formidable leaders of Jumbo-Visma, Christophe Laporte played his cards well with the red flame. The peloton had returned to the breakaway when Laporte, who had benefited from the help of Belgium’s Wout van Aert, attacked the leading trio. After showing patience and conserving his strength, he accelerated with 500 meters to go. He turned around a few times in the final moments to ensure he didn’t celebrate his first Tour de France victory too quickly, to cheers from the crowd that had gathered in the streets of Cahors.
Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Italy’s Alberto Dainese (DSM) followed a second later, leading a group of 28 cyclists including Hugo Houle.
The Jumbo Visma team now has five stage wins on this Grande Boucle, in addition to topping the yellow, green and polka dot jersey rankings. She will look to improve on that record in Saturday’s time trial and during Sunday’s stage 21, which takes the riders to Paris.
Houle, the 2021 Canadian time trial champion, will be keeping an eye on Saturday.
“I will take this opportunity to test myself. As Guillaume told me: “With those legs, it’s better to try and make it whole.” I think I’ll listen to Mr. Boivin!”