At almost 40 degrees, they tortured the riders up the Pyrenees on the 16th stage of the tour. Some didn’t finish. But a German cheered.
Canadian professional cyclist Hugo Houle has won stage 16 of the 109th Tour de France. The 31-year-old from Team Astana Qazaqstan won in Foix on Tuesday after a 178.5 km heat battle from a breakaway group.
“It’s so emotional. I’ve never won a race, but I never gave up.”
Stage winner Hugo Hole
Houle is only the second Canadian ever to win a leg of the tour.
“It’s for my brother, that’s what I’ve always worked for. It’s so emotional. I’ve never won a race, but I’ve never given up.” Patrick Houle passed away almost a decade ago.
Geschke continues in the dotted jersey
Simon Geschke (Berlin/Cofidis) successfully defended the dotted jersey of the best climber, but has to worry about Corona. His roommate Max Walscheid had tested positive for the corona virus before the section and dropped out of the race.
Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) remains in the overall leader’s yellow jersey. His lead over defending champion Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia/UAE Team Emirates) is as before 2:22 minutes. Pogacar is running out of chances to regain the lead in the Pyrenees.